the latest. On September 26, before the inquiry had finished, the Conference of Ambassadors awarded Italy an indemnity of 50,000,000 lire, on the alleged ground that "the Greek authorities had been guilty of a certain negligence before and after the crime." In addition, Italy demanded from Greece 1,000,000 lire per day for the cost of the occupation of Corfu and Conference of the Ambassadors replied that Italy reserved the right of recourse to an International Court of Justice in connection with the occupation expenses. In Greece there was a general depression over the decision, because Italy obtained practically everything she demanded. Harold Nicolson, a first secretary in the central department of the Foreign Office said: "In response to the successive menaces of M. Mussolini we muzzled the League, we imposed the fine on Greece without evidence of her guilt and without reference to the Hague, and we disbanded the Commission of Enquiry. A settlement was thus achieved." Corfu evacuation On September 27 the Italian flag was lowered and the Italian troops evacuated Corfu. The Italian fleet and a Greek destroyer saluted the Italian flag, and when the Greek flag hoisted, the Italian flagship saluted it. 40,000 residents of Corfu welcomed the prefect when he landed, and shouldered him to the prefecture. British and French flags were waved by the crowd which demonstrated enthusiastically in front of the Anglo-French consulates. The Italian squadron had been ordered to remain anchored till Italy received the 50 million lire. The 50,000,000 lire deposited in a Swiss bank were at the disposal of The Hague Tribunal and the bank refused to transfer the money to Rome without the authority of the Greek National Bank, which was given on the evening of the same day. On September 30, the Italian fleet, except one destroyer, departed. Aftermath The reputation of Mussolini in Italy was enhanced. In Corfu during the first quarter of the 20th century, many Italian operas were performed at the Municipal Theatre of Corfu. This tradition came to a halt following the Corfu incident. After the bombardment, the theatre featured Greek operas as well as Greek theater performances by distinguished Greek actors such as Marika Kotopouli and . Conclusion The ulterior motive for the invasion was Corfu's strategic position at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea. The crisis was the first major test for the League of Nations but the League failed it. It showed