ABSTRACT
By the 1870s the dwindling of the Chiot network and its replacement by Ionian shipowners and merchants was evident. The archival material presents us with new names, new shipowners and merchants, the largest number of whom came from the Ionian islands. The Ionian network lasted from the 1870s to the beginning of the 1900s and covered the transitional period not only from sail to steam but also from a combined profession to specialisation. By the beginning of the twentieth century the final exodus from commercial activities and a specialisation in shipowning was evident. The most successful shipowning families of the twentieth century were directly linked with the Ionian network.
