French rule in the Ionian Islands (1807–1814)
| Ionian Islands | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Possession of the First French Empire | |||||||||
| 1807–1814 | |||||||||
Map of the Ionian Islands as the "Septinsular Republic" in orange, in 1801; Ottoman territory in green | |||||||||
| Capital | Corfu | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| Governor-general | |||||||||
• 1807–1808 | César Berthier | ||||||||
• 1808–1814 | François-Xavier Donzelot | ||||||||
| Historical era | Napoleonic Wars | ||||||||
| July 1807 | |||||||||
| October 1809 | |||||||||
• British capture of Lefkada | April 1810 | ||||||||
• British capture of Parga | 22 March 1814 | ||||||||
| April 1814 | |||||||||
• Surrender of Corfu | June 1814 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Greece | ||||||||
The Second period of French rule in the Ionian Islands (Greek: Δεύτερη Γαλλοκρατία των Επτανήσων) began in August 1807, when the Septinsular Republic, a Russian protectorate comprising the seven Ionian Islands, was occupied by the First French Empire in accordance with the Treaty of Tilsit. The French annexed the Republic but maintained most of its institutions for local governance. In 1809–10, the British occupied the southernmost islands, leaving only Corfu, Paxoi, and the mainland exclave of Parga in French hands. The British also imposed a naval blockade on the French-ruled islands, which began to suffer from famine. Finally, the British occupied Paxoi in late 1813 and Parga in March 1814. Following the Abdication of Napoleon, the French governor-general in Corfu, François-Xavier Donzelot, capitulated and the French garrison was evacuated. In 1815, the islands became a British protectorate, the United States of the Ionian Islands.