Despite the more than 600 years of Western domination in the Ionian Islands, their geocultural space, their unvarnished Hellenism, the Ionian patriot scholars and intellectuals, who propagated abroad the Struggle of the enslaved Greeks, their active role in Filiki Etairia, the support of the Revolution with money, supplies, volunteer military corps, seal their important contribution to the liberation struggle of 1821.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
The Ionian Islands gave birth to Ioannis Kapodistrias, the Masters of the Genus Nikiforos Theotokis and Evgenios Voulgaris, Dionysios Solomos, Andreas Kalvos, Ioannis Zampelios, Dionysios Roma, Andreas Mustoxidis and many other patriotic intellectuals and activists.
The seven island fighters of the Revolution
Dr. Dimitris Metallinos, a lecturer at the Ionian University, points out to APE-MPE: “The Friendly Society with dozens of Ionian Islands as members, the hundreds of Ionian fighters and especially the iconic figure of Ioannis Kapodistrias, sum up the special contribution of the Greeks of the Ionian Islands in 1821.
Ioannis Kapodistrias, based in Switzerland, supported the rebel Greeks, materially and morally, together with his collaborators. His greatest contribution, however, lies in the diplomatic field, where he ensured the non-involvement of the Great Powers in the revolt of the enslaved Greeks, after he convinced them of the national and not class character of the Greek Revolution.
Ioannis Kapodistrias, the greatest of the Iptanesians and Neohellenians, will dedicate his entire public and private life to achieving the much-desired Freedom for his compatriots. Both as Secretary of State of the “Eptanisus State” in 1803, and as an executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire in the period 1807-1821, he will fight with all his might for the fulfillment of his national vision”.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
March 25th in Attica: Parades and events in the municipalities, dances and songs
Australia – Sydney: Grand parade and event for March 25 in front of the famous opera house [βίντεο]
From the archives at the Kapodistrias Museum in Corfu we derive important historical information about the Iptanisians of Agona. The director of the Museum, Daria Koskorou, quotes them to APE-MPE: Dionysios Romas was a jurist and diplomat from Zakynthos. His house will function as a center of the Philiki Etairia, offering asylum to fighters at the same time. Dionysios Romas participated in the cause of the liberation of the Greeks, offered part of his property to support the Agonists, managed money from Swiss, German, French Philhellenism, as well as contributions from the Iptanesians.
He also offered important help with his participation in the Zakynthos Committee which supported the Greek Revolution, sending munitions and food to Navarino and Messolonghi. To this end, he chartered the captains’ boats for constant expeditions, while he intervened to stop the conflicts between the chieftains. He even managed to organize volunteer corps of warriors. Because of his action, Romas was nominated to the 3rd National Assembly of Troizina for the position of Governor of Greece. However, he himself refused the proposal, as he strongly supported the election of Ioannis Kapodistrias, as the most suitable to undertake the organization of the newly established Greek state.
Andreas Moustoxydis, one of the most important personalities of Iptanesian scholarship, from a “noble” Corfu family, a close friend and collaborator of Ioannis Kapodistrias, played an important role, through his texts, in informing European scholars about the evolution of the Revolution. With letters and articles, he propagates the Greek Revolution abroad.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
In 1828, he will follow I. Kapodistrias to the liberated Greece, actively participating in the foundation of the new state. He organizes the administration of the Orphanage of Aegina, oversees the establishment of the National Printing Office, the Central School, while taking over as the first director of the National Library founded in 1829.
Ioannis Zampelios poet and judge from Lefkada, despite the positions offered to him in Italy and France, was determined to return to Lefkada, in order to support his homeland and work for its prosperity and progress. The words of Rigas, the liberal ideas of the French Revolution combined with his admiration for Greek antiquity, gradually changed the concept of the homeland within him. Over the years, this word, for him, did not represent only Lefkada or the Ionian Islands, but also all the places where Hellenism was found.
Ioannis Zampelios, practiced law until 1813 when he assumed the duties of Prosecutor. Soon he was actively involved in the cause of claiming national independence, offering refuge to those persecuted from Epirus and at the same time he made fundraisers for the preparation of the Struggle. In 1817, he was initiated into Filiki Etaireia and worked to spread its network throughout Lefkada. The Committee of Lefkada was in communication with the Committees of Corfu, Peloponnese, Constantinople and Iasi.
