IONIAN ISLANDS. A collective nal11e given to the islands in the Ionian Sea (together with the island of Cerigo farther south) belong ing to Greece. They consist of six principal and a large number of smaller islands, and fall mainly into three groups (Map: Greece. B The first and northernmost group lies off the west coast of Epirus. and consists of Corfu and the lit tle island of Paxos: the second group lies around the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth, and consists of Santa Maura, Ithaca, Cephalonia. and Zante: the third group. consisting of Cerigo and its de pendent islets, lies southeast of the Norea. The distance from the mainland to Santa Manra, the nearest of tire larger islands, is scarcely more than a mile, while the distance to Cephalonia is 22 miles. There is little geographical unity between the islands; fur geographical descrip tions, see articles on the separate islands. Politi cally. the western groups form the three nomnr ehies of Corfu, Cephalonia, and Zante. while Cerigo belongs to the nomarehy of Argolis. Their combined area is 1117 square miles, and their population in 1S91" was 266,223.
The collective term 'Ionian' is of modern date. After the division of the 'Roman Empire these islands were included in the eastern half, the Byzantine Empire, and so continued till 1081, when they fell into the power of Robert Guiseard, the Norman ruler of Apulia and Calabria. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the pos• session of the islands VI as disputed by the Vene tians, the rulers of Naples, and the Greek. and Italian corsairs of the Alediterranenn. 111 1356, however, Venice possession of Corfu, the most important of the islands. By conquest and purchase, the other islands of the Ionian group were acquired by the Republic, Cerigo, the last, tieing taken from 1114. Turks in 1717. The islands were taken by France when Bonaparte ex tinguished the Venetian Republic in 1797. They were seized by Russia and Turkey in 1799, but were returned to France iin414r the arrangement made in the Peace of Tilsit in 1507. Zante,
Cephalonia. and l'erigo were seized by Groat Britain in 1509, though Corfu did not yield till 1515. The islands were reemedituted a re public, under a British protectorate. The gov ernment was composed of the British high com missioner and an assembly composed of two chambers, the Senate of six, the Legislative As sembly of forty members. l'p to the press was restricted, and the Government was really a despotism. but in that and the following year widespread dislike of the English I;ov ernment became apparent. To remove were supposed to he grievances, Lord Seaton, then high commissioner, introduced sweep ing changes in the C'onstitution. ineluding vote by ballot, lowering of the franchise, and freedom of the press. A demand was then made for annexation to the Kingdom of Greece. and an insurrection broke out in .1ligust. 1519, in Cepha lonia. It was suppressed by Sir Henry Ward, who had succeeded Lord Segal/11. Fresh con eess ions were granted. but without appeasing the malcontents. In 1555 Nr. Gladstone was sent as a special commissioner to the islands, and he reported against their cession to Greece. There was no great desire, however, on the part of the English Government to continue their emineetion with the Ionian Islands. They had cost the United kingdom I:100,000 per annum, and had been a continual source of annoyance. In 1563 the election of Prince George of Denmark as constitutional King of Greece gave England an opportunity of go-Wag rid of this troublesome dependency. In that year the Parliament of the islands proclaimed their annexation to Greece. On 'March 29. 1564.n treaty was concluded at London, by which this annexation was consum mated. and on :May 30th formal possession was taken by the Greek authorities. In Feb ruary, 1567, the islands were visited by a series of earthquakes. most violent in Cephalonia. where they caused great destruetion of life and prop erty, and almost destroyed the two chief towns. See GitEr.cE.