The current plan and appearance of Chora, a capital connected with a period of peace and tranquility for Tinos at a time when pirates turned their attention on other islands, was established in the first half of the 18th century. The archaeological evidence suggests that the first occupants appeared in the 6th century B.C. and settled the area around the shrine of Our Lady of Tinos when Exomvourgo began to decline as the administrative and economic center of the island. Pirate raids and attacks became a permanent threat and Chora was abandoned for centuries, only to be reoccupied in the 18th century. Most inhabitants were merchants and for a while, Tinos was the pre-eminent commercial island of the Cyclades. Wine, figs, and hides were the island’s main exports and contributed to the island’s prosperity and prestige.