Corfu and Yanya in Transnational Context at the Turn of the 20th Century

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: İstanbul Şehir Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, History, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2013

Tezin Dili: İngilizce

Öğrenci: ONUR ÖNER

Danışman: Abdulhamit Kirmizi

Özet:

This thesis is about border crossings between the Corfu Island and Yanya province at the turn of the 20th century. Greece?s irredentist policy and its attempt to construct a modern Greek national identity in Corfu will be discussed in the context of the multicultural and multilingual social environment that prevailed in the island. Between the transnational way of life in Corfu and the imposed nationalist policy of Greece emerged a new and growing discrepancy. Therefore, this study will evaluate the historical assumption that the island functionally served the interests of Greece after its unification with Greece in 1864. Yanya, which the Ottoman historiography has rarely touched upon so far, had a similarly multicolored and multi-faceted society at the turn of the 20th century. Demographically, the local population consisted of the Greeks, Muslim and Christian Albanians, and Vlachs. This study elaborates on each group separately and also on interventions of foreign states that aimed at increasing their political and economic influence while impairing Ottoman authority in the region. After discussing the political interests and expectations of various groups in Corfu and Yanya, the last chapter will focus on myriad aspects of interrelationships between the two shores. The transnational approach emphasizes the circulation of people, political organizations, philanthropic associations, and commodities that crisscross national demarcations and the impacts that stem from these movements.