Britain sought the Ionian Islands chiefly to deny France a useful eastern Mediterranean base, then held them as a protectorate before their transfer to Greece in 1864. This strategic role did not automatically produce economic revival because British trade followed global ocean routes rather than rebuilding the old Levantine system. Steamships and the Suez Canal further reduced the need for sailing vessels to stop where winds and replenishment once dictated. Limited commercial return then made major investment difficult to justify. Corfu nevertheless retains the physical evidence of the fortifications and maritime struggles that made it so important.
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Corfu's long strategic legacy
British control protected Mediterranean strategy but did not restore the old trade economy, leaving the islands with a complex legacy before union with Greece.