The First Cretan Rebellion against the Ottoman Authority: Narratives and Sources

Abstract

The first rebellion threatening the Ottoman authority in Crete was started by Sfakiots under the leadership of Daskalogiannis in 1770. This study aims to conceptualize this rebellion, which quickly collapsed. It examines the political, socio-economic and religious causes that triggered the rebellion, which occurred as a continuation of Morean Insurrection (Orlov Revolt), which unfolded during the Ottoman-Russian war of 1768-1774. It also scrutinizes the consequences of the rebel-lion. Additionally, it  discusses the possible reasons for the limited attention given to this historical phenomenon in the Ottoman and modern Turkish historiographies, despite the fact that the rebellion and its leader enjoyed an outstanding position in the nineteenth century Greek historiography. This study explores the insurgents’ re-ligious and political motivations, as well as the responses it provoked from the local and central Ottoman administrators.