French rule in the Ionian Islands Corsican Greek military officer Demetrio Stefanopoli as his envoy to the Ionian Islands and Mani, who on his return in 1798 openly spoke of a restored Byzantine Empire and "Franco-Greek liberty" up to the Bosporus. At the same time, in Ancona, an "Executive Directory for the Commerce of Corsica, Malta, Zakynthos, Cephalonia, Corfu, the French Isles of the Adriatic, the Archipelago, and Egypt" was established with Greek and French members, aiming to collect intelligence and foment insurrection. In the event these machinations came to nothing, once the French were committed to the invasion of Egypt, rather than the Balkan provinces
Technological Educational Institute of the Ionian Islands was the first university of modern Greece. In 1908 Panayis Athanase Vagliano donated the "Agricultural School of Argostoli" and in 1915 the "Vallianos Vocational School" in Lixouri. In 2003 these two schools and some others in the Ionian Islands were unified to the new TEI of the Ionian Islands. The university comprises four Schools and six Departments. The ATHENA Reform Plan restructured the institute's departments in 2013. The language of instruction at the TEI of Ionian Islands is Greek. Therefore, a good knowledge of Greek is essential for regular students. However, special arrangements are made for certain number of courses