The encounter between Greek and Venetian civilisations was evolved over a long period of time, involving complex issues such as war and peace, the urgent needs of military organisation, and everyday aspects of civilian administration. For the Serenissima, Corfù, Candia, Cyprus, and Morea did not simply represent territories of occupation, however successful, but symbolised instead moments in which the Venetian government was questioning its own fortunes and destiny. Reform projects often failed and new ideas in the organisation of the military sector were then emerging in this part of the Mediterranean world.

Far more significant than legendary battles, when civilisations meet it means complex combinations of motives: from the use of language to production methods, law to urban organisation. These encounters can often turn into violent conflict, and there were, for example, periods of bitter resistance when the upper classes of Candia and Corfù defied the governors' attempts to make the taxation system more efficient. An example of this is the anti-Venetian uprising that set the Ionian islands ablaze in the mid-seventeenth century.