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26-788: The Spianada is divided into two sections: the Upper Square (Pano Plateia) and the Lower Square (Kato Plateia). The Upper Square is adorned with architectural gems like the Maitland Monument, the Venetian fountain, the Music Pavilion or "Palko" and the monument commemorating the Union of the Ionian Islands with Greece. The Lower Square is dominated by the cricket pitch. The square's name derives from

52-616: A British protectorate, the " United States of the Ionian Islands ", which existed until the islands were united with the Kingdom of Greece in 1864. John Stuart, Count of Maida Lieutenant-General Sir John Stuart, Count of Maida , GCB (1759 – 1815) was a British Army officer and nobleman who served during the Napoleonic Wars . Stuart was born in Georgia , the son of Colonel John Stuart , superintendent of Indian affairs in

78-667: A Russian protectorate comprising the seven Ionian Islands , was occupied by the First French Empire in accordance with the Treaty of Tilsit . The French annexed the Republic but maintained most of its institutions for local governance. In 1809–10, the British occupied the southernmost islands, leaving only Corfu , Paxoi , and the mainland exclave of Parga in French hands. The British also imposed

104-669: A naval blockade on the French-ruled islands, which began to suffer from famine. Finally, the British occupied Paxoi in late 1813 and Parga in March 1814. Following the Abdication of Napoleon , the French governor-general in Corfu, François-Xavier Donzelot , capitulated and the French garrison was evacuated. In 1815, the islands became a British protectorate, the United States of the Ionian Islands . In

130-546: A series of minor skirmishes, returned to Sicily as he felt his force was too weak to go onto a full offensive against Masséna's foothold in Naples. After besieging and taking the castle of Scylla , the force returned to Messina . Besides the dignity of Count of Maida from the court of Palermo , Stuart received the thanks of parliament and an annuity of £1,000, as well as the KCB . Superseded by two other generals, Henry Fox and John Moore ,

156-524: Is one of the most central and popular sites of the city and a tourist destination. 39°37′23″N 19°55′30″E  /  39.623°N 19.925°E  / 39.623; 19.925 French rule in the Ionian Islands (1807%E2%80%931814) The Second period of French rule in the Ionian Islands ( Greek : Δεύτερη Γαλλοκρατία των Επτανήσων ) began in August 1807, when the Septinsular Republic ,

182-623: The Treaty of Tilsit , concluded in July 1807, Russia ceded the Septinsular Republic to Napoleonic France. On 20 August, French troops landed on Corfu, followed three days later by General César Berthier , who received control of the islands from the Russian admiral Dmitry Senyavin . As the Russians departed, French troops replaced them in all islands, as well as the mainland dependency of Parga . Finally, on 1 September, contrary to his instructions to preserve

208-469: The British major Richard Church played a particularly important role. Despite strong French resistance, the garrison surrendered on 16 April. On 29 May 1810, on the Paxoi islands a pro-British uprising broke out. The rebels evicted the small French garrison, raised the British flag, and attacked French sympathizers on the islands. However, British troops failed to arrive, and the French in Corfu quickly suppressed

234-459: The Ionian Islands' liberty and independence. Due to the small size of the French garrisons, the British quickly occupied Zakynthos and Cephalonia (4 October), Ithaca (8 October), and Kythera (12 October), installing provisional administrations according to the existing laws. The first major military operation was against Lefkada , in April 1810, where Greek auxiliaries under Theodoros Kolokotronis and

260-523: The Islands' constitution, Berthier as Governor-General declared the annexation of the Septinsular Republic to France. Berthier moved swiftly to abolish the Republic's attributes as an independent state: the French flag was raised, all public officials and soldiers took an oath of allegiance to Napoleon, the embassies and agencies of the Republic abroad were abolished, and all domestic bodies apart from

286-488: The Republic was retained largely along the lines of the 1803 Constitution, including the Ionian Senate (although its members were now appointed rather than elected), but the administration was overseen by a Governor-General and an Imperial Commissioner, with Julien Bessières the first to occupy the latter post. The British had reacted to the French takeover of the islands by a naval blockade, which impeded both trade and

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312-588: The Septinsular Republic had been suspended but not abolished under the French and British occupations, tried to advocate for the independence of the Islands in the Congress of Vienna , but Campbell refused to accept this view, holding that the Republic had ceased to exist after Tilsit, and regarding the French-appointed Senate as not representative of the Ionian people. In the end, the Ionian Islands were formed into

338-448: The Venetian word for "open flat area", during the four centuries of Venetian rule in the island of Corfu. Its final construction dates back to the temporary French occupation of the Ionian islands and Corfu during the Napoleonic Wars . The "cricket court", a large park area, occupies a large section of the square. The love of the city inhabitants for cricket is of British origin, from the period of British domination (1814-1864). It

