434 P A R G A. 
of juftice and humanity. A plain ftatement, therefore, 
of the proceedings refpeCting Parga, collected from officers 
on the fpot, and from fuch official documents as have been 
made public, will, we are confident, convince every un¬ 
prejudiced mind, that a feeling of kindnefs for the in¬ 
habitants of Parga influenced every meafure of the Britifli 
government; and that the fame principle invariably 
guided the conduCl of fir Thomas Maitland, on whom 
devolved the difficult and delicate talk of carrying thefe 
meafures into execution. 
The prefent town of Parga had no exiftence before the 
irruption of the Mahometans into Greece, which hap¬ 
pened about the end of the fourteenth century, though 
it is pretended that its name was taken from fome former 
town called Hypargos, on account of its dependance on 
Argos. According to Miletius, Paleo-Parga, or Old 
Parga, contained a greater number of inhabitants than 
any other in the Thefprotian divilion of Epirus; but of 
this, etiam periere ruince. The hifiory of the prefent Par- 
ganotes,Parguinotes, orPargiotes, as they are called by dif¬ 
ferent writers, can be traced only to the period of the inva- 
fion of Greece by Mahomet II. when the inhabitants of this 
part of the coalt and the neighbouring villages fortified 
themfelves, in the ftrongeft pofition which their country 
afforded, againft the Turks; and, after the immediate 
■ danger had parted away, built the town on the rock where 
the fort now ftands, and furrounded it with a wall. This 
rock juts into the Ionian Sea, oppofite the fouthern end 
of Corfu, or the northern extremity of Paxo, and is about 
240 feet in height; on its futnmit ftands a building wdiich 
is ufually called the citadel. The town confifts of one 
ftreet, and a few narrow lanes ; the houfes are extremely 
poor, but have a pretty appearance, from being perched 
on the doping fide of a hill. The extent of the territory 
of Parga is about fix miles along the coaft, and generally 
about two in depth ; the landfcape is beautiful, and affords 
every-where the mod piCturefque fcenery. With the ex¬ 
ception of the rock, it may almoft be faid to confift of one 
continued olive-grove, interfperfed, however, with gar¬ 
dens, orchards of orange and lime trees, and little cot¬ 
tages, which, with here and there a tall cyprefs towering 
above the reft, give a lively variety and a pleating anima¬ 
tion to the picture. The tides of the hills are planted 
with vineyards, and the open fpaces prod uce a little wheat 
and Indian corn, fufficient for about four months con- 
fumption of the population ; the remainder of their grain 
being partly purchafed with the little returns of their 
oil, oranges, &c. from the Adriatic, and partly from the 
territories of Ali Pallia. The inhabitants juftly boaft of 
the purity and falubrity of the water and air of their 
country. 
The ftate of lioftility which has always prevailed be¬ 
tween the Parguinotes and the Turks, has rendered them 
brave, and has familiarized them to arms and dangers. 
They are temperate, and commonly attain an advanced 
age. The men are in general ftrong and robuft, rather 
above the middle fize ; their coftume is that of the Greek 
Iflanders; it confifts of an embroidered jacket, large 
breeches of blue cloth, and the head is covered with a 
red fkull-cap. They wear mu-ftachios, and are generally 
armed with a mufket, a pair of piftols, a dagger, and a 
fabre. “The women of Parga are generally handfome; 
their drefs is a jacket of cloth or filk, embroidered, or 
trimmed with gold, with a long plaited petticoat. The 
hair is intertwined with a double cord of red filk, and 
gracefully fattened up behind. When they appear in 
public, they cover the head with a coloured handkerchief, 
which conceals the antique elegance of this coeffure. The 
wives and daughters of the principal inhabitants retort 
daily to procure water fordomeftic ufe, to a fountain (St. 
Trifon), about a mile from the town. They regard this 
exercile as a recreation, and it would be difficult to make 
them renounce fo favourite a cuftom. Few fights can be 
more piCturefque than thefe groups of women, among 
groves of olive and orange trees, bearing vafes of ele¬ 
gant forms on their heads.” This is the defcription of 
the Chev. de Boffet; but thefe happy days are now no 
more. 
