History of the Ionian Islands
The history of the Ionian Islands goes back to the Bronze Age . In ancient times they belonged to the Greek culture and were then part of the Roman Empire. In the Early Middle Ages and High Middle Ages , the islands were a province of the Byzantine Empire . They have been under Venetian rule since the late Middle Ages . An Ionian state emerged towards the end of the 18th century, before the islands became part of the Greek state in 1864.
Antiquity to the High Middle Ages
According to recent research, Neanderthals are said to have settled on Kefalonia , Zakynthos and Lefkada as early as 110,000 to 35,000 years ago . They must have crossed the sea, as the islands were separated from the mainland at the time - despite the lower sea level.
The larger islands have been continuously inhabited by people since the Bronze Age at the latest. Finds show that the islands - with the exception of Corfu - belonged to the Mycenaean culture in the late Bronze Age ( Late Helladic in central and southern Greece, approx. 1600–1050 BC) . Ithaca was best known , and in Homer's epics it was considered the home of Odysseus . The islands were only of moderate importance in ancient times. In the 8th century BC Corinth founded the colony Kerkyra, today's city of Corfu , which soon competed against the mother city in shipping.
At the time of Roman rule, the islands lost their independence under Vespasian and were assigned to the province of Achaea , with the division of the empire they therefore fell to the Eastern Roman Empire . In 466 AD, Corfu was sacked by the Vandals under Geiseric and in 550 by Ostrogoths and Slavic hosts. Due to its strategic location, first the Lombards (887) and later the Normans conquered parts of the archipelago. The Norman king Robert Guiscard died shortly before the conquest of the island of Kefalonia on Porto Atheras beach . Byzantium had finally lost its influence in the region since 1186 .
Venetian rule
During the 4th Crusade , the islands were conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1215 and henceforth referred to as the "Levantine Islands". Each island got a council, which was formed from the hereditary nobility (but did not require property). In Corfu the Venetians continued to set up a "Provveditore generale de Mare", and each island also had a local Provveditore. In general, the overriding tasks in Corfu were largely limited to administrative activities. Due to the size of Corfu Town, it also had a mayor who also acted as a judge.
The Tocci provided the governor of Corfu , the Orsini ruled the Palatine County of Kefalonia (with the islands of Kefalonia, Leukas, Ithaka and Zakynthos). After a marriage, the Tocci also ruled the Palatinate County of Kefalonia , Zakynthos was later split off as Apanage. The Ionian Islands also included (until 1819) the enclaves Parga and Vonitza on the Epirotian mainland, as well as the fortress Buthroton (conquered by the Turks in 1800).
The inhabitants of the Levantine Islands were granted important privileges, often compared to those of the Republic of Ragusa . The Venetian Statute was introduced under the Venetians, replacing the previous Roman law. Venice became a popular place to study and soon had an important Greek community.
Venice received support on the one hand from a similar economic orientation (towards shipping), on the other hand from the threatened Turkish rule. The Greek language on the islands changed to a mixed dialect with the predominance of Italian formulas and phrases. Mercenary armies financed by Venice repeatedly fought back invasions by the Turks, but once the Turks succeeded in conquering the island of Kefalonia, which resulted in the enslavement of 25,000 people, i.e. almost the entire population.
After the loss of Crete in 1669, the economic importance of the islands increased. In the Treaty of Passarowitz 1718 the affiliation of the islands to Venice is confirmed. With the occupation of Venice by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797, the rule of the city on Kefalonia ended.
Effects
The clearing of the once densely forested islands for shipbuilding resulted in a barren landscape in places. At the same time, viticulture was perfected. The Robola and Verdea grape varieties imported from Italy are still cultivated here - the former no longer exists in Italy. Many Italian surnames and a remnant of Catholics who have not converted to the Orthodox faith also bear witness to this cultural influence.
The Ionian Islands as a state
After the conquest of Venice, the Corsican Gentilini visited the islands on Venetian ships and took them over for the French Republic as the Republic of the Ionian Islands . This was divided into the three departments Corcyre (seat: Corfu), Ithaque (seat: Argostoli ) and Mer-Egée (seat: Zakynthos ). The previously largely local administrations were replaced by a democratic central government in Corfu, which was composed of elected representatives from the islands. Count Spiridon Theotokis became president. The French publicly burned the register of nobility (Libro d'Oro) and liberalized the printing of books. A Ministry of Education, the Ionian Academy and a library were established.
