Lefkas history

Leucada has been inhabited since Neolithic times, as the archaeological finds on the island attest. There are also artifacts from the Mycenaean period. In 640 B.C., that is, about 100 years after the colonization of Kerkyra, the Corinthians moved the colony to Lefkada. In the 4th century B.C., Lefkada was taken over by the Macedonians, after which it came under the rule of King Pyrrhus of Epirus and then the Romans.

The long and troubled Viznatian era ended in the 13th century, when the Franks (Western Europeans) established themselves on the island, who built the famous fortress of St. Maura, on the territory of which a monastery of the same name arose. From this monastery the island was renamed for several centuries as Agia Maura (Santa Maura).

Being very close to the coast of Western Greece, Lefkada was naturally attacked by the Turks and for many years was under their rule, which was not the case with the other Ionian islands. The Turkish rule began in 1479 and ended in 1684, when Lefkada was taken by the Venetians.

In 1797 the island was occupied by France and then by Russia. A new attempt by the Turks, led by Ali Pasha, to establish their domination here failed thanks to Ioannis Capodistria, who maintained contact with the Greek rebels in mainland Greece. The British protectorate, as it was called at first, which then also became an occupation, was established in 1815. About half a century later, in 1864, Lefkada was united with Greece along with the other Ionian islands.