IOANNIS KAPODISTRIAS: THE GREAT GREEK

"The Greek nation consists of those people who, since the fall of Constantinople, have not ceased confessing the Orthodox Faith and speaking the language of their fathers, and have remained under the spiritual or secular jurisdiction of their Church, wherever in Turkey they may reside."

With these words, Ioannis Kapodistrias declared the identity of the Greeks. Who are they, what is their origin and what are the elements or pillars that prove their historical continuity: the Orthodox faith and the Greek language. But who was the "tweed-clad" politician from the Ionian Islands who, in addition to Greece, is commemorated in Russia, Switzerland and Poland? What was his contribution to the establishment of the new Greek state?

Kapodistrias was born in 1776 in Corfu. His father was the aristocrat Count Antonios Maria Kapodistrias or Antonomarias. His mother Diamantina came from Cyprus and was also of aristocratic origin. In this environment, the life of the young Ioannis could not but receive an education and culture that far exceeded the average Greek of the time. It should be emphasized that the Ionian Islands did not experience horrible Ottoman slavery but Venetian, French, Russian and finally English rule until its integration into the national body in 1864. This is how he learned Latin, Italian and French. He then studied medicine in Padua and upon his return to Corfu he practiced medicine, becoming known as the "doctor of the poor".

In 1800, the Ionian Islands State was founded under Russian and Ottoman supervision, which is the first autonomous Greek state. And since then, the Count's involvement in public affairs begins. In 1801, he was sent by the Senate to Cephalonia to restore order. In 1803, he assumed the position of secretary of foreign affairs and in 1807 he took over the successful defense of Agia Mavra (Lefkada) against Ali Pasha. There, he gathered a multitude of kleftarmatoles from mainland Greece and anointed Antonis Katsantonis as general leader of the armed forces. Perhaps a harbinger of future armed action to shake off the Turkish yoke. However, in July of the same year, the Ionian Islands came under French rule and Kapodistrias responded positively to the call of the Tsarist Minister of Foreign Affairs to take up a position in his ministry. In 1808, he began the long journey to St. Petersburg and a great career as a diplomat in the service of the Russian monarch.

He gradually rose through the ranks of Russian diplomacy and reached the position of its foreign minister. His two highlights were, on the one hand, the mission to Switzerland where he left a great mark on the writing of the Constitution, on the way the state was organized and on the maintenance of the neutrality of the Swiss in the Napoleonic Wars. For these services, the Swiss honored him as a citizen in many cantons and statues of him exist today throughout Swiss territory. On the other hand, his success is considered to be the conflict with the Austrian Chancellor Metternich and the continuous effort to promote the Greek issue in the salons of high diplomacy. In the context of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, he contributed to the establishment of the Polish kingdom but was unable to prevent the decision of the Holy Alliance to suppress any revolution in Europe.

In 1820 he refused the leadership of the Friendly Society, knowing that international conditions were not ripe for a national liberation revolution even in the declining Ottoman Empire. A connoisseur of European acquisitions, he believed that he could help the rebellious nation more from abroad, as he did. In addition, he was a very prominent person and his every move was watched by Austrian eyes. How could he act mystically in such a controlled environment? The Revolution began in February 1821 in Moldavia-Wallachia as the Allies were meeting in Laimbach. Their non-intervention against the Greeks and their neutrality were the work of Kapodistrias. He later tried to convince the Tsar to declare war on Turkey, but the monarch rejected it. Thus, in early 1822 he resigned and left for Switzerland under the pretext of sick leave. However, he was unable to travel to Greece and offered his services from there, sending money home and helping Greeks in the diaspora.

The 1827rd National Assembly in Troezen in 7 elected him Governor of Greece for 1828 years. Early in 3,5 he arrived in the Morea. What did he achieve in the almost 1831 years he was Governor? In the external sector he managed to achieve the independence and not the autonomy of the Greek state. The extension of the borders to the Amvrakikos-Pagasitikos line. The neutrality of Greece towards the three Great Powers. In the internal sector he received chaos, a country devastated by the seven-year Struggle for Independence. He minted a coin – the palm tree –, founded the Panhellenic – an advisory body –, divided the country administratively, appointed new officials to the state structure, founded the School of Cadets, the Agricultural School, an Orphanage, schools, introduced the cultivation of potatoes to solve the problem of hunger, published the first Code of Civil Procedure. And he carried out all this work without pay, sparing no time and effort. However, he was accused by the provosts, the island shipowners, the Phanariotes and the Maniates of practicing a centralist policy and of dismantling the liberal regime of Troezen. But were the Greeks ready for such a regime or did the appetite for power of the aforementioned provoke the reaction? Is England behind his assassination - carried out by his brother and son Petrobey Mavromichalis - in 1843 in Nafplio or not? The fact that his opponents were active during his rule, while they did little during the period (until XNUMX) of King Otto, imposed by the Forces, testifies to this.

Ioannis Kapodistrias was not only a great Greek ruler but also a great world diplomat. His successes in European affairs testify to this. Many historians and political scientists wonder what Greece would be like if he had not been assassinated. Others unfortunately conclude that he was a tyrant and dictator. In modern Greece, where various voices speak of overcrowding in Smyrna, of children of the Ottomans, of genocide during the liberation of Tripolitsa, of irredentism in the issue of Macedonia on the part of Greece, we can expect everything.

Miltiadis Parlantzas

Assistant (EM), MSc, MA(c)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Vakalopoulos, Modern Greek History, Athens: Herodotus, 5^η edition, 2020
D. Kokkinos, The Greek Revolution, vol. 6, Athens: Melissa, 1976
S. Trikoupis, History of the Greek Revolution, vol. 1, Athens: Livani, 1993
L. Papakostas, A Governor for Greece, Athens: Angelaki, 2017

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