Antonis Klapsis, Associate Professor of Modern History and International Politics at the University of the Peloponnese, spoke about the life of Greece’s first Governor, Ioannis Kapodistrias, shedding light on lesser-known aspects of the role he played in securing the Greek Revolution and establishing Greece as an independent state with expanded territory. He was speaking on Voice of Greece radio, on the program Our Global Voice, hosted by Dimitris Kontogiannis.
Among other points, Mr. Klapsis referred to the role Kapodistrias played at the congress held in present-day Ljubljana—then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire—in 1821, helping to prevent the Great Powers from sending troops to Greece to suppress the Revolution, as they had done in southern Italy and the Iberian Peninsula. He also highlighted the efforts of the founder of the modern Greek state to persuade Leopold—who had been elected King of Greece—to demand from the Great Powers that all of Central Greece, and not just a portion of it, be included in the newly established Greek state. The rejection of this demand led to Leopold’s resignation from the Greek throne, causing concern among the Great Powers of the time. According to the historian, they were ultimately compelled to accept the request in order to fill the throne. This occurred just a few days before Kapodistrias was assassinated in Nafplio—with the tragic result that he never lived to see the outcome.