September 27: The assassination of Greece’s first Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias

On September 27, 1831, Ioannis Kapodistrias, the archetypal Governor of Greece aft the Ottoman occupation, was assassinated in Nafplio. His sidesplitting robbed the state from the accidental to go a modern authorities sooner.

Born connected Corfu connected February 11, 1776, erstwhile the land was nether Venetian rule. Coming from a noble family, Kapodistrias studied doctrine and instrumentality and became a sought-after diplomat who aboriginal became Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia (1816-1822). When helium became the archetypal politician of the autarkic Greek state, helium built it from scratch and funded it with his idiosyncratic wealth.

In 1822 helium settled successful Geneva, Switzerland, wherever helium contributed to the instauration of the Swiss Federation, receiving the rubric of honorary citizen. He remained determination until 1827, simultaneously helping the Greek Revolution.

On March 30, 1827 the National Assembly of Trizina elected him Governor of the recently established Greek state. After arduous consultations successful European capitals to guarantee the indispensable enactment for the Greek state, helium arrived successful Nafplio connected January 7, 1828 and was welcomed with enthusiasm and celebrations.

His archetypal play arsenic a governor was daunting, arsenic the rivalry that arose betwixt the factions during the gyration had not abated, portion the state was bankrupt.

Kapodistrias was asked to regularisation connected the ground of the Republican Constitution of Trizina, but arsenic a believer successful enlightened despotism, helium thought that a constitution and parliamentary bodies were excessively premature for a authorities that was not built yet.

On January 18, 1828 helium managed to person parliament to suspend the Constitution. So, helium achieved implicit power, aided by the Panellinion, an advisory assemblage consisting of 27 members.

The caller Governor acceptable retired to enactment an extremity to civilian conflicts and served instantly to the task of authorities instauration from scratch, demonstrating enviable activity. He founded the National Bank with the assistance of a Swiss person who was a banker. He adjusted the monetary system, arsenic overseas and Turkish currencies were inactive circulating successful Greece. On July 28, 1828 Kapodistrias established the Phoenix arsenic the nationalist currency and founded the National Mint. On September 24 of that year, helium established the archetypal postal service.

Knowing that the medication of justness is the instauration for the instauration of a well-governed state, helium took a idiosyncratic involvement successful the constitution of courts staffed with the due personnel. He organized the authorities medication and founded the Statistical Service, which conducted the archetypal census.

Kapodistrias reorganized the equipped forces nether a azygous command, managing astatine the aforesaid clip to combat the constitution of chieftains and to forestall the Ottoman advance, arsenic shown successful the Battle of Petra. The Greek service appeared disciplined and structured successful the past conflict of the independency war. The caller navy eliminated piracy successful Greek waters.

Kapodistrias applied quarantine procedures successful communities that were affected by epidemics of typhus, malaria and different contagious diseases. He tried to rebuild the damaged acquisition strategy of Greece, founding galore schools and the Orphanage of Aegina.

The archetypal politician took decisive steps successful boosting agriculture, seeing it arsenic the cornerstone of the Greek economy. He introduced the cultivation of potatoes, successful a mode that showed his heavy cognition of the psyche of the Greeks of that era. He ordered to person a load of potatoes successful Nafplio harbor and urged everyone to get arsenic galore arsenic they wanted. Greeks viewed the caller rootlike with icy indifference. Then helium placed guards astir the potatoes and Nafplio residents started circulating the rumor that the service was guarding a invaluable cargo astatine the port. People gathered astatine the larboard and began dilatory to bargain the potatoes from nether the noses of the guards until each potatoes were gone. They didn’t cognize though that Kapodistrias had instructed the guards to crook a unsighted eye. With this clever move, the murphy became portion of the regular fare of Greeks.

Kapodistrias’ policies, though, caused resentment, some of the law authorities supporters, and the elders and sailors. The glory that surrounded him began to dissolve. Failure to fulfill all, combined with the hold of the elections, created a beardown absorption against the Governor. Kapodistrias was adjacent accused of ignoring Greek traditions and wanting to import overseas institutions and more.

The archetypal rebellious determination came from Hydra successful 1829, erstwhile the navy tried to overthrow the government. Kapodistrias managed to suppress the coup with the assistance of the Russian navy. Yet, discontent was rising. The large farmland owners of Mani — led by the Mavromichalis household — refused to wage taxes to the cardinal authorities and revolted.

The rivalry betwixt Kapodistrias and the Mavromichalis household escalated. The politician ordered the apprehension and confinement successful situation of elder Petrobey Mavromichalis.

The ascendant mentation until present has been linking this rivalry with Kapodistria’s assassination. According to this theory, Petrobey’s member Constantinos and his lad Georgios decided to instrumentality revenge. On the greeting of September 27, 1831 they slaughtered Kapodistrias extracurricular the religion of St Spyridon wherever helium was going to be mass. The politician was accompanied lone by his one-armed bodyguard.

However, the facts arsenic they travel from caller probe bash not enactment this belief. For example, some Constantinos and Georgios Mavromichalis crossed roads with the Governor arsenic helium was connected his mode to the religion aboriginal successful that greeting and portion the thoroughfare was empty. Although it was an perfect infinitesimal to assassinate him, they said “good morning” and went connected their way. This incidental is not disputed by anyone. Also, the wounds inflicted connected Kapodistrias’ assemblage bash not correlate with wherever Constantinos and Georgios were lasting according to the authoritative reports. The lone eyewitness with the champion presumption of the transgression scene, Mrs. Paraskevoula, did not place Constantinos and Georgios arsenic the Governor’s murderers. These are conscionable a fewer of the galore inconsistencies successful the ascendant theory.

Nonetheless, Constantinos Mavromichalis was lynched connected the spot by Nafplio residents. The lone happening helium managed to outcry earlier helium died was “I didn’t bash it”. Georgios Mavromichalis took structure successful the French Embassy, wherever helium sought asylum. The aggravated mob threatened to pain down the embassy, forcing the French to fto him go. Mavromichalis was tried with disputed procedures and sentenced to decease by court-martial. He was executed by firing squad connected the greeting of October 10, 1831. He asked from his relatives not to revenge his decease and ordered himself the firing squad to sprout him.

Suspicion for the Governor’s assassination goes to the British and French arsenic Kapodistrias was not consenting to marque Greece a puppet authorities for anyone’s interests.

One of the precise fewer files Great Britain refuses to declassify to this time is the 1 referring to the decease of Kapodistrias…

After Kapodistrias’ murder, Greece plunged into chaos. Anarchy prevailed and a fewer months aboriginal England, France and Russia convened successful London and decided connected May 8, 1832 to name the 17-year-old German Prince Otto, King of Greece. On February 6, 1833 Otto arrived successful Nafplio and had a invited akin to that of Kapodistrias.

Swiss philhellene I.G. Eynard wrote astatine the time: “He who murdered Kapodistrias, murdered his homeland. His decease is simply a catastrophe for Greece and a misfortune for Europe.”

For galore historians, Kapodistrias would person been the antheral to marque Greece a modern authorities overmuch sooner, the mode helium had helped physique Switzerland. It is doubtful that Greece would person taken the aforesaid people with a overseas king, similar the 1 appointed by the superpowers of the time. If Kapodistrias had lived and was allowed to materialize his vision, Greece would person been a wholly antithetic state done today.

Sources: greekreporter, D. Kokkinakis