MASTER's THESIS April25, 1996
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
.r\.,..._,. "The British Administration ofthe Ionian Islands: 1815-1831" MASTER'S THESIS David Bhamjee McGill University April25, 1996 0 "The British Administration of the 0 Ionian Islands, 1815-1831" Table of Contents Abstract Acknowledgments pp.i-ii Chapter 1: "The Fall ofthe Venetians and the War pp.l-11 Time Occupations, 1797-1814" Chapter 11: "British Sea Power and the Peace, 1815- pp.l2-17 1825" Chapter Ill: "The Ionian Islands Under Sir Thomas pp.l8-35 Maitland, 1815-1819" Chapter IV: c Britain and the Greek War for pp.36-73* "Great Independence, 1821-1827" Chapter V: "The Neutrality of the Ionian Islands pp.75-97 During the Greek War of Independence" Chapter VI: "The Ionian Islands, 1815-1831: A pp.98-115 Social, Political and Economic Analysis" Chapter VII: "British Strategy and the Ionian pp.ll6-123 Islands, 1815-1831" Appendices Introduction to Bibliography c Bibliography *please note, due to a reprinting, there is no page 74. ABSTRACT 0 In 1815, the British protectorate of the Ionian Islands was established by the Treaty of Paris. Great Britain acquired the islands for two purposes: First, to prevent Russia from establishing itself in the Mediterranean; Second, to provide a base in the eastern Mediterranean from which Britain could promote a balance of power favourable to its Levantine interests. From 1815 to 1831, those purposes were threatened by the outbreak of the Greek War for Independence. This thesis examines that period, so as to illustrate how Britain met this challenge, and protected its strategic interest. *** RESUME Le protectorat Britannique des iles Ioniennes fut etablit en 1815 par le Traite de Paris. Les deux principales raisons de la Grande Bretagne justifiant cette aquisition etaient, dans un premier lieu, d'empecher la Russie de s'installer dans le bassin Mediterranee. Aussi, cela donnait a la Grande Bretagne une base a 1'est de la Mediterranee de loquelle elle pouvait assurer un equilibre des forces, reaffirmant les interets qu'elle avait au Levant. De 1815 a 1831, la guerre d'Independence en Grece remit en question ces objectifs. Ce memoire couvre cette periode, a fin d'exposer en detail le fa~on dont la Grande Bretagne a releve ce deft et a protege ses interets strategiques. c Acknowledgements 0 In completing this thesis, I would like to thank all the people who assisted me throughout my work, beginning with my supervisor, Dr. Hereward Senior, of McGill University. After arriving at McGill in September, 1994, without a supervisor available, Dr. Senior agreed to add yet another student to his list, and for that I am grateful. His suggestions and advice throughout the writing process were invaluable. In researching my topic, the library staff at McGill, and in particular the Inter-Library Loan department, were a great help. Furthermore, the staff at the D.B. Weldon Library at the University of Western Ontario made researching away from Montreal significantly easier. In the department of History at McGill, Mary McDaid's tireless work on behalf of all graduate students must be acknowledged. Her constant enthusiasm is greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank Georgi Mikula, whose help in finding work as a teaching assistant made the past year's work that much easier. c i Throughout my time at McGill, my friends and roommates, c especially Steve, were a constant source of support and encouragement, always supplying welcome diversions from research and writing. I would also like to thank Margot for all of her support, encouragement and understanding. When I didn't think I could finish, or got frustrated writing, she kept me going. Her support helped me get through it. My family in London have always been there for me, listening to all my plans and trying to help in any way they could. Without them, I could not have finished. I would especially like to thank my father. He has always done his best to teach me the value of education, and has constantly encouraged me to do my best, in everything I do. Without all of his support, this thesis would not have been possible. I dedicate it to him. 0 ii Chapter 1: "The Fall of the Venetians and the c War-Time Occupations, 1797-1814" Circumstances have caused the Mediterranean to play a greater part in the history of the world, both in a commercial and a military point of view, than any other sheet of water of the same size. Nation after nation has striven to control it and the strife still goes on. 1 As a juncture between three continents, the Mediterranean Sea has long been a sight of conflict between the powers of Europe, Africa and Asia. As Mahan noted, nation after nation has attempted to control it. History is replete with examples of Mediterranean conflict. The period which followed the French Revolution is no exception. The French Revolution unleashed a new power in Europe; nationalism. That power would, in part, shape European politics right into the twentieth century. Nationalism, inspired by the agents of liberte, egalite, et fraternite, attracted peoples who were living under the control of a foreign power. One such group were the Ionians. 