Nationalists, Phanariots, and Constitutional Crisis: The 1908 Samos Uprising

The short-lived rebellion that broke out on the island of Samos in May 1908 is often characterized as the project of Greek nationalists aiming to unify the island with the Kingdom of Greece. Since 1834, Samos had been an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire, ruled by a Christian prince appointed by the sultan. While nationalist agitation played an important role in the 1908 uprising, the actual course of events was characterized by a complex interaction among Greek nationalists, those Samiotes who wanted to maintain the autonomous principality, and the agents of the imperial government. The uprising ultimately seems to have been a case of local nationalists exploiting a constitutional crisis to further their aim of uniting the island with Greece.