Constructing Ionian identities: the Ionian Islands in British official ...

More recently, Eleni Calligas’s thesis, “The Rizospastai (Radical Unionist):
politics and nationalism in the British Protectorate of the Ionian Islands, 1815-1864”,
discussed the rise of radical parliamentary opposition to British rule during the
1840s, known as Risospasti, which challenged the legitimacy of British protection
and favoured major internal socio-political changes on the basis of the right of
“national self-determination and the principle of popular sovereignty”. 14 It is a high
quality study of Ionian politics during the British Protectorate. Its focus, however, is
exclusively Ionian and there is no concern with the wider politics of Empire. So for
example, when it highlights the policies employed by the British governors to
eradicate radicalism in the Islands, it fails to make connections between the ideas
and techniques employed in Britain during Chartist unrest or with related activities
in other parts of the Empire.
Margarita Miliori’s thesis “The Greek Nation in British Eyes 1821-1864:
Aspects of a British Discourse on Nationality, Politics, and History and Europe”
examines some of the political and cultural influences on British philhellenism,
noting in particular the significance of the Greek revolution in 1821. 15 Using sources
including travel literature, parliamentary papers, and the periodical press, Miliori
examines the impact of contemporary events, including the Don Pacifico affair and
the Crimean War, on British opinions that challenged the idealisations based on
romantic notions of Greek antiquity. She examined the theories held by Jakob
14 Calligas E., “‘The Rizospastai’ (Radicals-Unionists): Politics and Nationalism in the British
protectorate of the Ionian Islands, 1815-1864”, (unpublished PhD thesis, University of London 1994).
15 Miliori, M., “The Greek Nation in British Eyes 1821-1864: Aspects of a British Discourse on
Nationality, Politics, and History and Europe”, (unpublished PhD thesis, Oxford 1998).
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