Finding out the family history and compiling a genealogical tree is not an easy task for Maniots, particularly for the periods before the foundation of the modern Greek state. At that time there were few official documents, and family archives were kept only by village leaders and merchants. These archives contain little information about the social activities and inter-territorial relations. This void is partially filled by historical knowledge. We know the important events between Greece and other states of each period, and in particular the course of diplomatic relations, the wars and the treaties with other countries. This kind of information gives us an idea of the social actitivies and the life in the areas that were affected by these events. Historic events define mass migrations and eventually the demographics of a particular area. During the pre-revolution era in particular, the demographics of Mani were greatly influenced by the historic events of that period. Maniots immigrated to other areas, but Mani also received a great number of people who came there from other areas. (On page 2 of every issue of our newspaper, MANIOT SOLIDARITY, you can find a lot of information on these mass migrations. The information relating to the historic events that caused these migrations has been classified in the first volume of our book PAGES FROM THE HISTORY OF MANI, and will be completed in the forthcoming second volume). 

   The main cause for the migration of many population groups in Mani, particularly in the pre-revolutionary era, was its strategic geographic location, as well as the combat readiness of its people and the good performance of Maniots in diplomacy. Mani’s geographic location was advantageous, because its coast was near the route of the merchant ships coming from ports in the West and heading towards the large urban centres of the East. Western European states were looking for alliances with Mani, which would protect their ships in case of adverse weather conditions and against pirate attacks. The excellent fighting skills and the combat readiness of the Maniots constituted a centuries-long tradition . The constant updating of these war skills and the familiarity with modern warfare made the Maniots sought-after allies, both in times of war and peace. Maniot priests and warlords were both equally competent negotiators, who examined the political situation of each period in a realistic and objective way, and then sided at the right time with the appropriate allies.

   The important events that influenced mass migrations during the two centuries before the foundation of the modern Greek state were the Ottoman invasions in Mani during the 17^th century, the 30-year Venetian occupation that followed, and then the second Turkish occupation, which together with the period of “autonomous leadership” (αυτόνομη ηγεμονία) in Mani, lasted until the Greek war of independence in 1821. These historic events brought demographic changes in Mani, the effects of which continue to the present day. We will try to give here a brief account of these events. The invasion of strong Ottoman and Algerian forces in Kotronas Bay during the second decade of the 17^th century resulted in the occupation of 80% of the territory of Mani and caused the first mass wave of immigration of Maniots to the West.  A second strong wave of immigration of Maniots occurred during the 1670’s, when, immediately after the occupation of Crete by Ottoman forces, the Turks built three forts in Mani (in Zarnata, Kelefa and Passava), and reinforced them with military and administrative personnel. The 30-year Venetian occupation that followed (1685-1710) led some Turks who had settled in the area to convert to Christianity and become permanent residents of Mani. The same happened to many Venetians who had settled in the area, after the new  Ottoman occupation of Mani, during the middle of the second decade of the 18^th century. Finally, the last strong immigration wave towards Mani occurred in the eighth decade of the same century  by refugees from other regions, who were forced to leave their homes due to the Albanian terrorism[1] in the Peloponnese, after the suppression of the Orlov uprising by the Turks and the subsequent withdrawal of the Russian troops.

In most cases, the Maniot immigrants abroad got assimilated into their new countries. The same applied, even more strongly, to the immigrants who settled in Mani. They quickly got assimilated into the culture, customs and religious practices of Mani, and in some cases they strenthened with their talents the contribution of Mani to the Greek independence war. Traces of these mass movements can be still found today…

[1] This terrorism was caused by the Albanian mercenaries who had been hired by the Ottomans to help suppress the Orlov uprising; the Turkish authorities were unable to pay them their promised wages, and the mercenaries were left ravaging and plundering the villages of the Peloponnese.

We are very close to the municipal elections (May 2019), the European parliamentary elections (also May 2019) and the Greek parliamentary elections (October 2019). Greek citizens will be able to evaluate past politician performances and decide on the best candidates. In law-abiding countries, integrity, political ethics and a merit-based approach in the elections have long been established, and the election process is quick and simple.  For those politicians who are presently in power and want to rerun in the next elections, the evaluation criteria should be based mainly on the work they produced during their term.  For the new candidates, the evaluation criteria should include the candidate’s objectivity, transparency and sound judgement , his/her engagement  in society at the local, national or European level, as well as his/her knowledge and skills in the management of complex projects.

Unfortunately, in our country, the evaluation criteria is often obscured by misleading and disorienting false information, such as the exaggeration of the work produced  and the skillful concealment of everything negative or inappropriate that was done during the term of politicians who wish to be reelected.  Even worse, during the pre-election period, the electorate is being inundated by pre-election promises – or “fireworks” –  false information lacking substance and credibility. This is usually done by the politicians in power. We are also inundated by inflated curricula vitae of the new aspiring candidates, which exaggerate their engagement in society as well as the administrative and leadership skills they have acquired through their professional or academic careers. The electorate should learn not to be so easily influenced, but to see through all this false information and evaluate the real qualifications of these candidates in an objective manner, whether they are already in political positions of power or whether they aspire to be. An informed electorate, which will base their voting decision on critical thinking, can help shape the new political scene and elect politicians who will strive for the common good and positive social results.

   To better illustrate the ideas presented above, we will refer to a 1989 characteristic pre-election promise – “firework” –  which misled and caused a lot of chagrin to thousands of Greek citizens.  In 1982 a new law in support of small businesses was passed, which promised to provide financial support (60% of the total estimated cost) to all new approved projects. This became a very strong incentive for many small businessmen, who rushed to submit all necessary documents and apply for subsidy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. However, these businessmen did not know something very important:  the annual subsibies would be extremely limited. For years, many such proposals for small investment projects were submitted, but all the businessmen ever received was an official document approving the project, but no actual subsidy! This “firework” was exposed after the elections, when 4/5 of the proposed projects did not get any subsidy , while the remaining 1/5 of the projects were financed with a much smaller amount that the one that had been promised! We believe that many of the present new pre-election approvals of big projects that we often hear about are also of the “firework” type: for the most part there are no real subsidies, but even if there is financing, there is not enough time left between now and the elections to even prepare the feasibility studies and tender out the contracts!

Of course, political maturity is not something that is being inherited; it is a complex  process that is acquired through education and life experience. It should be added that political maturity can be learned mainly through the long-standing and smooth-functioning social institutions. When these institutions are characterised by integrity, they create the right political climate that educates the citizens. In our country, the prolonged economic crisis has proven the defective functioning of the fundamental social institutions, a fact that leads us to self-reflection about our own role in the crisis and also to a common conscientious undertaking in order to avoid new lending and making the same errors of the past. Unfortunately, the information overload, a result of the media omnipresence, is not an asset, particularly during pre-election periods. The information overload forces the average citizen to filter through all this data, and to use critical thinking, so that he/she can distinguish between the essence and the “firework” pre-election promises. The election of the right politicians during the municipal and parliamentary (both Greek and European) elections is the single most important factor for overcoming the economic crisis. Emerging from the present financial crisis does not happen through slogans and political statements, but through an honest, effective, collaborative and cohesive management of our public affairs by the politicians and the political parties that we ourselves will elect.