Corcyre (, archaic
French for "
Corfu
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek islands, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of G ...
", ) was one of three short-lived
French departments of Greece. It came into existence after
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
's
conquest
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinen ...
in 1797 of the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...
, when Venetian Greek possessions such as the
Ionian islands fell to the
French Directory
The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and replaced ...
. It consisted of the islands of
Kerkyra (
Corfu
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek islands, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of G ...
) and
Paxoi, as well as the cities of
Butrint
Butrint ( el, Βουθρωτόν and Βουθρωτός, ''Bouthrōtón'', la, Buthrōtum) was an ancient Greek and later Roman city and bishopric in Epirus. "Speakers of these various Greek dialects settled different parts of Greece at differe ...
and
Parga
Parga ( el, Πάργα ) is a town and municipality located in the northwestern part of the regional unit of Preveza in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Kanallaki. Parga lies on the Ionian coast between the ...
on the adjacent mainland. Its prefecture was in the
City of Corfu. The island was lost to
Russia after the
Siege of Corfu (1798–1799) and the department was officially disbanded in 1802. Also, Butrint was captured in 1799 by
Ali Pasha, governor of
Yanya Eyalet.During the
renewed French control in 1807–1814, the department was not re-established, the constitutional form of the former
Septinsular Republic
The Septinsular Republic ( el, Ἑπτάνησος Πολιτεία, Heptanēsos Politeia; it, Repubblica Settinsulare) was an oligarchic republic that existed from 1800 to 1807 under nominal Russian and Ottoman sovereignty in the Ionian Islan ...
being kept.
Administration
Commissioners
The Commissioner of the Directory was the highest state representative in the department.
See also
*
Department of Mer-Égée
*
Department of Ithaque
*
French rule in the Ionian Islands (1797–1799)
The first period of French rule in the Ionian Islands ( el, Πρώτη Γαλλοκρατία των Επτανήσων, Próti Gallokratía ton Eptaníson) lasted from June 1797 to March 1799. Following the fall of the Republic of Venice in Ma ...
*
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treaty ...
References
*
*
*
{{Annexed departments of the French First Republic
Former departments of France in Greece
States and territories established in 1797
1802 disestablishments
History of Corfu
1797 establishments in France