Constructing Ionian identities: the Ionian Islands in British official ...

Chapter 3: Debating the reform of the Ionian Constitution of 1817 in Septinsula
during Nugent’s and Douglas’s administrations 1832-1841.
Introduction.
After Maitland’s death in 1824, it was important to entrust Britain’s
Mediterranean territories to a suitable successor. The seventy year old Lord Hastings,
protégé of George IV and former governor of India, became governor of Malta. 1
Maitland’s commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, Sir Frederick Adam, was
appointed Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands on 17 January 1824.
Adam, a Scottish aristocrat, had distinguished himself in the Peninsula campaigns
and at Waterloo. He was assisted by his former commander, Wellington, in obtaining
the post in the Ionian Islands. 2 As Maitland’s commander-in-chief, Adam was
familiar with his predecessor’s vision of Ionian government. 1824 was a critical year
in the war between the mainland Greek territories and the Ottoman Empire and there
were fears an international war might ignite at any moment. The Colonial Office felt
Adam had the necessary experience to protect Britain’s interests in the
Mediterranean.
Adam became Britain’s eyes and ears in the Mediterranean. 3 He employed
agents, collected information and circulated dispatches reporting on the warfare
between Greeks and Ottomans. Married to an Ionian aristocrat, Nina Palatianou, he
1 Laverla A. V., British Malta, Vol. I (1800-1872), (Malta, 1945), chapter XXII, pp. 125-131.
2 Thompson N., Earl Bathurst, p. 153.
3 On Adam, see Reumont A., Sir Frederick Adam.
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