Tragisches Ende
des Kapudan Pascha

 

"Tragisches Ende des Kapudan Pascha" depicts the destruction of the Turkish flagship by a Greek fire ship and the death of the Turkish Kapudan Pasha (High Admiral) Kara Ali on the night of June 18-19, 1822 in the port on the island of Chios. It is a unique rare print depicting one of the major events in the Massacre of Chios in which an estimated 20-25,000 Chians died at the hands of troops under the command of the Kapudan Pasha.

 

Chios is the 5th largest of the Greek islands and came under Turkish rule in 1566. By 1821 Chios had grown and prospered with a population of approximately 100,000 people. In 1822, during the Greek war for independence, the Chians did not rebel however a group of rebels from the neighboring island of Samos led by Lykourgos Logothetis landed on Chios and with the help of a small number of locals led by Antonis Bournias, besieged the Turkish garrison at the castle. Though the siege was unsuccessful, the attack infuriated the Turks who saw it as a betrayal by the people of Chios who had enjoyed more privileges than most of the Greeks under Turkish influence. The rebels left the island leaving the local Chian people to face the wrath of the Turkish army which under the command of Kapudan Pasha Kara Ali for 15 days slaughtered, burned, raped and sold the survivors into slavery.

 

According to the Greek historian Trikoupis about 23,000 Chians were killed and about 47,000 were enslaved.

 

In retaliation on the night of June 18-19, Constantine Canaris, a captain from the neighboring island of Psara, steered his fire-ship into the Turkish fleet, fastened it to the side of the 84-gun Turkish flagship Maizural-Livo of the Ottoman high admiral Kapudan Pasha Kara Ali, and set it ablaze. Canaris and his men then rowed away leaving the combustibles in the fire-ship to explode. The flagship caught fire trapping about 1,200 Turks including officers of the fleet from other ships who were aboard feasting for the Moslem holiday of Bayram and celebrating the recent destruction of Chios. The fire and subsequent explosion killed over 3500 people including tragically 2,286 Chians, mostly woman and children, who were held captive bound for slavery in the ship at the time. The Kapudan Pasha himself was brought ashore suffering from burns and injuries from the explosion and died from his wounds a couple of days after the attack. The fire ship attack is depicted in this engraving.

The paper has staining and damage as can be seen in the images, but this remains an amazing document full of interesting naval details. Nice strong imprint that would frame up beautifully.

 

Dimensions: 15.5 X 12 inches