The Island of the Pope

Auteur

Dimitris Kousouris is a Researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He holds a PhD from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris and has taught Modern History at the Universities of Crete, Constance, Princeton, Columbia, Chicago, and Vienna. His recent publications include; Histoire des procés des collaborateurs en Gréce (1944-1949) (Presses de I'lnalco: Paris, 2017) and the co-edited volume, Understanding the Greek Revolution of 1821 (Brill: Leiden, 2024).

Texte du rabat

For the Aegean island of Syros, the Greek Revolution (1821-1832) marked a significant turning point. Known as "the island of the Pope", due to its Catholic majority, Syros transformed into a major commercial hub, seemingly triggering the withdrawal of its indigenous Latin community. Juxtaposing the view from the Archipelago with that from Istanbul, the Peloponnese, Rome, Paris and Vienna, this volume revisits the island's history. From early encounters between native inhabitants and groups from across the Ottoman Levant, to how the Latin community navigated conflict and change during the Greek War of Independence, this book offers new insights into the political, cultural and social history of the region.