o_19heefouak9i9v4do11ac41pi7a.pdf

DESPINA VLAMI
formation on the whereabouts of relatives and delivered letters addressed to her
that had arrived on the island. Exchange rates and the prices she paid for the
money she purchased were the most common themes in her letters to her brother.
In 1823 she lamented the loss she had sustained through the exchange of golden
mantzarika –delivered by her brother-in-law Konstandis– for grosia: ‘...I received 37
in mantzarika when they run at a rate 1 to 21 and I got them at a rate 1 to 15 although
according to the order I should receive them at a rate 1 to 15:10:50 ...so you
can imagine what a loss I had from all this...’ 36 . However, it was not only losses but
gains that occupied her thoughts: in 1824 she referred with admiration to the great
okasiones one could find in Ancona, described to her by her cousin Anastasios Efstathiou
in one of his letters 37 .
For this credit network to operate, the simultaneous circulation of specialized, or
more general, information was necessary. Haido could thus learn about the whereabouts
of kin, friends and acquaintances, the exchange rates, the prices of bills and
cash, and events that impeded communication: the spread of plague and warfare.
She could also pass information to her relatives established abroad. Mihail Vassiliou
entrusted letters addressed to his sister to Assimakis Krokidas and Lambros
Balanos in Corfu 38 . In 1822 he confirmed the difficulties he had in corresponding
with her: ‘...I pray only to God for the world to calm for once so that we can find
our tranquility and so that we can get on more easily with our affairs...’ 39 . Haido received
letters from Vienna, Trieste and Ancona through the line Corfu-
Argyrokastro-Ioannina. She also received and sent letters via Siros or Constantinople
and occasionally via Serres. Rev. Alexios Loukas in Corfu and Rev. Chrysanthos in
Ioannina passed letters to her and conveyed her letters to various addressees. She
also relied upon the services of Dimitrios Milios, Nicolaos Miliotis, Anastasios Koniaris,
the Zertzouli brothers, and Sotiris Stavrou, who moved around a lot on business.
She exchanged letters with her brothers and brothers-in-law, cousins, nephews
and acquaintances who delivered her the latest news of her extended family established
in Ioannina, Zagori, Corfu, Missolonghi and also Trieste, Vienna, Baden, Kisnovi,
Moscow, Ancona, and Odessa.
Legal and administrative advice on financial issues was another reason for Mihail
Vassiliou’s correspondence with his sister. One major issue that preoccupied
both of them, and became a recurrent theme in many letters, was the execution of
Ioannis Christodoulou’s will and the payment to Haido by his executors –all wellknown
Greek merchants– of the annuities bequeathed to her. The issue became
36 ΓΑΚ, 197, p. 15, 9 February 1823.
37 ΓΑΚ, 195, p. 115, 24 November 1824.
38 ΓΑΚ, 72β, p. 59, 10 February 1822.
39 ΓΑΚ, 72β, p. 82, 25 February 1822. Given that the correspondence takes place in a
revolutionary period, Mihail Vassiliou refrains from mentioning names in his letters. He refers
to various personalities, friends, relatives, associates by mentioning only the initials of
their names or their first names. This happens especially when his letters contain information
on the whereabouts of relatives and their travels. See ΓΑΚ, 72β, p. 159, 1-13 May 1822.
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