Septinsular Republic

Republic of the Seven Islands Ἑπτάνησος Πολιτεία (Greek) Heptanēsos Politeía Repubłega Setensułare (Venetian) Repubblica Settinsulare (Italian) Септинсулярная республика (Russian) Septinsulyarnaya respublika
1800–1807
Flag Emblem
The Republic's territory extended to the seven main islands plus the smaller islets of the Ionian Sea
Status	Protectorate of the Russian and the Ottoman Empires1
Capital	Corfu
Official languages	Greek Italian
Government	Aristocratic/oligarchic republic
Prince2
• 1800–02 (first)	Count Spyridon Georgios Theotokis
Historical era	Early modern
• Russo-Ottoman occupation	1799
• Established	2 April [O.S. 21 March] 1800
• 1st constitution	1 November 1800
• 2nd constitution	23 November 1803
• 3rd constitution	27 December 1806 (not implemented)
• Ceded to France	20 August 1807
• British Protectorate	5 November 1815
Currency	Septinsular gazeta
Preceded by Succeeded by First period of French rule in the Ionian Islands Second period of French rule in the Ionian Islands
Today part of	Greece
Formally under Ottoman suzerainty; under the de facto protection of the Russian Empire According to the 1803 Constitution the President of the Ionian Senate receives the title of the Prince (Principo, Πρίγκηψ) and is head of state.

The Septinsular Republic (Greek: Ἑπτάνησος Πολιτεία, romanized: Heptanēsos Politeia; Venetian: Repubłega Setensułare; Italian: Repubblica Settinsulare) was an oligarchic republic that existed from 1800 to 1807 under nominal Russian and Ottoman sovereignty in the Ionian Islands (Corfu, Paxoi, Lefkada, Cephalonia, Ithaca, Zakynthos (Zante in English), and Kythira).

The Republic was established after a joint Russo-Ottoman fleet captured the islands and ended a two-year rule by the French Republic. Although the islanders had hoped for complete independence, the new state was granted only autonomy, becoming tributary to the Ottoman Porte, and de facto under Russian domination. Nevertheless, it was the first time Greeks had been granted self-government since the fall of the last remnants of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans in the mid-15th century. In 1807, the republic was ceded to Napoleon's French Empire, but the islands kept their institutions of government. The British gradually took control of the islands from 1809 on, and following the Treaty of Paris, the islands were formally organised into the United States of the Ionian Islands under British protection.