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
Proti Island around this island. Proti has archaeological interest, since on the island, there is a Mycenaean acropolis. Proti Island Proti Island of Messenia (Πρώτη Μεσσηνίας) is an island in the Ionian Sea, on the west coast of the Peloponnese; it is counted as one of the Ionian Islands, though administratively, it is part of the municipality of Gargalianoi, in the regional unit of Messenia. The 2001 census reported a population of four inhabitants. The name of the island derives from the ancient sea god Proteus, son of Poseidon. The island was mentioned by ancient writers. The first reference of the island