Summary:
The subject of this thesis is the policy of the inhabitants of the Aegean islands during the Greek Revolution and their contribution to its eventual success.
The book consists of 334 pages and is based on published and unpublished sources. The published material includes archival sources, such as the archive of the community of Hydra, the archives of the Greek Renaissance, works by Greek and foreign historians, articles published in magazines and newspapers of the time as well as memoirs of the revolutionaries themselves.
The dissertation is divided into five Chapters. In the preface and introduction, an attempt is made to introduce the reader to the topic of the thesis. In the first Chapter, an outline is given of the system of local self-government that was in force in the Cyclades, but also in Hydra, Spetses, Psara and Samos whose role in the development of the Revolution was decisive. During the final years of the Turkish occupation internal conflicts were observed on some islands due to the rivalries caused by social and religious differences, but also personal aspirations, while on some islands the rival factions, differed both religiously and socially. Then there is reference to the significant commercial development that some of them displayed during the same period. Finally, reference is made to the preparation of the rRevolution by the Society of Friends, and emphasis is placed on the participation of the islanders in it.
In the second chapter, the political changes brought about by the Revolution are presented in as much detail as possible. The establishment of the Greek Administration, and the new system of local self-government that it established, limited the regime of broad autonomy enjoyed by most of the islands and became a source of conflict. This chapter also gives an insight into the reactions of local leaders against the central Greek Administration, which was seen by them as a threat to their power although its representatives were often forced to cooperate with one of the pre-existing factions.
The third Chapter is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the relations between the leading groups of Hydra, Spetses and Psara which had assumed the burden of the naval struggle; both their partnerships at the economic and political level and the break-up of the alliances between them which inevitably led to conflict. The second part examines the involvement of Hydra, Spetses and Psara in the interior of other islands as well as the inter-dependence they had with them. Their fleet, consisting of the squadrons of the three islands, had the task of protecting the remaining islands from the enemy fleet in exchange for the provision of money to maintain the number of ships necessary for the continuation of the war operations, in addition to intervening as organs of the central Administration to quell the frequent riots that broke out on those islands.
In the fourth chapter, an overview of the judicial system applied in revolutionary Greece, and especially in the islands, is given. The connection between the failure of the authorities in charge to implement the law and the internal controversies mentioned in previous chapters is examined.
The phenomenon of piracy is discussed in the fifth chapter: its spread during the last years of the Revolution, which resulted in the economic devastation of the islanders, the dissolution of the social fabric of life with pirates becoming the real masters of most of the islands, and the loss of prestige of both the central Administration and the leadership of Hydra, Spetses and Psara. The thesis closes with a short epilogue in which the conclusions are set out.
Keywords:
History, of, the, Creek, Revolution
