Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands 1809, Great Britain took possession of all the islands with the exception of Corfu and Paxos, which was only surrendered in 1814. In 1815, the Ionian Islands became a British protectorate under the name United States of the Ionian Islands. The civil and military governor of the Ionian Islands was the "Provveditore generale da Mar", who lived on Corfu and had the supreme peacetime command of the Venetian navy. In wartime, due to his absence at the head of the fleet, he was sometimes replaced by a "Provveditore generale delle Tre Isole" ("Superintendent general of the Three Islands"), referring to
French rule in the Ionian Islands of the Ottoman Empire. While initially enjoying broad support, the French regime soon began to loose some of its appeal. The heavy taxation and strict fiscal administration were widely resented, while the dismissive attitude of the French towards religion and the traditions of the Ionian people, coupled with the predatory behaviour of French troops, made them increasingly unpopular. Although the Greek clergy had supported the installation of the democratic regime and even participated actively in it, the French generally treated the clergy with hostility, as can be seen by their demand that all clerics wear the tricolour cockade on pain