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Chios massacre

Coordinates:38°21′50″N26°03′47″E/ 38.3640°N 26.0630°E/38.3640; 26.0630
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For the painting by Eugène Delacroix, seeThe Massacre at Chios.
Chios massacre
Part ofMassacres during the Greek War of Independence
The Massacre at Chios(1824) byEugène Delacroix
LocationChios,Ottoman Empire
Coordinates38°21′50″N26°03′47″E/ 38.3640°N 26.0630°E/38.3640; 26.0630
DateApril–August 1822
TargetGreekson the island ofChios
Attack type
massacre,mass murder,slavery
VictimsUp to 100,000 killed or enslaved. At least:
  • 25,000–50,000 killed
  • 45,000–50,000 enslaved
  • 10,000–20,000 fled
PerpetratorsOttoman Empire
No.of participants
30,000
MotiveAnti-Greek sentiment,Ottomancolonialism,Turkification

TheChios massacre(inGreek:Η σφαγή της Χίου,Greek pronunciation:[isfaˈʝitisˈçi.u]) was a catastrophe that resulted in the death,enslavement,and flight of about four-fifths of the total population ofGreekson the island ofChiosbyOttomantroops, during theGreek War of Independencein 1822.[1][2][3]It is estimated that up to 100,000 people were killed or enslaved during the massacre, while up to 20,000 escaped as refugees.[4]Greeks from neighboring islands had arrived on Chios and encouraged the Chiotes (the native inhabitants of the island) to join their revolt. In response, Ottoman troops landed on the island and killed thousands. The massacre ofChristiansprovoked international outrage across theWestern world,and led to increasing support for the Greek cause worldwide.

Background

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Further information:Sanjak of Sakız

For over 2,000 years, merchants and shipowners from Chios had been prominent in trade and diplomacy throughout theBlack Sea,theAegean,and theMediterranean.TheOttoman Empireallowed Chios almost complete control over its own affairs as Chioten trade and the very highly valuedmastic plant,harvested only on Chios, were of great value to the Ottomans. The cosmopolitan Chiotes were also very prominent inConstantinople.Following themassacre,however, the island never regained its commercial prominence.[citation needed]

The island's ruling classes were reluctant to join theGreek revolt,fearing the loss of their security and prosperity.[5]Furthermore, they were aware that they were situated far too close to the Turkish heartland inAnatoliato be safe.[5]At some points, Chios is only 6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi) from the Anatolian mainland.

Massacre

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In March 1822, as the Greek revolt gathered strength on the mainland, several hundred armed Greeks from the neighbouring island ofSamoslanded in Chios. They attacked the Turks, who retreated to thecitadel.Many islanders also decided to join the revolution.[5]However, the vast majority of the population had by all accounts done nothing to provoke the reprisals, and had not joined other Greeks in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire.[6]

Reinforcements in the form of a Turkish fleet under theKapudan PashaNasuhzade Ali Pashaarrived on the island on 22 March.[which calendar?]They quickly pillaged and looted the town. On 12 April [O.S.31 March], orders were given to burn down the town, and over the next four months, an estimated 30,000 Turkish troops arrived.[7]In addition to setting fires, the troops were ordered to kill all infants under three years old, all males 12 years and older, and all females 40 and older, except those willing to convert toIslam.[8]The British warshipHMSSeringapatamwas on duty in the Mediterranean under the command of Captain Samuel Warren. On 7 May she passed the island of Chios (then called Scio in English), saw it in flames, and received signals from Greek ships asking for help, but being under orders toobserve strict neutralityin the Greek War of Independence the ship gave no assistance and proceeded on her way.[9]Approximately four-fifths of the total population of 100,000 to 120,000 prior of the catastrophe, were killed, enslaved, or had to take refuge outside of Chios; it is estimated that up to 100,000 were killed or enslaved.[4]At least 25,000 were killed, 45,000 enslaved, and 10,000 to 20,000 fled.[2][3][4][10]Estimates of the number of those slaughtered ran upward of 50,000, with an equal number enslaved.[4][11]Tens of thousands of survivors dispersed throughout Europe and became part of theChian diaspora.Some young Greeks enslaved during the massacre wereadoptedby wealthy Ottomans and converted to Islam. Some rose to levels of prominence in the Ottoman Empire, such as Georgios Stravelakis (later renamedMustapha Khaznadar) andIbrahim Edhem Pasha.[12]

