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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Zarokostas, Evangelos Title: From observatory to dominion geopolitics, colonial knowledge and the origins of the British Protectorate of the Ionian Islands, 1797-1822 General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. 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From observatory to dominion: geopolitics, colonial knowledge and the origins of the British Protectorate of the Ionian Islands, 1797-1822 Evangelos (Aggelis) Zarokostas A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of PhD, Historical Studies in the Faculty of the Arts, School of Humanities, June 2018 word count: 73,927 1 Abstract The thesis explores official information-gathering and colonial rule during the transition which led to the British Protectorate of the Ionian Islands, between 1797 and 1822. It studies more closely the official anxieties that played a crucial role in the protectorate’s early development, placing these in the framework of British official concerns after the Napoleonic Wars related to retrenchment and security associated with a militarist ethos. Overwhelmingly, previous historiography on the islands has focused on the controversies which brought the end of the protectorate. It has also, to some extent, exaggerated the transformative characteristics of imperial rule. Unlike previous studies of British rule in the islands (Anglokratia in Greek) which focus on its end and the ultimate cession of the islands to Greece in 1864, this thesis focuses on the early period of British rule, analysing the origins of the protectorate in a Mediterranean, as well as an imperial, context. British officials were ambivalent about the place of the protectorate in the empire from its very beginning. Yet, despite the recurring political and economic crises going on in the islands during the period under study, the British were adamant on maintaining control over the islands. Taking the Ionian Islands as a case-study of early nineteenth century imperial rule, this thesis argues that the reasons for maintaining control over the islands were more directly related to the wartime origins of the protectorate than of what is often assumed in the historiography on the islands. Similarly, as in other parts of the empire, crucial aspects of the governance of the islands, such as the control of information and the compilation of statistics, consistently followed official mentalities of the period, which should not be conflated with the subsequent ‘information revolution’ of the 1830s. In order to illuminate this argument further, the thesis focuses on key themes including disease-control, information-collection and security imperatives. By re-examining the origins of the protectorate and its ‘logic’ of rule in the earlier period this thesis revises our understanding of the nature of British rule in the islands and offers for potential comparison with other wartime acquisitions. 2 Dedication To Artemis Anastasaki, a very special person to me. This work is dedicated to her, for her great heart, love and wisdom. The thesis would be poor without the long journeys, the things that I learned, and the discussions I had with her. 3 Acknowledgments This thesis would never have happened without the backing and love of people closest to me: Artemis and my family, Kostas, Elsa, and Myrto. I want to thank them first. Also, the project would never come to fruition without the support of Saripoleion Foundation Athens in Greece. I am incredibly grateful to them for funding my project, despite the challenging times that came along during the economic crisis in my country. My supervisors, Simon J. Potter and Richard Sheldon, have been incredibly helpful and patient from the earliest steps of this project. I am grateful to Simon for the fascinating discussions about the British Empire and history in general, as well as his guidance on research, teaching and particularly for the day-to-day practicalities of being an academic! I would also like to thank Richard for the thought-provoking discussions on history, politics, revolutionary movements, and, well, volcanoes. I have truly learned a lot from both of them during these last couple of years, and especially from their kindness and good sense of humour. In Greece, discussions have been particularly interesting with professors since my early years as an undergraduate student, as well as with other scholars that I got to know more recently: Sakis Gekas, Panayiotis Kapetanakis, and Olga Katsiardi-Herring. Especially Gelina Harlaftis’ comments on the early stages of the thesis have been very helpful. Such discussions have helped me balance the project between Greek and British histories and historical traditions. The workshop that was organized by the French Archeological Institute in Athens was truly a fascinating experience, where I had the chance to meet with many intelligent scholars. From them I would like to thank especially for the discussions and their friendship: Erik De Lange, for reading drafts of the thesis, as well as for the fascinating discussions we had on maritime security and piracy in the Mediterranean. Anna Sekulic, for aspects of Balkan and Ottoman history. Lucia Carminati, for discussions on empires and how to do research in general. This workshop really kept me going, in a particularly challenging and questioning phase for the project. On previous periods outside of my field, I would like to thank Reinard Gluzman for the very informative discussions, and journeys to the Venetian legacies (figuratively and literally). 4 Conversations with British academics have greatly enriched my understanding of British as well as of Greek history. From the beginning, I am grateful to Robert Holland for discussing with me the project and for reading earlier drafts of the thesis. His assistance and encouragement has been invaluable. At the same time, academic conversations evolved into friendships: I feel incredibly fortunate that I have met people like Khaleelah Jones, Fernando Padilla Angulo, Denise Vargiu, Maria Papathanasiou, Peter Evans and many others. A special thanks to Khaleelah, who, apart from honoring me with her friendship, has offered accommodation while staying in London for research and has given me very helpful comments on the thesis. I would also like to thank Joshua Wollens and Dan Booker for proofreading the thesis. Finally, I would like to thank the personnel in the archives and libraries that I used for doing the research for the thesis: in the United Kingdom, I am indebted to the professionalism of the staff in the National Archives and the British Library in London, as well as for the incredible help of the staff in The University of Nottingham Archives, Manuscripts and Special Collections. In Greece, I have been benefitted tremendously by the help of archivists in the General State Archives in Athens and Corfu. 5 Author’s Declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University's Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate's own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author. SIGNED: E.Z. DATE: 24/06/2018 6 Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 2 Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... 4 Author’s Declaration ....................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 11 Character and scope of the project .......................................................................................... 14 Statistical forms