1 A.T. Mahan, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, (London, 1889), p.33. 0 1 The history of the Ionian Islands is a story of foreign c occupation and control. From roughly the sixteenth century until 1797, the islands were under the control of the Venetian Republic. However, in 1797 the period of Venetian rule came to an end. At that time, the Ionian Islands entered into a period which saw a change of five foreign masters before their nationalist aspirations were ultimately realized by their reunion with Greece in 1864. 2 During that period, the longest of the foreign occupations belonged to Great Britain. In 1815 the British controlled the Ionian Islands in the form of a protectorate, created by the Treaty of Paris. 3 Britain's decision to administer the islands was, in part, based on the belief in their strategic importance. For Britain in the nineteenth century, strategic importance was ultimately linked to the Royal Navy. The Ionian Islands, and particularly Corfu, offered the British the opportunity to establish a naval 2 Michael Pratt, Britain's Greek Empire, (London, 1978), p.xiii. 3 Treaty between the Allied Powers respecting the Ionian Islands, 1815, cited in Henry Jervis-White Jervis, History of the Island of Corfu and of the Republic of the Ionian Islands, (London, 1852), p.291. 0 2 base in an area of immense importance. Furthermore, the c protectorate created by the treaty would allow Britain to administer the islands and influence politics in the Eastern Mediterranean, thereby protecting their interests in the Levant. Consequently, when revolt erupted in Greece in 1821, Great Britain had an immensely strategic vantage point, from which to view and act on the revolt's developments. To that end, the British administration of the Ionian Islands, from 1815 until 1831, will be examined in order to illustrate how British strategic interests were protected through the crucial first fifteen years of the protectorate. The Ionian Islands, comprised of Corfu, Paxos, Levkas, Cephalonia, Ithaca, Kythera and Zante are located off the Western coast of Greece (Appendix I). Historically, their geographical position have caused the islands to serve as a bridge between Greece and Western Europe. 4 Their proximity to both the east and the west helps to explain why they have been coveted by powers such as Britain, France, Russia, the Ottomans and the Venetians. 4 Pratt, p.v. 0 3 From the sixteenth century until 1797, the islands were part c of the Venetian Republic. This period has been referred to as, " ... the most vital formative influence on Ionian history''. 5 However, in 1793 the revolutionary zeal of the new French Republic was spread throughout Europe. By 1797, it had reached the islands. In a despatch to the Directory in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte wrote: The islands ... seem of more importance to us than all of Italy. The Turkish Empire is decaying; the possession of the islands would enable us to support it if that were possible, or take our share. 6 For Napoleon, the Ionian Islands were a key piece in the Mediterranean puzzle. He continued, "The time is not far off when we will feel that to destroy England we must seize Egypt and the route to the East". 7 The islands were an important part of that plan. 5 Ibid., p.xiii. 6 Cited in Pratt, p.61. 7 Ibid., p.61. c 4 In 1797, Napoleon's army overwhelmed the Venetians who quickly sent envoys to receive terms. What followed was the Treaty of Campo Formio. 8 Article five of the treaty stated that: "His Majesty, the Emperor, King of Hungry and Bohemia agrees to the Republic of France having full sovereignty and possession of the Venetian Isles of the Levant ... ". 9 For roughly two years, the French attempted, with very limited success, to administer the islands on a model similar to that in France. However, in late 1798, a combined Russian-Turkish force moved against the French in an effort to remove their presence from the Levant. By 1799 the islands had fallen, and the second foreign occupation since 1797 began. On 21 March 1800, the Convention between the Courts of St. Petersburg and Constantinople, relative to the Ionian Islands and their Dependencies10 was signed. Article one stated that: 8 Fred L. Israel, ed., Major Peace Treaties of Modern His ~' vol.1., (New York, 1967) , pp. 433-444. 9 Ibid., p.435. 1° Convention between the Courts of St.