364-602: The advancing troops of Masséna but Gaeta still held out for King Ferdinand and Masséna's main force became locked up in the siege of this fortress . Stuart, who was in temporary command, realized the weakness of the French position in Calabria and on 1 July 1806 swiftly disembarked all his available forces in the Gulf of Saint Euphemia . On the 4th the British force, 4,800 strong, won the celebrated victory of Maida over Reynier's army. After this success, Stuart marched south and after

390-473: The courts and the Ionian Senate as well. These measures annoyed Napoleon, who replaced Berthier as Governor-General with François-Xavier Donzelot . His chief task, according to the instructions sent by Napoleon, was to defend the islands, and above all Corfu, against the mounting British threat. In November 1807, Napoleon regulated the administration of the new French possessions: the internal structure of

416-549: The effects of the British blockade, which became official on 10 November 1810. During the French occupation of the islands, the French Imperial Army and French Imperial Navy provided protection, though local units were raised in the area. The naval element was provided by the local French Adriatic Squadron ( Escadron Adriatique ), an ad-hoc sub-component of the French Mediterranean Fleet. This squadron

442-442: The failure to relieve Colonel Hudson Lowe at Capri , the expedition against Murat's gunboats in the bay of Naples and the second siege of Scylla. The various attempts made by Murat to cross the straits uniformly failed, though on one occasion the French actually obtained a footing in the island. A. G. Macdonell in his 1934 book Napoleon and His Marshals describes Stuart as "a dawdling, incompetent and evil-minded man", but it

468-560: The final action in Egypt with the surrender of Alexandria . After two years in command of a brigade in Kent , Stuart went with Sir James Craig to the Mediterranean. The British were employed, along with Lacy's Russians, in the defence of the kingdom of Naples but Austerlitz led to the recall of the Russian contingent, and the British soon afterwards evacuated Italy. Thus exposed, Naples fell to

494-443: The islands: Finally, Paxoi was occupied by the British in early 1813, followed by Parga on 22 March 1814, after a popular uprising evicted the French. Corfu held out until the first downfall of Napoleon and the restoration of Louis XVIII : The armistice of 23 April [ O.S. 11 April] 1814 obliged the French to evacuate Corfu. In June, Donzelot surrendered the island to Campbell. The Ionian Senate, declaring that

520-465: The latter of whom was his junior, Stuart came home in 1806. A year later, now a lieutenant-general, he received the Mediterranean command which he held until 1810. His operations were confined to south Italy where Murat , king of Naples, held the mainland whereas the British and Sicilian troops (along with some Neapolitan exiles) held Sicily for the Bourbon king. Of the events of this time may be mentioned

546-460: The southern district, and a prominent loyalist in the War of Independence . Educated at Westminster School , young Stuart entered the 3rd Foot Guards in 1778, and almost immediately returned to America with his regiment. He was present at the siege of Charleston , the battles of Camden and Guilford court-house , and the surrender of Yorktown , returning a regimental lieutenant and an army captain, as

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572-480: The supply of the islands. The resulting hardships, and the activities of British agents, inflamed anti-French sentiments, and some Ionian captains petitioned the British commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, John Stuart , for aid in expelling the French from the islands. Indeed, in October 1809 a British expeditionary force under Brigadier John Oswald arrived at Zakynthos, and issued a proclamation promising to restore

598-509: The tide turned against the allies, he shared with his guards in the discomforts of the retreat. As a brigadier-general he served in Portugal in 1796, and in Minorca in 1799. At Alexandria , in 1801, his handling of his brigade called forth special commendation in general orders, and a year later he became substantive major-general. He then went on to take part in the siege of Cairo and following this

624-721: The uprising. The British established a Governor-General in Zakynthos (General Oswald until 1810, General George Airey until 1813, and General Sir James Campbell after). Each island was governed by a Governor with a five-member Executive Council, and a local legislative assembly, the Administrative Body. While the British-controlled islands returned to normality, the French-held islands of Corfu and Paxoi, under Donzelot and Imperial Commissioner Mathieu de Lesseps , suffered from

650-537: Was based in Naples , the capital of the client Kingdom of Naples , and maintained a forward base in Corfu. However, the Mediterranean Fleet had much trouble supplying the island, usually leaving the island only lightly guarded with a couple of corvettes and gunboats . Local ground forces were provided by several auxiliary units, local militia, and armed citizenry. Below is the list of units which were formed within

676-561: Was then usual in the Guards. Ten years later, as captain and lieutenant-colonel, he was present with the Duke of York's army in the Netherlands and in northern France. He took part in the sieges and battles of the 1793 campaign, Valenciennes , Lincelles, Dunkirk and Lannoy . The following year, now at the head of his battalion, he was present at Landrecies and at Pont-a-Chin or Tournay , and when

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