Reaction and commemoration

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There was outrage when the events were reported in Europe[13]and French painterEugène Delacroixcreated a painting depicting the events that occurred; his painting was namedScenes from the Massacres of Chios.Thomas Barker of Bathpainted afrescoof the massacre on the walls of Doric House,Bath, Somerset.[14]

A draft of this painting, created under the supervision of Delacroix in his lab by one of his students, is in display in theAthens War Museum.In 2009, a copy of the painting was displayed in the local Byzantine museum on Chios. It was withdrawn from the museum in November 2009 in a "good faith initiative" for the improvement ofGreek-Turkish relations.However, the Greek press protested its removal.[citation needed]The copy is now back on display in the museum.

Victor Hugo's collection of poemsLes Orientales,published in 1829, include the poem "L'Enfant"(" The Child ") devoted to the massacre of Chios. The American poetWilliam Cullen Bryantpublished the poem "The Massacre at Scio" in 1824.

During a session of the Permanent Holy Synod of the OrthodoxChurch of Greecein Athens on 14–15 July 2021, at the proposal of Metropolitan Markos ofChios, Psara and Oinousses,the Holy Synod glorified Metropolitan Plato of Chios, and 43 others, who were martyred by Ottoman troops in the Chios Massacre onHoly Fridayin 1822.[15][16]The list included priests, deacons,hieromonksand monks, to be commemorated on theSunday of the Paralyticeach year.[17]

Greek response

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Further information:Burning of the Ottoman flagship off Chios

After the Chios massacre, the Greek revolutionary government managed to gather a significant amount of money in order to outfit its ships and attack the Ottoman fleet.[18]

At the end of May, the Greek captains fromPsaraandHydradecided to burn the Ottomanflagship,the 84-gunship of the lineMansur al-liwa,by usingfire ships.The operation took place on the night of 18 June [O.S.6 June] 1822 and was conducted byKonstantinos KanarisandAndreas Pipinos.[19]About two thousand Ottoman sailors were killed or drowned, including admiralNasuhzade Ali Pasha,who had led the Chios massacre two months earlier.[20][21]