At the time above mentioned, the Lion of St. Mark 
defended the coaft and'iflands of the Adriatic and Archi¬ 
pelago ; and the Parganotes, to enfure their el'cape from 
the bondage of the Turks, placed themfelves, in 1401, 
under the protection of the Venetians, by whofe power¬ 
ful aid they were enabled by degrees to extend their ter¬ 
ritory to its prefent boundary. This traCl was, at that 
time, and till very lately, furrounded by hordes of ma¬ 
rauders, held under no rule but that of adventitious cir- 
cumftances, though nominally fubjeCt to Turkey. The 
valour of the Parganotes concurring with the obvious in- 
tereftof the Venetians to preferve one well-affeCted ally 
in that turbulent neighbourhood, bound the latter to a 
faithful obfervance of ftipulations, which, in other cir- 
cumftances, they were accuftomed to violate with very 
little fcruple. On the 21ft day of March, 1401, the treaty 
of federation, thus Angularly fulfilled, was firft fubfcribed 
and fworn to between the two ftates. For the protection 
of the weaker power, it was agreed that the Venetians 
ffiould maintain a body of Italian or Sclavonian troops 
within the walls of Parga; but, to prevent the abufe of 
a power thus dangeroufly polled, it was folemnly itipu- 
lated, that the Pargiots (hould govern themfelves freely 
and independently, according to the law's and conftitu- 
tions of their anceftors, and by judges and magiftrates of 
their own election ; that they ffiould not be liable to ferve 
by fea or land, in the militia or galleys of Venice, nor to 
engage in any war but in defence of their own territory 
and the Venetian fettlements in Albania ; that they ffiould 
pay no taxes nor cuftoms on export or import, and be 
chargeable only with half the ordinary duties when tra¬ 
ding to the ports of Venice. This treaty was again con¬ 
firmed, with the fame folemnities, in Auguft 1447 ; and 
obferved, to the mutual fatisfaCtion of both parties, till 
the end of that century. In 1500, in fpite of the Vene¬ 
tian affiftance, the city was burned by the Turks; and 
again in 1560. On this laft occafion, the inhabitants were 
maffacred or difperfed, and the whole territory laid wafte 
and defolate. The fcattered remnant of its people took 
ffieltes - among the wandering tribes of the neighbouring 
mountains, but, by little and little, ventured back to 
their ancient poffeffions; and, after feveral years, came 
at length to rebuild their houfes and temples on the fpot 
where their anceftors had fallen. They then fent depu¬ 
ties to Venice to demand their affiftance, and the renewal 
of their ancient alliance; requefting, among other things, 
that the fenate would affift in fortifying their city, and 
would alfo lend them a fum of money to enable the poor¬ 
er part of the citizens to rebuild their habitations. The 
lenate was not only juft, but generous. It undertook the 
whole expenfe of ereCting the fortifications ; and, infte3d 
of a loan from its treafury, it fent, as a free gift, the re- 
quifite materials for the conftruCtion of their houfes. 
When the particular points of the embaffy were adjulted, 
a new charter, ratifying and confirming all the former 
treaties, was regularly figned on the 5th of February, 
1571. It was afterw’ards repeatedly renewed, and was 
alwtays religioufly fulfilled, not only in its letter, but its 
fpirit, till the final extinction of Venice by the ambition of 
France and Auftriain 1797. 
At that time the French, after breaking up the Vene¬ 
tian republic, took porteffion of the Ionian Iflands, and, 
at the fame time, of Parga, and four other fortified fta- 
tions in its neighbourhood ; namely, Butrinto, Gome- 
nitza, Vonitza, and Previfa. Parga was fituated in the 
middle of thefe four places, and was, as it w'ere, the key- 
Itone of the whole range. In the following year, when a 
coalition was formed againft France by England, Rulfia, 
and the Ottoman Porte, the Ionian Iflands furrendered 
to the allied fleets of Ruflia and Turkey ; and Butrinto, 
Vonitza, and Previfa, fell into the han'cls of Ali Paffia, 
who is faid to have committed dreadful daughter on the 
1 French, 
