History
Chios is one of the big ones, not only in size, but also in historical and economic importance. Like Samos and Lesvos, its proximity to Asia Minor (Turkey’s Karaburun peninsula lies just 8km away, across the Chios Straits) gave it a turbulent history of great successes and terrible tragedies. Many of Greece’s grand old shipping dynasties hail from Chios and its dependencies, Inousses and Psara. Under the Ottomans, Chios’ monopolistic production of mastic – the sultan’s favourite gum – brought Chians wealth and special privileges.
At the same time, during the Greek War of Independence, thousands were slaughtered by the Turks. A century later the ‘Great Idea’ (Megali Idea) for the liberation of the Anatolian coast unfolded with a naval assault from Chios – and ended with the Greek armies being driven back into the sea, as waves of refugees from Asia Minor flooded Chios and neighbouring islands.
Some Greeks argue that Christopher Columbus was a Chian, an intriguing possibility that cannot be entirely proven or disproven.
Chios
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