French rule in the Ionian Islands French rule in the Ionian Islands The French rule in the Ionian Islands ( "Gallokratía ton Eptaníson") lasted from June 1797 to March 1799. Following the Fall of the Republic of Venice in May 1797, the Ionian Islands, a Venetian possession, were occupied by the French Republic. The French instituted a new, democratic regime and, following the Treaty of Campo Formio, annexed the islands to France, forming the three departments of "Corcyre" (Corfu), "Ithaque" (Ithaca) and "Mer-Égée" (Aegean Sea). Originally widely welcomed, French rule began to grow oppressive to the islanders, and aroused the enmity of the Ottoman Empire and
Ionian League Ionian League The Ionian League (ancient Greek: , "Íōnes"; , "koinón Iōnōn"; or , "koinē sýnodos Iōnōn"; Latin: "commune consilium"), also called the Panionic League, was a confederation formed at the end of the Meliac War in the mid-7th century BC comprising twelve Ionian cities (a dodecapolis, of which there were many others). These were listed by Herodotus as After 650 BC Smyrna, an originally Aeolic city, was invited to diminish Aeolis and increase Ionia by joining the league, which it did. One of our earliest historical sources, the "Histories" of Herodotus, and early inscriptions refer to the legally constituted