PARGA, a town in the province of Albania in European Turkey, on the coast of the Ionian Sea, opposite to the Isle of Paso, from which it is 12 miles distant, in 39° 17' N. lat., 20° 18' E. long. This place is first mentioned in the 15th century, when, amidst the wreck of the Eastern empire, the inhabitants of Parga sought safety in the protec tion of Venice, retaining however their own municipal council, the appointment of their magistrates, and several other privileges. This state of things lasted till the fall of Venice, in 1797, when, in the par tition of the Venetian territories between France end Austria, France kept for herself the Ionian Islands and the Venetian settlements on the coast of Epirus. But after the invasion of Egypt by Bonaparte a Turco-Ruesian fleet and army attacked the Ionian Islands, and took them from the French, and at the same time All Pasha of Epirus attacked the French garrison of Prevesa, and massacred it with cir cumstances of great atrocity. He likewise invaded Butrinto and Vonitza, from which the French had withdrawn, as well as from Parga. Parga however was strong by nature, and the inhabitants, being sum moned by All to submit, boldly refused, but admitted a Turkish bey to reside among them, according to the stipulations of a treaty between Turkey and Russia, to protect them against any encroachments from AIL Parga remained in this state of nominal subjection to the Porte till 1806, when war broke out between Russia and the Porte ; and the inhabitants fearing that All would renew his attempts to subjugate them, applied for protection to the Russian admiral on the station, who sent them a garrison.
By the treaty of Tilsit, in 1507, the Ionian Islands being given up to France, the Russian troops which were stationed in them withdrew, including the detachment at Parga, which was now garrisoned by the French. In 1814, the English, having already driven the French out of the Ionian Islands, with the exception of Corfu, and placed a garri son in the island of Paxo, which lies in sight of Parga, All Pasha sent a considerable force against Parga, which invaded its territory, took some villages, and murdered or carried away the inhabitants, but the Pargninotes sallied out of their town, repulsed the Turks, and killed the bey, who was a nephew of Ali. The French garrison remained
within the citadel, and did not take part in the action. The Par guinotes, seeing that they could no longer rely on the protection of France, applied to the English at Paxo, in March, 1814. General Campbell, who commanded in the Ionian Islands, sent a detachment with two frigates ; and the Parguiuotes having surprised the citadel and hoisted the English flag, the detachment was landed, and took possession of the fortress on the 22nd of March, and the French garri son was sent to Corfu. After the general peace that followed the downfall of Napoleon I., an agreement was entered into at Constan tinople between the English minister and the divan early in 1817, for the delivery of Parga to the Porte, under the condition that those inhabitants who might choose to emigrate should have an asylum in the Ionian Islands, and that their immoveable property should be valued and paid for by the Porte previous to their embarkation. This arrangement was formally announced to the Parguinotea by a pro clamation dated May 23, 1S17. The primates and other inhabitants, numbering altogether above 3000, declared that all would leave the place rather than trust themselves to the Turks.
The proceedings for the estimation and payment of the property were protracted for nearly two years through the cavils of the Turkish commissioner and the intrigues of Ali Pasha, who wished to obtain l'arga without paying the money. At last, in May, 1519, the whole population of Parga embarked in English vessels, having received the valued amount of their property, 150,000L, and were settled at Paxo and Corfu. The Turks then occupied Parga.
The town of Parga stands on a rock forming a small peninsula. It has two ports, one of them anciently called lambs Maar ' the port of sweet waters,' now Port Veliki. The town is walled and has narrow streets. The citadel on the summit of the rock is almost impregnable. It is surrounded by a fertile territory, and the townsmen export oil, tobacco, fruit, and tolerably good wine.