IONIAN ISLANDS. 



685 



landed property of the kingdom. There are 27 archbisliops, 93 bisJiops, 410 abbots and pri- 

 ors, 60,000 secular priests, and about 70,000 monks and nuns. 



15. Education. There are 3 universities, at Naples, Palermo, and Catania, and in all the 

 principal towns both of Naples and Sicily there are lyceums for preparatory instruction, and 

 especially for classical studies. Some primary schools have been established in Sicily, but the 

 common people are extremely ignorant, being rarely able to read. 



16. History. This part of Italy was anciently occupied by Greek colonies, who covered 

 it with flourishing and splendid cities. It afterward formed part of the Roman Empire, and 

 subsequentl}' undei'went various vicissitudes, and belonged to diflerent foreign powers. The 

 Norman knights who expelled the Greeks and Saracens from tins countiy in the 11th century, 

 were the founders of the kingdom of Naples. Roger the Second, in 1130 assumed the title 

 of King of Naples and Sicily. The better to contirm his title he received the kingdom as a 

 feif from the Pope. From this period till within a few years, the Roman Pontiff" has received 

 an annual fee of a horse and a purse of ducats, as an acknowledgment of liege duty from the 

 king of Naples. The sovereignty was even transferred by the Pope to the Plouse of Anjou. 

 Sicily came into the hands of the king of Arragon in t!ie 13th century, and the two countries 

 were divided for some lime. Ferdinand the Catholic conquered Naples, and for two centuries 

 the united kingdom remained a Spanish province. Naples fell to Austjia at the peace of 

 Utrecht, but was re-conquered by Spain, and in 1759 became an independent kingdom under a 

 Spanish prince. The French revolution caused the establishment of the Parthenopeian Re- 

 public at Naples, in 1799, but this was quickly overthrown. Napoleon gave the kingdom of 

 Naples to his brother Joseph, in 1806, and transferred it to his brother-in-law Murat, in 1808, 

 but the year of Waterloo restored the ancient king. In 1820 a constitution was accepted and 

 sworn to by the king, but an Austrian army abolished it at the point of the bayonet. 



CHAPTER LXXXVIII. THE IONIAN ISLANDS, MALTA, AND GOZZO. 



Ionian Republic. This republic consists of several islands,* lying near the coast of Greece 

 and Albania, between 35° 50' and 39° 57' N. latitude. They contain 1,000 square miles, 

 and 240,000 inhabitants. The republic is in fact a dependency of Great Britain, having been 

 placed under the immediate protection of that power by the Congress of Vienna, in 1815. 

 There is a legislative assembly consisting of representatives from the several islands, but their 

 acts are subjected to the approbation of a British Lord High Commissioner. The British also 

 maintain garrisons in all the fortresses, and all the military forces of the republic are under the 

 direction of the British commander-in-chief. The inhabitants are Greeks, with some Italians 

 and Jews. The climate is mild, and the olive, lemon, orange, and fig flourish throughout the 

 year. The revenue of the republic is about 450,000 dollars ; the national militia, 4,500 men, 

 and the British troops in the different garrisons amount to 2,4G0. 



Corfu. This island is the PlicrMcia sung by Ilomer ; it is separated from the mainland of 

 Albania by a strait 6 miles in width, obstructed by shoals. It is 60 miles in length and 30 in 

 extreme breadth, and contains a population of 70,000. The chief wealth consists in olive 

 trees, of which the islands contain 3,000,000. The oil yearly exported amounts to 300,000 

 jars, containing 33 pounds each. Corn and wine are also produced in small quantities. The 

 town of Corfu contains 15,000 inhabitants, and has a harbor strongly fortified. Here is a col- 

 lege with a library of 30,000 volumes. Paxo lies 8 miles southeast of Corfu. It is 7 miles 

 long and 3 broad, and nearly covered with olive trees. It has some commerce and a j»opulation 

 of 4,000. 



Santa Maura is the ancient Leucadia ; the channel which separates it from the continent is 

 only 50 paces broad, and was cut by the Carthaginians or Corinthians. The island is 50 miles 

 in compass, and contains 22,000 inhabitants. Aniaxiki, the principal town, has a population ot 

 5,500. Cephalonia is the largest of the group ; it is 40 miles in length and 30 in mean breadth, 

 containing 364 square miles and 70,000 inhabitants. A lofty ridge passes across it, one of the 

 peaks of which is 4,000 feet in height. Oil, muscadine wine, cotton and honey are produced 

 here, and the inhabitants have some manufactures. Argostoli^ its capital, has 5,000 inhabitants. 



* Corfu, Paxo, Santa Maura, Ithaca, Cephalonia, Zantf^, Cerigo, Merleia, Fan", Anfipaxo, Calamo, Meganisi, Ce- 

 ngotto 



