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

candidate in Liverpool in 1832 and 1835. Although his Parliamentary career was not
advancing, he was able to continue his colonial career when he was appointed
governor of the Ionian Islands just before Lord Stanley left the Colonial Office.
There, his liberal and reformist social policies were in contradiction with his
conservative attitude to political reform.
Douglas’s reform agenda in the Septinsula: health, religion, education and law.
Douglas did not have a romanticised view of the Islands, although he did
admire their classical associations, which aroused “all the high and noble
sympathies” of a great European past. 33 He blamed the selfish Venetian occupation,
with its mismanagement and misrule, for the moral, social and political degradation
of Ionian society. 34 The Ionians could again “become a great Head of civilisation”
but only under the guiding hand of Britain’s enlightened protection. 35 As a result,
Douglas transferred his experiments with colonial policies in the Canadian colonies
to the Ionian Islands. Douglas, like his predecessors, attempted to improve the social
and physical infrastructure of the Islands. He also instituted reforms in the areas of
education, religion and law and fought for a more equitable trade agreement for the
Septinsula within the Empire. He believed his was a long-term civilising mission for
the Islands. He believed it was the duty of the protectors to teach Ionian people the
essential skills of survival and civilisation. 36 For example, he believed the heavily
fortified Corfu Town, capital of the British administration, was dangerous to the
33 Douglas to Glenelg, Private and Separate, 21 June 1838, CO 136/88.
34 Ibid.
35 Ibid.
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