COPYRIGHTED By Paul Peter Vouras 1956 THE ROLE OF ECONOMIC-GEOGRAPHIC FACTORS IN THE DESTINY OF RHODES DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By PAUL PETER VOURAS, B.S., M.A. The Ohio State University 1956 Approved by: / Adviser Department of Geograp: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is a pleasure to acknowledge help and suggestions from many quarters. X am deeply indebted to Dr. Eugene Van Cleef, Department of Geography, of The Ohio State University, for the benefit of his critical judgment, and innumerable fruitful suggestions. I want to express my appreciation for the friendly counsel and valuable suggestions which I have received from Dr. Fred A, Carlson, Dr. John R. Randall, and Dr. Lawrence A, Hoffman, Department of Geography, of The Ohio State University I wish to express my deep obligation and sincere thanks to the Greek government officials who furnished the data that I used in the study. All errors of commis­ sion or omission are my sole responsibility. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 11 LIST OP TABLES vl LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vlll INTRODUCTION 1 I PHYSICAL ASPECTS 3 Location 3 Geology 3 Surface Configuration 5 Climate 7 Soils 11 Water Resources 13 Forests 14 Minerals 14 Sea 16 II PRE-OTTOMAN HISTORICAL AND ECONOMIC BACKGROUND 18 III THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESOURCES OF THE ISLAND UNDER TURKISH RULE, 1522-1912 26 Agriculture 29 Land Tenure 30 Types of Agriculture 33 Grain Culture 33 Olive-tree Culture 35 Viticulture 38 Fruit-tree Culture 40 Animal husbandry 4l Industry 43 Handicrafts 43 Ceramics Industry 44 Shipbuilding 45 Shipping 46 Commerce 46 IV THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESOURCES OF THE ISLAND UNDER ITALIAN RULE, 1912-1943 53 Agricultural Conditions In General 56 Measures to Improve Agriculture 56 Scuola dl Agrlcoltura 58 111 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT'D.) CHAPTER PAGE Land Reclamation 59 Irrigation 60 Agricultural Credit 6l Land Tenure 62 Land Acquisition 64 Italian Settlements 64 San Marco 66 San Benedetto 68 Peveragno 72 Land Use 73 Cereals 77 Olives and Olive Oil 80 Grapes and Raisins 84 Tree-Prults other thanthe Olive 90 Aprlculture 93 Other Crops 94 Livestock 96 Forests 103 Fishing 106 Mining and Quarrlng I07 Industry 108 Handicrafts 110 Mechanical Manufacturing 110 Tobacco 111 Ceramics 112 Wines and Distilleries 113 Flour Milling 114 Soap-making and Olive Oil 115 Shipping 116 Foreign Trade 118 Tourism 128 V PRE-GREEK HISTORICAL AND ECONOMIC BACKGROUND, 1945-1947 134 VI THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE RESOURCES OF THE ISLAND UNDER GREEK RULE, 1947-1954 139 Agriculture I39 Agricultural Extension Work I4l Development of Minor Irrigation Projects 142 Soil Conservation 143 Other Measures 143 Fruit and Vegetable Growing 144 Livestock 14.5 Forestry 147 Fishing 148 TABLE OP CONTENTS (CONT'D.) CHAPTER PAGE Industry 149 Shipping 150 Foreign Trade I50 Tourism I50 VII CONCLUSIONS I58 Strategic Factor I58 Commercial Factor I58 Ethnic Factor 159 Economic-geographic Factor I60 Economic Development I62 Obstacles to Economic Problems l64 Disposition of the Island I65 BIBLIOGRAPHY I67 AUTOBIOGRAPHY I73 DIST OP TABLES TABLE PAGE I Export and Import Trade of Rhodes In the Years I908 through 1912 47 II Value of Imports and Exports Into and from Rhodes, by Countries, 1909 49 III Shipping that Entered and Cleared at the Port of Rhodes during the Years, 1908-12 50 IV Production of Agricultural Crops in San Marco, 1940 68 V Production of Agricultural Crops in San Benedetto, 1940 69 VI Production of Agricultural and Animal Products In Peveragno, 1938 73 VII Land Use in Rhodes, 1938 74 VIII Income from Agricultural Crops and Livestock Products, 1938 75 IX Area, Production, Yield; Wheat, Barley, 1935-38 79 X Production of Olive Oil and Edible Olives in Rhodes, 1935-38 84 XI Cost of Operating One Hectare of Vineyards in Rhodes for a Period of Six Years 87 XII Wine Exports, Rhodes, 1926-1932 88 XIII Production of Raisins in Rhodes, 1935-1938 90 XIV Shipping that Entered and Cleared at the Port of Rhodes during the Years, 1927 to 1933 117 XV Annual Trade Balance of Rhodes, 1926-1939 (in tons) 120 XVI Annual Trade Balance of Rhodes, 1928, 1930, 1931-1939 (in dollars 121 XVII Exports of Rhodes, 1933 122 vi vil LIST OF TABLES (CONT'D.) TABLE PAGE XVIII Imports of Rhodes, 1933 (in tons) 124 XIX Imports of Rhodes, 1933 (in dollars) 125 XX Imports and Exports of Rhodes and Countries of Origin, 1930 and 1938 (in tons) 127 XXI Number of Tourists and Nationality of Tourists Visiting Rhodes, 1932-1939 131 XXII Total Shipment of Commodities and Value by Categories Shipped to Rhodes, August, 194-5 to September, 1946 136 XXIII Production of Major Agricultural Crops, Rhodes, 1938, 1948, 1954 (in tons) l40 XXIV