ΕΝΑ ΝΗΣΙ ΣΕ ΔΥΟ ΕΠΙΚΡΑΤΕΙΕΣ: Η ΚΑΛΥΜΝΟΣ ΑΝΑΜΕΣΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΕΠΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΗ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΟΘΩΜΑΝΙΚΗ ΕΞΟΥΣΙΑ (1824-1825)

Abstract

In early 1825, as the Greek Revolution in mainland Greece was entering a critical phase, a conflict between the island community of Kalymnos and the local prefect appointed by the central revolutionary administration escalated when the prefect reported to his superiors the secret relations between Kalymnos and the Ottoman authorities of neighbouring islands. It quickly became obvious that the community leaders of Kalymnos had sought to maintain official links with both the Greek and Ottoman ad¬ministrations, effectively acknowledging the simultaneous sovereignty of both rival powers over their island. Taking into account island’s location, economic profile, community politics, and limited institutional access to central revolutionary authorities to explain this seemingly paradoxical situation, this article examines the political choices of the inhabitants of Kalymnos during the Revolution as strategies for adapting to the unprecedented conditions created in the Aegean by the Greek War of Independence. In addition, the attitudes of the other two main actors involved in the episode, the local prefect and the Greek central admin¬istration, are studied, in an attempt to interpret their actions. Through the examination of this episode and the stance of Kalymnos, it is argued that the historiography on the frequent switches of allegiance by ethnic Greeks during the Revolution, which until now has focused exclusively on Roumeli and the Peloponnese, should expand to include the double loyalties of certain island communities of the Aegean.