During World War I British and French troops are based on the island (Loutra, Akoth, the Gulf of Kalloni, Thermi etc.). Venizelos visits the island (in May 1915) and again as part of the Revolutionary Government of 1916. In 1918 the Archipelagos division fights on the Macedonian front (the Battle of Skra).

In 1919 Greek forces land on the coasts of Asia Minor. In 1922 Lesbos receives greek refugees from Asia Minor. Connections are severed and all bridges with the opposite shores are burnt Shanty towns are built round the villages. The exchange of populations takes place.

The Greco-Italian War, Greco-German War and the Civil War took a heavy toll on Lesbos and the island suffers the economic consequences.

The island economy depends mainly on the production of olive oil and its products, livestock farming and the tanning industry. Tourism development begins in 1981. Spiritual life flourishes and great intellects such as Stratis Mirivilis, Ilias Venezis, Odysseus Elytis, Miltos Kountouras, Argyris Eftaliotis live and create during this time. The island still possesses a wide range of stimuli for the visitor. Natural beauty, cultural richness marked by its countless monuments, the spontaneity which characterises the islanders’ temperament, its significant contribution to the intellectual world.

and it’s still history in the making . . .