Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea connects western Greece and southern Italy with the approaches to the Adriatic and the eastern Mediterranean. Its islands became valuable stations on Venice's routes to the Levant. Corfu came under Venetian rule in 1386, while other islands were acquired at different times. After Venice lost Crete in 1669, the Ionian possessions assumed greater importance as military footholds from which ships could be supplied and campaigns supported.

The collapse of the Venetian Republic in 1797 brought a succession of new powers into these waters. French occupation was followed by Russo-Ottoman intervention and the creation of the Septinsular Republic in 1800. France returned in 1807; the settlement of 1815 placed the United States of the Ionian Islands under British protection. These changes affected the bases and authorities encountered by ships crossing the sea. The island harbours remained embedded in Mediterranean trade even as their forts, administrations and diplomatic alignments repeatedly changed hands.