There were no reliable birth records of those Ottoman years in Greece of the Greek children being born. Bureaucracy was chaotic in the provinces and villages and it was in no one’s interest to report the true age of children lest they’ll be taken. To avoid too much attention when the child gathering would take place, often girls would be declared as muuuuuuch younger than real, as were the boys. You needed to look your age to be taken….
My distant relatives have all unreliable birth dates. So when the modern Greek state had to give IDs, the girls were all said to have been born 15th August (feast day of the Virgin Mary) and the boys on 6th December (St.Nicholas, patron saint of the sea and sailors)… entire generations have these two birthdays 🎂
I didn't know this about the 15th of August and 6th of December birthdays. Such a cool and tragic story at the same time. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Thus, christians and Jews had the choice either to convert voluntarily, enjoying the privileges this entailed, or to maintain their faith enduring systemic and institutionalized discrimination
Yes, under Ottoman rule some were given the choice. Give up your religion or your language (believing these people would evetually convert).
Stories my grandparents told of parents chopping off a couple of their young son’s fingers to reduce the likelihood of them being taken. Or another of a itinerant (he died after many decades) who lived rough as repentence for naively giving up the hidden identity of the local bishop in the 1800s as a 10-year old. This man was elderly when my grandfather was a child.
We have many such stories of crypto-Christians even in modern day Turkey. That being said, the Ottomans in general didn't really bother to islamify their subjects. They only wanted order and tax revenue.
While this was the norm though, we have plenty of examples of Ottoman officials from time to time that took things into their hands and were more than cruel to Christians. Hence we have so many saints that were canonized during the Ottoman rule, because they denied to become Muslims and suffered terrible torture before being executed.
Thank you, Poonam, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Details on the assassination itself, with a bit of context on the Greek Revolution that preceded, will be described in the next article of the series!
A fascinating take on modern Greek identity—far more complex than just inheriting the legacy of ancient Greece. Kapodistrias stands out as a key figure, not only in Greek history but in shaping post-Ottoman Europe.
I especially appreciated the critical look at the millet system and everyday life under Ottoman rule. This piece invites us to rethink the roots of the modern Greek state beyond the usual myths. Looking forward to the next installment.
There were no reliable birth records of those Ottoman years in Greece of the Greek children being born. Bureaucracy was chaotic in the provinces and villages and it was in no one’s interest to report the true age of children lest they’ll be taken. To avoid too much attention when the child gathering would take place, often girls would be declared as muuuuuuch younger than real, as were the boys. You needed to look your age to be taken….
My distant relatives have all unreliable birth dates. So when the modern Greek state had to give IDs, the girls were all said to have been born 15th August (feast day of the Virgin Mary) and the boys on 6th December (St.Nicholas, patron saint of the sea and sailors)… entire generations have these two birthdays 🎂
I didn't know this about the 15th of August and 6th of December birthdays. Such a cool and tragic story at the same time. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Thus, christians and Jews had the choice either to convert voluntarily, enjoying the privileges this entailed, or to maintain their faith enduring systemic and institutionalized discrimination
Yes, under Ottoman rule some were given the choice. Give up your religion or your language (believing these people would evetually convert).
Stories my grandparents told of parents chopping off a couple of their young son’s fingers to reduce the likelihood of them being taken. Or another of a itinerant (he died after many decades) who lived rough as repentence for naively giving up the hidden identity of the local bishop in the 1800s as a 10-year old. This man was elderly when my grandfather was a child.
We have many such stories of crypto-Christians even in modern day Turkey. That being said, the Ottomans in general didn't really bother to islamify their subjects. They only wanted order and tax revenue.
While this was the norm though, we have plenty of examples of Ottoman officials from time to time that took things into their hands and were more than cruel to Christians. Hence we have so many saints that were canonized during the Ottoman rule, because they denied to become Muslims and suffered terrible torture before being executed.
This was an excellent piece on Ottoman history and on the assassination of Greece’s first governor. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you, Poonam, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Details on the assassination itself, with a bit of context on the Greek Revolution that preceded, will be described in the next article of the series!
Just wanted to say that I listened to this article and the (AI?) reader nailed the Greek pronunciations. I was very impressed.
Really? I'm also impressed. You mean the Substack reader, right?
Yeah. Give it a listen. It switches to a native sounding accent on the Greek…and it reads the Greek alphabet.
A fascinating take on modern Greek identity—far more complex than just inheriting the legacy of ancient Greece. Kapodistrias stands out as a key figure, not only in Greek history but in shaping post-Ottoman Europe.
I especially appreciated the critical look at the millet system and everyday life under Ottoman rule. This piece invites us to rethink the roots of the modern Greek state beyond the usual myths. Looking forward to the next installment.
Thank you for your kind words and your on point critique. I hope I can publish then next article by the end of the week!