Editing Hiiumaa (section)

== History ==

=== Prehistory ===
Hiiumaa emerged from the Baltic Sea 8500 years ago due to [[Post-glacial rebound|isostatic uplift]] after the retreat of the [[ice cap]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqBCT3H2afsC&q=Hiiumaa+geology&pg=PA84|title=Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology|date=1994|publisher=Estonian Academy Publishers|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> [[Mesolithic]] settlements are found on the island's Kõpu Peninsula from about 5500 BC.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/kultt/vk/kriiska/tekstid/11.html|title=Coastal Adaption and Marine Exploitation of the Island Hiiumaa, Estonia, During the Stone Age with Special Emphasis on the Kõpu I Site|website=ethesis.helsinki.fi|access-date=2019-04-18|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305042846/http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/kultt/vk/kriiska/tekstid/11.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> These settlements seem to be related mostly to [[seal hunting]] and extend into the earliest [[Neolithic]]. As Hiiumaa is constantly uplifting the local [[sea level]] was 20 m higher than today at this time. For this reason these settlements are located far from the modern coastline. The pottery found at these sites is of the Narva Type and is similar to that found on Saaremaa and the Estonian mainland.<ref name=":3" />

A series of [[Cist|stone-cist]] graves are also present on the island from the [[Bronze Age|Late Bronze Age]] through to the [[Iron Age|Late Iron Age]].<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Laneman|first=Margot|date=2012|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=221121|journal=Eesti Arheoloogia Ajakiri|language=en|volume=16|issue=2|pages=91–117|issn=1406-2933|doi=10.3176/arch.2012.2.01|title=Stone-Cist Grave at Kaseküla, Western Estonia in the Light of Ams Dates of the Human Bones|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Crusades ===
The first documented record of the island of ''Dageida'' was made by contemporary chroniclers in 1228, when Hiiumaa and the rest of Estonia were conquered by [[Livonian Crusade|Germanic crusaders]]. In 1254, Hiiumaa was divided between the [[Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek]] and the [[Livonian Order|Livonian branch]] of the [[Teutonic Order]], acting partly on behalf of the [[Hanseatic League]].

=== Swedish and Russian era ===
[[File:Kõpu Lighthouse-033.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Kõpu Lighthouse]] in [[Kõpu, Hiiu County|Kõpu]], Hiiumaa is one of the island's landmarks.]]
The island was part of [[Swedish Estonia]] from 1563 to 1721, after which it passed to the [[Russian Empire]] as part of the [[Governorate of Estonia]], though Dagö's Swedish population kept most of their privileges. Most of the island's previously numerous [[Gammalsvenskby|Swedish-speaking population emigrated]] or were "[[Estonianization|Estonianised]]" during the period of Imperial Russian rule, although a minority remained until the 20th century. [[Estonian Swedes]] are also known as ''aibofolke'' ("the island people" in the [[Estonian Swedish|local Swedish]]) or ''rannarootslased'' ("coastal Swedes" in Estonian). Administratively the island of Hiiumaa belonged to Lääne County.

===World War I===
Hiiumaa was occupied during [[World War I]] by the [[German Army (German Empire)|Imperial German Army]], in [[Operation Albion]]. After the war, in 1918, it became a part of independent Estonia.

===World War II===
The waters near Hiiumaa were active during World War II:<ref name="fnw">{{Cite book|title=The Finnish Navy At War in 1939-1945 (Suomen Laivasto Sodassa 1939-1945)|first=Jorma |last=Mäntykoski|year=1991|publisher=Tietoteos Ky|location=Espoo|isbn=978-951-8919-05-9|pages=154|ol=1778118M}}</ref>

* 23 June 1941: The Soviet destroyer [[Gnevny-class destroyer|''Gnevny'']] was sunk by a German [[naval mine|seamine]].
* 25 June: the Soviet minesweeper ''T-208 Shkiv'' was destroyed by a German seamine.
* 27 June: Two German motor torpedo boats, ''S43'' and ''S106'', were destroyed by Soviet seamines.
* 1 July: the Soviet submarine ''M-81'' was destroyed by a German seamine north of Hiiumaa.
* 7 July: the Soviet minesweeper ''T-216'' was sunk.
* 30 July: the Soviet minesweeper ''T-201 Zarjad'' was sunk.
* 10 August: the German submarine {{GS|U-144|1940|2}} was sunk by a torpedo from the Soviet submarine ''SC-307''.
* Hiiumaa Island was occupied by the [[Stalin]]ist [[Soviet Union]] in 1940, by [[Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]] in 1941, and by the USSR again in 1944. 
<!--=== Soviet era ===-->
Hiiumaa remained under Soviet control until Estonia regained independence in August 1991. During the period of Soviet occupation (1944–1991), Hiiumaa was declared a restricted zone, closed to foreigners and to most mainland Estonians. <!--Since 1991, the island has been a part of independent Estonia.--> A number of derelict Soviet forts and communication towers are still present on the island's northern coast.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/military-structures-of-hiiumaa|title=Military Structures of Hiiumaa|website=Atlas Obscura|language=en|access-date=2019-04-18}}</ref>