Septinsular Republic The Septinsular Republic ( , ) was an island republic that existed from 1800 to 1807 under nominal Ottoman sovereignty in the Ionian Islands . It was the first time Greeks had been granted even limited self - government since the fall of the last remnants of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans in the mid - 15th century . Whilst a part of the First French Empire , the republic was known in French as ' or ' . The seven islands constituting the Republic were : Background . By the late 18th century , the Ionian Islands had been under Venetian authority for centuries . With the Treaty of Leoben ( 18 April 1797 ) , the French Republic gained the islands , a move finalised with the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio , which formally abolished the Venetian state . The islands now formed part of the départements Mer - Égée , Ithaque and Corcyre . The arrival of the French sparked great enthusiasm among the islands ' inhabitants , and was marked by acts such as the burning of the " Libro d ' Oro " , the abolition of aristocratic privileges and the adoption of the French Constitution of 1795 . The French then proceeded to strengthen the defences of Corfu . By the end of the 18th century , it was the strongest fort in Europe , with more than a thousand French cannons placed on its walls . Despite several progressive measures adopted by the French administration , heavy taxation and the undisciplined behaviour of French soldiers soon alienated the population . This discontent was used by a joint Russo - Ottoman force under Admiral Ushakov to evict the French from the islands . In March 1799 , the city of Corfu fell after a four - month siege , ending French rule . This was the beginning of the Septinsular Republic . Administration . In 1800 , the so - called " Byzantine " Constitution was approved in Constantinople by the Sultan , establishing the Septinsular Republic as a tributary state to the Ottoman Empire . The winged Lion of St . Mark on its flag indicated that it was supposed to be a successor state to the Venetian Republic , recently abolished by Napoleon . In fact , political power was exercised more by murder and vendetta than through the Senate . The Republic according to the first article of the constitution is " one and aristocratic " — original text : " " The Republic existed practically as a Russian protectorate largely because the population saw the Russians as their Orthodox co - religionists . The political experience of administering the Republic was hugely important for the young Ioannis Kapodistrias , who thereby attracted Russian patronage , and would later became the first governor of independent Greece . Jervis gives a copy of the constitution ( presumably the second ) in his book . The franchise was restricted to males of legitimate Christian birth on the islands , who did not keep a shop or practise any mechanical art and could read and write . They also required a minimum yearly income which varied between the islands from 1800 ducats on Corfu to 315 ducats on Ithaca . People with the franchise are normally referred to as nobles , but this term probably exaggerates their wealth . In secret articles of the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit , they were ceded by Russia to Napoleon ' s French Empire , an expeditionary force led by general taking control of the islands in August 1807 . Unlike their Adriatic neighbour the Illyrian provinces , the Seven Islands were not annexed by France , keeping their institutions of government and the Ionian Senate , under the occupation of French forces led by Governors General Berthier and , after March 1808 , . Languages . The official language was at first the Italian language and then in 1803 Greek became , along with Italian , one of the two official languages of the Republic . During the Venetian period , Italian was used for official purposes in the islands but it was also widely spoken in the cities , whereas in the countryside people continued to speak Greek . The only island in which Italian ( Venetian ) had a wider spread was Cefalonia , where a greater number of people had adopted Venetian as their first language . The constitution of the Septinsular Republic was printed in Greek by the patriarchal press in Constantinople , using many loanwords from Italian for technical terms . However , the new constitution approved in 1803 was drafted in Italian . The text of the constitution is prefaced by the report of the committee that drafted it , which states that : " the noble , rich and harmonious Hellenic dialect , having been exiled by the Venetians , should be recalled to the dominion and become the language of administration and the interpreter of the active citizens . " This issue was considered to be so important that it was even given a separate article ( Art . 211 ) in the constitution . According to the article , Greek was scheduled to replace Italian as the working language in public acts by the year 1820 . Religion . Most of the people on these islands during this period were Christians , with a small number of Jews on Corfu , Zante and even smaller on Cefalonia . The majority were Eastern Orthodox . However , there was a significant number of Catholics , especially on Corfu , Zante and Kefalonia . The Constitution of 1803 , recognized Orthodoxy as the dominant faith ; it also states that the Roman Catholic faith is recognized and protected . The Constitution also provides for the enactment of a law defining the privileges of the Jews residing in the State . Aftermath . In 1809 – 10 , the British took all the islands except Corfu , where a French garrison persisted until 1814 . In the Treaty of Paris of November 5 , 1815 , the islands were formed into the " United States of the Ionian Islands " under British protection . The colonial government lasted for half a century until 1864 , when the islands were gifted to the Kingdom of Greece .