The Venetians briefly held Lefkada between 1500 and 1503, during the Ottoman-Venetian War, after which it was returned to Ottoman rule by peace treaty Ottoman rule was interrupted by Venice in 1684, with the Ottomans surrendering it after a 16-day siege, and was thus again part of the Ionian Islands under Venetian rule.
In 1800, the Septinsular Republic was established, a Russian protectorate under de jure Ottoman suzerainty. The Russian Empire employed troops recruited from fugitive klephts and armatoloi in the Ioanian Islands, particularly of Lefkada. Among these were captains Anastasios Tselios and Apostolos Levendakis, the latther who already in 1802 offered to raise a company of 60 fighters on Lefkada to support the Russians.
The Venetian domination ended in 1797 when Napoleon Bonaparte and his troops conquered Venice; with the treaty of Kamboformio, the island of Lefkada became part of the French State. In 1799 the allied fleet of the Turks, the Russian and the English won over the French and conquered Lefkada. The Ionian State was established in Constantinople on March 1800, with the aim to create the Septinsular Republic. The attempt failed in 1807 because the island returned under French rule. This period was a period of prosperity and great agricultural improvements for the island. In the meantime the English started occupying the other Ionian Islands and managed to occupy Lefkada in 1810. This occupation became official with the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1815.
During the English domination, the Greek language became official, new road networks were built and the town's water supply was organized and improved. The official English occupation didn't last for long but the English Protection of the Ionian Islands lasted until 1864. During the English rule and Protection, Lefkada and the other Ionian Islands helped the rest of Greece which was still under Turkish rule. This period also allowed inspiration for many writers such as Yakumo Koizumi also known as Lafcadio Hearn and Angelos Sikelianos. In the 21st May of 1864, a treaty was signed proclaiming the unification of the Ionian Islands (among which is Lefkada) with the independent and newly born Greek State. Source: www.greeka.com