Imports of Rhodes, 1954 151 XXV Total Quantity and Percentage of Principal Imports from Foreign and Interior Ports to Rhodes, 1954 152 XXVI Exports of Rhodes, 1954 154 XXVII Total Quantity and Percentage of Principal Commodity Exports to Foreign Countries and Greece from Rhodes, 1954 155 XXVIII Number of Tourists Visiting Rhodes, 1948-1954 157 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE 1. Location 4 2. Typical rugged mountain slopes of Rhodes 6 3. Dissected hills west of the city of Rhodes 6 4. Distribution of population 8 5. Coarse, bouldery alluvial soil In the Cattavla plain 12 6 . Fertile alluvial soil 12 7. The barren hills and the Islands of trees are typical of Rhodes 15 8 . Maquis covered slopes 15 9. Italian settlements 65 10, General view of the Irrigated areas In Peveragno 67 11, Reclaimed land In San Marco 67 12, The Panomllo reservoir 70 13, An Irrigation canal JO 14, A general view of the Stablllmento Ortlcoltura Vlvalo dl Coschlno 71 15. An Irrigated olive grove In San înedetto 7I 16, Land utilization map 76 17. Distribution of olive trees map 82 18, Distribution of vineyards map 86 19. Workers cleaning raisins 91 20, Women sorting raisins 91 21, European beehives 95 22, Native beehives 95 vlll IX LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS (CONT'D.) FIGURE PAGE 23. Dairy cattle 98 24. Improved sheep stock 98 25. Milk goats 100 26. Cattle grazing 100 27. The main highway of Rhodes I30 28. The airport of Rhodes I30 INTRODUCTION One of the problems that confronted the allied nations in the 1919 Peace Conference was the disposition of enemy-held areas which were claimed by the different allied nations under the doctrine of self-determination. Areas which had become integrated into the economy of some nations were separated from them and turned over to other nations. Certain economic, political, and social disloca­ tions resulted from these transfers. The island of Rhodes off the southwestern coast of Turkey was one of the proper­ ties involved. Under the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), the island was transferred from Turkey, an agrarian nation, to Italy, a semi-industrial nation.1 In 1947, sovereignty of the island was again shifted, this time to Greece, a semi­ agrarian nation, on the grounds that Rhodes was inhabited by Greeks. Greece was pleased to get the island because it meant an increase in the size and population of her country. In both transfers the decisions of the statesmen were based mainly on non-geographic factors. Since the island of Rhodes was bandied about, it has seemed worth­ while to try to determine from an economic-geographic 1 Actually, all of the Dodecanese islands were transferred to Italy. 2 viewpoint its logical status. In this investigation, we consider first the actual development of the resources of the island under the Ottoman Empire, Italy, and Greece respectively. Secondly, the results of the economic policies of each of the governing nations are reviewed. Thirdly, in the light of economic- geographic circumstances an attempt is made to determine what its logical status should be: (l) continued affilia­ tion with Greece; (2) a return to Italian or Turkish rule; (3 ) conversion to an independent state. I PHYSICAL ASPECTS Location: Rhodes, one of the Dodecanese Islands, has an area of 565 square miles, and is located I5 miles off the southwestern coast of Asia Minor. It is not only close to the coast but essentially a member of the Cyclades islands forming a part of the Aegean archipelago. Proximity to the coast of Asia Minor, ready accessibility to traffic in the eastern Mediterranean and potentiality as a base for ship operations have attached to it exceptional interest among Mediterranean powers. Geology : Rhodes, geologically, belongs to the unsubmerged segment of the sunken land bridge that formerly connected Asia Minor with Greece.1 The island consists of a massive core of resistant metamorphic rocks, poor in economic ores. Over the flanks of this core are sedimentary beds of marls, sandstones, and limestones. Coastal plains and terraces are generally narrow. They extend from the northern end of the island as far as the town of Kalavarda on the west coast. ^ The island seems to occupy a zone of weakness in the earth's surface. This is attested by the number of earthquakes that have taken place since recorded history. Eight earthquakes have occurred since 227 B.C. ISLAND OF RHODES Figure 1 5 and Zambia cape on the east coast. Small patches of allu­ vium are scattered south of the village of Lindos, the largest of them at the town of Kattavia uniting southern ridges of the main highland to what once was an inshore inlet, between Cape Prasso and Caravola.^ Surface Configuration: Rhodes is mountainous. It is dominated by a central chain, one which extends from Crete through Rhodes to Asia Minor.