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See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^Dadrian, Vahakn N. (1999).Warrant for Genocide: Key Elements of Turko-Armenian Conflict.New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. p.153.ISBN1-56000-389-8.
  2. ^abBrewer 2011,p. 165: "The final toll on the suffering island could now be assessed. Before the catastrophe there were between 100,000 and 120,000 Greeks living on Chios, and by the end their numbers were reduced to some 20,000. Gordon's even more shocking figure of only 1,800 survivors on the island is almost certainly wrong, perhaps a mistake for 18,000, though he may be right to say that 'the most populous villages had only twelve indwellers'. The number of Greeks killed was put at 25,000 and of those enslaved at 45,000; that is, the catastrophe left about a quarter of the population dead and nearly half taken into slavery. Probably between 10,000 and 20,000 escaped, some to return, some to settle on other Aegean islands, some to continue the great family names of Chios – Ralli, Rodocanachi, Argenti, Vlasto – as they found fortune or fame abroad."
  3. ^abShirinian 2021,p. 175: "The Turkish response came in April 1822 with the plunder, massacre and enslavement of the Greek inhabitants of the island of Chios. Whereas there had been approximately 100,000 to 120,000 Greeks living on Chios before the massacre, there were only approximately 20,000 after – about 25,000 had been killed, 45,000 enslaved, and 10,000 to 20,000 had escaped. At the same time, the Aegean coastal town of Kydonies (Ayvalık), north of Chios, was also destroyed, with many of the inhabitants fleeing to Greece, along with the refugees from Chios."
  4. ^abcdCartledge, Y. (2020)."The Chios Massacre (1822) and early British Christian-humanitarianism".Historical Research.93(259): 52–72.doi:10.1093/hisres/htz004.ISSN0950-3471.As many as 100,000 inhabitants were either killed or enslaved, while 20,000 escaped as refugees.... The exact number of Chiots enslaved or massacred remains generally unknown, with different estimations given. Argenti stated that "before the massacre the total resident population of Chios was 120,000, after the massacre it was but 30,000." Long cited 41,000 Chiots being exported as slaves, which can be seen from the customs authority records, as well as 15,000 escapees from the island prior to the Kapudan Pasha's arrival. The historians St Clair and Brewer relatively echoed Long's number of slaves being brought to Anatolia, as did the Philhellene Thomas Gordon, who estimated 45,000. Brandt suggested "those slaughtered ran upward of 50,000, with an equal number enslaved." Rodogno reasoned that "Before the massacre between 100,000 and 120,000 Greeks had been living on Chios; by the end of it there were 20,000; many had perished, others fled or became slaves." The Times asked rhetorically: "Who can, without shuddering, read of the total ruin, the universal desolation of our famed and once happy isle (Scio); the destruction of all its inhabitants, nearly one hundred thousand"?
  5. ^abcSt. Clair, William (1972).That Greece Might Still Be Free, The Philhellenes in the War of Independence.London: Oxford University Press. p.79.ISBN0-19-215194-0.
  6. ^Shupp, Paul F. (1933). "Review: Argenti, Philip P.The Massacre of Chios".Journal of Modern History.5(3): 414.doi:10.1086/236057.JSTOR1875872.
  7. ^Brewer 2011,p. 157: "The kapitan pasha, Kara Ali, was ordered to Chios with a powerful fleet and with orders to convey 15,000 men to Chios from Chesme, where 30,000 had now gathered. Many were volunteers, including it was said a whole infantry regiment of Muslim priests, and most were simply attracted by the riches of Chios. The British consul at Smyrna reported that 'we have got rid of all our ruffians, who have gone to take part in the plunder of Scio'. Strangford, Britain's ambassador in Constantinople, was worried about the control of such large numbers of unruly troops."
  8. ^"Revolution – The massacre of the island of Chios".chioshistory.gr. Archived fromthe originalon 2 October 2011.Retrieved30 March2011.
  9. ^"Great-Britain",Galignani's Messenger(Paris), 26 July 1822,p. 1.
  10. ^"The Chios Massacre Of 1822".Queens Gazette.Archived fromthe originalon 2018-11-11.Retrieved2013-03-26.
  11. ^Brandt, Anthony (2016)."Tears of Chios".World History Group.Retrieved2023-10-26.
  12. ^Littell, Eliakim (October 1888).The Living Age.Vol. 179. The Living Age Co. p. 614.OCLC10173561.
  13. ^Klose, Fabian (2016).The Emergence of Humanitarian Intervention: Ideas and Practice from the Nineteenth Century to the Present.Clays. p. 175.ISBN9781107075511.Retrieved6 August2017.
  14. ^Cartledge, YJC (Feb 2020). "The Chios Massacre (1822) and early British Christian-humanitarianism".Historical Research.93(259): 52–72, at p.60.doi:10.1093/hisres/htz004.
  15. ^(in Greek)Δελτία Τύπου της Ιεράς Συνόδου: Δεύτερη συνεδρία της Δ.Ι.Σ. για το μήνα Ιούλιο.Διαρκούς Ιεράς Συνόδου της Εκκλησίας της Ελλάδος (ECCLESIA.GR). Αθήνα, 15 Ιουλίου 2021.
  16. ^GREEK CHURCH CANONIZES DOZENS OF MARTYRS, ECCLESIASTICAL TEACHERS.Orthodox Christianity. Athens, 16 July 2021. Retrieved: 17 July 2021.
  17. ^(in Greek)Αγιοκατάταξη Ιερομάρτυρος Πλάτωνος και των συν αυτώ.ΡΟΜΦΑΙΑ (Ι.Μ. Χίου). 15/07, 15:17. Retrieved: 17 July 2021.
  18. ^Sfyroeras 1975,pp. 246–247.
  19. ^Sfyroeras 1975,pp. 247–248.
  20. ^Sfyroeras 1975,pp. 248–249.
  21. ^Anderson 1952,pp. 487–488.
  22. ^Simon, Reeva S.; Mattar, Philip; Bulliet, Richard W. (1996).Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East.Macmillan Reference USA. p. 1018.ISBN0-02-897062-4.
  23. ^Morsy, Magali (1984).North Africa, 1800–1900: A Survey from the Nile Valley to the Atlantic.Longman. p. 185.ISBN0-582-78377-1.

References

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Further reading

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  • Christopher A. Long –The Series of Events.
  • The Massacres of Chios Described in Contemporary Diplomatic Reports,edited and with an introduction by Philip P. Argenti (London: John Lane the Bodley Head Ltd., 1932).
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  • "The Sisters of Scio"is a poetic response to the massacre byFelicia Hemans,first published inThe Literary Souvenirannual for 1830, with an engraving by Henry Rolls of a painting by A. Phalipon.
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