The British authorities, who ruled the Ionian Islands since 1814, understood that Zampelios was reinforcing the Souliot fighters with food and with munitions the volunteers who would accompany the Kefalonian Pana to Preveza. They arrested him inside his prosecutor’s office and took him to prison. When he was asked to hand over his associates or to confess that I. Kapodistrias had knowledge of the facts, he replied: “… the Ionian Governorate imposed on me and I swore an oath to accuse as Prosecutor the violators of the law, not to spy on the actions of citizens and to become a taxpayer”.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
At the end of 1820, Ioannis Zampelios receives a letter from Christoforos Perraivos, who tells him that the outbreak of the Revolution is a matter of days and asks him to organize a meeting of Friends and chieftains in Lefkada and to take care of the collection of weapons, money and supplies for the fighters.
In January 1821, important chieftains of Central Greece and Epirus gathered in Lefkada, such as Odysseas Androutsos, Georgios Varnakiotis, Georgios Karaiskakis, Dim. Panourgias, H. Mavromichalis, G. Tsogas, D. Makris, On Halloween Sunday, at the house of Zampelios, together with other Friends, they draw up the revolutionary plan of action. Androutsos with Panourgias will mobilize the Eastern Continent, Varnakiotis, Tsogas and Karaiskakis the Western Continent, and the Lefkadians will undertake to collect munitions and send them to the fighters together with a body of volunteer Iptani warriors.
The poet Andreas Kalvos, with a father from Corfu and a mother from Zakynthia, will be in Livorno, Italy at the age of nine. He studied in Pisa and Florence, where he was associated with his later mentor, the emblematic poet and scholar of Italy, the Zakynthian Ugo Foscolo.
He gives lectures on the Greek language. His revolutionary and sincere patriotism are expressed through the heroic motto “Freedom or Death”, in his first Greek-language ode that will be published independently in 1819 under the title Elpis Patridos, attributing a social dimension to his poetry.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
Andreas Kalvos in Geneva, a refuge for persecuted Italian political refugees. There he enjoys the support of the Philhellenic Committee of Geneva, he helps Greek refugees who arrive in Switzerland. His philological quality is involved with his revolutionary activity, resulting in the writing of the twenty exceptional Odes that constitute the poet’s legacy to the Greek Struggle.
The Greek Revolution will break out when the “Ionian State” is under the protection of Great Britain. The Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, Thomas Maitland, will impose an ostensible neutrality at the start of the National Rebellion, forbidding the Ionian Islands to side with their rebel brothers. Despite all the bans, punishments, persecutions, imprisonments, exiles and executions, Heptanesian Hellenism participated in addition to the preparation of 1821, both at its beginning and throughout its long duration as in the battle of Lala in 1821 and Fly in 1822.
But also in the siege of the Acropolis in 1826 the Iptanisians were present. On September 11, 1826, Mamouris, head of a body of Iptanesians, landed at Faliro and started a night march towards the Acropolis. The besieged were in immediate need of reinforcements, since the garrison had been weakened by the desertions and exits. The attempts of the Iptanisians failed, they lost 30 men from the army of Kioutachi, who was on the lookout and noticed them hiding in the area of Karas or Kareas. The cavalry pursued them and dissuaded them from their enterprise, after a hard fight. Athanasios Leloudas from Ithaca with his 22 men stood out for his bravery, who, for a whole day, managed to repel the Turkish cavalry from the rough drums they had made and in the end, as soon as night fell, they escaped to safety of the Greek ships, which were patrolling near the beach.
Corfu, John the Baptist Theotokis, a military man with political and diplomatic skills, defies the prohibitions of the British Administration
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
On November 15, 1821, he secretly left Corfu, at the age of 43, with the final destination of the revolted Peloponnese. He attended the work of the 1st National Assembly in Piada-Nea Epidaurus of Argolis, and was connected in friendship and politics with Ioannis Kolettis. Soon, he was given the opportunity to serve as Secretary General in the “Ministry” of the Interior and War. The most important position he assumed during the Greek Revolution was that of the Minister of Justice from July 1824 to August 1825, from which he managed to modernize the judicial system, promoting a policy of uniform Law and equality of all Greeks before the Law. His dissent in the “Act of Protection” to the British government, caused him to be accused of high treason and he was imprisoned for a while. The deepest desire of John the Baptist Theotokos was to achieve an independent government of the country under the leadership of his compatriot, Count John Kapodistrias.
Finally, Mr. Metallinos emphasizes, “that the contribution of the Iptanesians to the Uprising is summed up in the 3rd National Assembly of Troizina, in April 1827, when its protagonists, rescued after 6 years of war, chose between two Ieptanians, Ioannis Kapodistrias and Dionysios Roma, the first Governor of the State”.
RES-EMP
Follow it on Google News and be the first to know all the news See all the latest News from Greece and the World, at