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

Holland and Markides's examination of the cession places it within the wider
European, and particularly Greek, context. They examine the diplomacy which
occurred between Britain and Greece, with a thorough analysis of the moves and
strategies devised by the Foreign Office and Greece and how Britain ensured its
influence in choosing their candidate for the Greek throne. They also connect the
debates about cession with Balkan issues and Eastern question policies, providing
new perspectives on the geopolitical importance of the cession. Holland and
Markides's examination adds more contextual depth to the already existing
historiography on the issue, but they do not view the cession as “purely British
policy”. Their examination of Storks’s tenure is viewed as a reaction to nationalist
radicals and they do not analyse Storks’s colonial background and policies. Holland
and Markides maintain that Storks approved the cession, but discount his attempts to
prevent it from occurring or to create policies that would maintain authoritarian
colonial rule in the Septinsula. Although Holland and Markides's examination
provides an in depth and detailed analysis of the diplomatic discourse surrounding
the cession, in their consideration of the Islands they ignore the Colonial Office and
its continual attempts, even amidst the diplomacy, to look for solutions in making the
Islands governable for Britain.
Susan Farnsworth’s The Evolution of British Imperial Policy During the Mid-
Nineteenth Century: A Study of the Peelite Contribution 1846-1874 explores the
contribution of the Peelites to British imperial policy during the mid-nineteenth
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