Xenocracy - State, Class, and Colonialism in the Ionian Islands, 1815-1864

Of the many European territorial recon¿gurations that followed the wars of the early nineteenth century, the Ionian State remains among the least understood. Xenocracy öers a much-needed account of the region during its half-century as a Protectorate of Great Britain - a period that embodied all of the contradictions of British colonialism. A middle class of merchants, lawyers and state öcials embraced and promoted a liberal modernization project. Yet despite the improvements experienced by many Ionians, the deterioration of state ¿nances led to divisions along class lines and presented a signi¿cant threat to social stability. Sakis Gekas shows that the impasse engendered de- pendency upon and ambivalence toward Western Europe, anticipating the 'neocolonial' condition with which the Greek nation struggles even today.

About the author

Sakis Gekas is an Associate Professor and the Hellenic Heritage Foundation Chair in Modern Greek History at York University, Toronto. He has written on the Ionian Islands under British rule, on merchants and ports in the Mediterranean, and the economic history of nineteenth-century Greece.

Product details

• Authors: Sakis Gekas, Gekas Sakis
• Publisher: BERGHAHN BOOKS, INC
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 10.11.2023
• EAN: 9781805391272
• ISBN: 978-1-80539-127-2
• No. of pages: 380
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, European History, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism, c 1800 to c 1900, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, Colonialism & imperialism, Colonialism and imperialism, Greek Islands, National liberation & independence, post-colonialism, HISTORY / Europe / Greece, Decolonisation and postcolonial studies, Ionian Islands, History: 18th/19th Century; Colonial History