United States of the Ionian Islands took Lefkada in 1810. The island of Corfu remained occupied by the French until 1814. The Congress of Vienna agreed to place the Ionian Islands under the exclusive "amical protection" of the United Kingdom. Despite British military administration, the Austrian Empire was guaranteed commercial status equal to the UK. The arrangement was formalised with the ratification of the "Maitland constitution" on 26 August 1817, which created a federation of the seven islands, with Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Maitland its first "Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands". The Party of Radicals (Greek: Κόμμα των Ριζοσπαστών) founded in 1848 was against the
1953 Ionian earthquake were also several large earthquakes on January 26 and February 3, 2014, which were measured 6.1 and 6.0 on the Richter scale. The epicenters of both were in Kefalonia at very shallow depths and caused damage to the island. On October 25, 2018 there was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast that damaged parts of the Zante port dock. Following that quake, there were more than 50 additional quakes over 4 magnitiude in the Ionian Sea between the 25th and the end of October. 1953 Ionian earthquake The 1953 Ionian earthquake (also known as the Great Kefalonia earthquake) struck