CAPO D'ISTRIA, COUNT OF, born at Corfu in 1730, was the son of a physician, and he himself began to study medicine at Venice, to which republic Corfu and the other Ionian islands then belonged. His father was chief of the provisional government of the Ionian Islands in 1799, when the Russians took possession of them. In 1806, when the Seven Islands by the treaty of Tilsit were placed under the protection of Bonaparte, both Cape d'Istria and his tither left Corfu and entered the service of Russia. The couut's first post was an humble one; but he showed a talent for diplomacy, aud was speedily advanced and attached to the Russian embassy at Vienna. In 1812, during Bouaparte's expedition to Moscow, Capo d'Istria was charged with certain diplomatic operations connected with the army of the Danube, or, as it is more commonly called, the army of Moldavia, under the command of Admiral Tchitehagof, which had been engaged against the Turks, and then occupied the two principalities of Walla chia and Moldavia. In the summer of 1812, peace being concluded between Turkey and Russia, the latter power was enabled to recall the army of Tchitcbegof from the Danube to the Berezina. Capo d'Istria went with it, and after the finishing blow given to the French at the paisaga of the Berezina he remained at the bead-quarters of the Emperor Alexander of Itnasia, who formed a high opinion of his abilities and address. In 1813 ho was sent by Alexander as his minister plenipotentiary to Switzerland, and, before the allied armies crossed the Rhine lute that country, he drew up a declaration promising the re-establishment of Helvetian independence, and the restitution of all the territory that the French had taken from the Swiss. These pro mises were well kept, and the count so conducted himself as to merit the esteem of the Swiss. The Constitutional Act, which he sanctioned and forwarded, removed many old abuses and invidious distinctions. In September 1814 Capo d'Istria left Switzerland for the Congress of Vienna, where, mainly through him, the affairs of the Swiss were happily terminated. In 1815 he was with Alexander at Paris, and was his
plenipotentiary in the definitive treaty of peace with France. In the course of that year he advocated the cause of education, and wrote to the emperor an account of the establishment of M. Fellenberg at Hof wyl. This letter, in the form of a pamphlet, was published at Paris in 1816, in the course of which year the Grand Council of Lausanne gave the count the citizenship of the Canton of Vaud. A short time afterwards he was recalled to St. Petersburg by the Emperor Alexander, who appointed him one of his secretaries of state for foreign affairs, the duties of which office he divided for some time with Count Nesselrode. Capo d'lstria had a principal share in the diplomatic underminings of the Turkish empire, which took place from 1815 to 1827, and on the separation of Greece from Turkey he was allowed to take upon himself the office of president of the Greek government, in which he was regularly installed early in the year 1828, or a few months after the battle of Navarino. In this position he was almost constantly at variance with the people whom he was sent to govern. On both sides were violence, obstinacy, duplicity, and intrigue; but making many allowances for the Greeks, the opinion of most of those who watched his administration in the country was very unfavourable to the connt, who it appeared pretty evident was desirous to render Greece wholly subservient to Russia. Some memorable letters which he wrote to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Cobourg (now king of the Belgians), to whom the Greek crown had been offered in 1829, mainly induced that prince to decline accepting it, which he did definitively on the 21st of May 1830. On the 9th of October of the following year, Capo d'Istria was assassinated at Napoli di Romania, on the threshold of a ehurch, by George, the son, and Constantine, the brother, of Pietro Mauromichali, the old bey of Maine, whom he had detained for many mouths iu prison without trial or even a specific accusation.