Obscure European Islands and Peninsulas

This region was briefly ruled by the German adventurer Theodore von Neuhoff, who is depicted as the last and least fortunate of six deposed kings in Voltaire’s Candide. This island’s cities of Corte and Bastia were once the capitals of a British protectorate established at the invitation of its revolutionary leader Pasquale Paoli. Horatio Nelson lost his right eye while capturing this island’s town of Calvi, which may have been the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. For the point, name this French island, a former Genoese possession in the Mediterranean where Napoleon was born.

The extremely dangerous Snaefell Mountain road circuit is used for a TT race on this island that was first run in 1907. The Moddey Dhoo is a mythological black dog that supposedly haunted this island’s Peel Castle. The (+) Tynwald, which claims to be the “oldest continuous Parliament,” meets in this island’s capital of Douglas. This island’s flag depicts a triple spiral of three white (*) legs with golden spurs on a red background. A cat breed named for this Celtic island has a mutation that naturally gives it a shortened tail. For the points, name this “Isle” in the Irish Sea.

This island's Hotel-Dieu [[DYUH]] is the world's oldest operating hospital, and this island is one of two natural islands in its city along with Saint Louis. This island's Equestrian Statue of Henry IV is separated from Place Dauphine [[PLAHSSdoh-FAHN]] by Pont Neuf [[pohnt-NUHF]], which passes over this island while crossing the Seine [[SEHN]]. For the points, name this island which is home to the Notre Dame Cathedral.

This archipelago's Vagar Island contains an airport served by Atlantic Airways. A 2021 "Dolphin Hunt" in this archipelago resulted in the slaughter of almost 1,500 dolphins on Eysturoy [[ESS-troy]]. This archipelago's largest island Streymoy contains its capital, Tórshavn [[TOH-sha-ohn]]. The closest inhabited islands to this archipelago are the Shetland Islands, and it maintains the free trade Hoyvík [[HOY-ah-wik]] Agreement with Iceland. For the point, name this Danish archipelago in the North Sea

This archipelago hosts the Windsurf World Cup at Sylt, and its only non-barrier island is Heligoland. This archipelago begins north of the IJsselmeer [["EYE"-selmehr]], where it includes Texel [[TESH-ull]] and encloses the Wadden Sea before running past the mouth of the Elbe River. For the points, name this North Sea archipelago split between the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark.

On this archipelago, the explorer Gerrit de Veer recorded the first known case of hypervitaminosis A after consuming polar bear liver. Thermal inversions cause this archipelago’s namesake “effect,” mirage in which the sun can be seen below the horizon in the form of line or hourglass shape. In 1597, the explorer Willem Barentsz died while sailing from this archipelago, where he had been stranded for a year. In 1961, Soviet authorities on this archipelago tested the (*) Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated. For the points, name this Arctic archipelago between the Kara and Barents Seas in Russia’s Far North, whose name means “New Land.”

This island's highest point is the Punta La Marmora, which lies in the Gennargentu Range. This island is home to many stone circular towers known as nuraghe [[noo-RAH-gay]]. This island, which is its country's second largest, has a northern coast along the Strait of Bonifacio. This island's capital and largest city is Cagliari [[kah-LYAH-ree]]. For the point, name this Italian island which lies south of Corsica and northwest of Sicily.

The pentozali is a folk dance native to this island, whose other cultural traditions include Mantinades [[mahn-tee-NAH-dehss]] poetry and music accompanied by the lyra and the laouto. This island's port of Chania [[KAH-nee-ah]] is considered a gateway to ski tourism in the Lefka Ori, or White Mountains, which are also home to the Samaria Gorge. Archaeologist Arthur Evans discovered the Linear A and Linear B scripts while excavating this island's Palace of Knossos. Heraklion is the capital of, for the point, what Greek island, once home to the Minoan civilization?

This island contains "The Egg," an avant-garde sculpture that holds a miniature version of the Santa Maria, and the original Café del Mar, both of which are found in this island’s town of Sant Antoni de Portmany. This island’s inhabitants speak Eivissenc [[EE-vee-senk]], (+) a dialect of Catalan, along with residents of the other Pine Island, Formentera. (*) For the points, name this Spanish island in the Mediterranean known for its tourism and nightlife, the third-largest of the Balearic Islands after Majorca and Minorca.

This archipelago is bound on the north by the Fair Isle Channel and on the south by the Pentland Firth. This archipelago's largest island is simply named the Mainland and contains the town of Stromness and its administrative center Kirkwall. For the point, identify this Scottish archipelago located south of the Shetlands.