protectorate · Greece and the Aegean

United States of the Ionian Islands

1815 CE – 1864 CE · capital Corfu

British protectorate over the seven Ionian Islands from 1815 to 1864, whose cession to Greece was the first enlargement of the Greek kingdom.

Origins

After Napoleon's fall, the Treaty of Paris in November 1815 made the Ionian Islands, formerly the French Ionian Islands and earlier the Septinsular Republic, a nominally independent state under the exclusive protection of Britain. Corfu, the last French-held island, had been handed over in 1814.

Rule and society

Real power lay with the British Lord High Commissioner. The first, Sir Thomas Maitland, nicknamed King Tom, imposed the constitution of 1817, which left an island assembly and senate with little authority. The British built roads, aqueducts and the Ionian Academy, but many islanders resented their rule. From the 1840s Radical politicians demanded union with Greece, and their assembly voted for it repeatedly.

Decline and legacy

After the Greeks deposed King Otto, Britain agreed to cede the islands to encourage the new King George I. Under the Treaty of London the islands joined the Kingdom of Greece in 1864, and Corfu's fortifications were partly demolished.

Lineage

United States of the Ionian IslandsKingdom of Greece 1832 CE – 1973 CE

Connections (1)

  • United States of the Ionian Islands was a protectorate of British Empire1815 CE – 1864 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). United States of the Ionian Islands. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/united-states-of-the-ionian-islands
MLA
“United States of the Ionian Islands.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/united-states-of-the-ionian-islands. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “United States of the Ionian Islands.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/united-states-of-the-ionian-islands.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘United States of the Ionian Islands’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/united-states-of-the-ionian-islands (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