On October 2, 1809, however, a British fleet appeared in front of Zante and displaced the French garrison, weakened by the Napoleonic Wars, from all the islands (except Corfu). Through the Paris Treaty of November 5, 1815, ratified by Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia, the islands came to Great Britain and since then have been known as the United States of the Ionian Islands (Septinsular Republic). The protectorate was subordinate to the British Crown, which had their interests represented by a Lord High Commissioner, and was above the consultative National Assembly. The constitution of August 26, 1817, which was implemented under Sir Thomas Maitland from January 1, 1818, ultimately gave the protecting power almost unlimited power. Enduring dissatisfaction and open rebellion accompanied British rule from the start, which could not diminish it even through targeted material improvement of the situation of the population and support for the Greek struggle for freedom. The fiercest opposition was later aroused by violent repression by Lord High Commissioner Howard Douglas in 1839, 1841 and 1842.
A petition of March 27, 1848 demanded a just constitution, immediate elections of the people's representatives and the formation of an Ionic army. As the British government did not grant anything, an uprising broke out in Kefalonia on September 26th, which soon spread to the other islands but was suppressed by force. After another uprising, the British administration granted a just constitution and its own parliament. The official languages in the constitution were Greek and Italian.
The parliament, which opened on November 22, 1849, brought little more than an extension of the right to vote; many pro-Greek candidates were elected to parliament, so the chamber was soon dissolved. The movement for unification with Greece found more and more supporters, so that the British High Commissioner Joung and his successor Gladstone (an avowed Philhellene) supported this movement. The overthrow of King Otto of Greece in October 1862 and the takeover of the British-friendly King George on June 5, 1863 changed the policy of the British government in support of the unification efforts. On October 5, 1863, after a parliamentary vote, the islands' accession to Greece was solemnly declared by the parliament in Corfu and confirmed by the London Treaty on November 14 and the Paris Treaty of the Protecting Powers on November 5.
Association with Greece
On June 2, 1864, the islands were handed over to the Greek state , which had been independent since 1830, in a ceremony by Lord High Commissioner Sir Henry Storks . On July 31, 1864, the members of the Ionian Islands entered the Greek parliament.
During the Second World War, the islands were occupied by Italy and thus effectively a part of Italy. The Italian administration introduced an economic and monetary union with Italy. The drachma was replaced as currency by the lira (rate: 1 lira = 8 drachmas) and Italian stamps were issued with the imprint "Isole Jonie" . Due to the German occupation on October 2, 1943, all islands were reassigned (to the also German-occupied) Greece.
In 1953 the islands of Kefalonia and Zakynthos were hit by a severe earthquake that destroyed almost all historical buildings. In 1984 the Ionian University and later also the TEI Ionion Nison (FH of the Ionian Islands) was founded. The former succeeded the Ionian Academy , which was the University of the Protectorate under British rule.
The time when the islands did not form their own administrative unit did not end until the mid-1990s, when the Ionian Islands region was re-established as part of decentralization (but without the island of Kythira ).
literature
- Christos K. Papadopoulos: The Ionian Islands from the Venetian rule to the Congress of Vienna. An analysis of international law under the aspect of state succession . (= Legal series 209). Münster & London 2003. ISBN 3-8258-6591-6
- Christina Souyoudzoglou-Haywood: The Ionian Islands in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, 3000-800 BC , Liverpool University Press, 1999.
- Friedrich Liebetrut, Journey to the Ionian Islands, Hamburg 1850
- Warsberg, Odyssey Landscapes, Vienna 1878–79, 3 volumes
Individual evidence
- ↑ George Ferentinos et al .: Early seafaring activity in the southern Ionian Islands, Mediterranean Sea. In: Journal of Archaeological Science , online pre-publication of February 10, 2012, doi: 10.1016 / j.jas.2012.01.032
- ^ Meyers Konversationslexikon Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig and Vienna, fourth edition, 1885-1892
- ↑ http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/balkans/ionislnap.html
- ^ Brockhaus' Konversationslexikon, FA Brockhaus in Leipzig, Berlin and Vienna, 14th edition, 1894-1896, page 673