Kalymnos in the 19th Century

After forming 'Tetranisos' and carrying out the decisions by the representatives of the Assembly to partially establish 'Demarchies' in Kalymnos, the Elders of the island requested to acquire dominating position again. They asked to 'burden the people with old debts' - as Ross mentions - and they didn't want the island to have schools in which the Kalymnian children would be taught reading and writing.

However, the local authorities demanded more money from the people in order to pay the Maktou ; the people refused and the first armed conflict between them took place in the beginning of 1837.

The Kalymnians, after seeing some of the Elders and the Archbishop from one side, to commit high-handed acts, and from the other, those who were supposed to be their protectors to take advantage of them, revolted against both, in the beginning of July 1837. After meeting at Panagia in Chora,
they decided to ask from the governor of Rhodes, Hafis .......... Pasas, to punish Mihalis Reisis and his nephews, and from Kallinikos - the Metropolitan Bishop of Rhodes - the displacement of Ieremias Patellakis who was the Archbishop. Both requests were successful and between 1838 and 1839 they urged on the question of education again ; all the inhabitants who were Greek citizens
raised the amount of 100,000 ........... , in order to pay for the teachers. The local authorities then, who lived in Thenia, tried to prevent the schools from opening, on December 1840.

Anarchy bursts out and the people, fearfully, cannot impose themselves since the authorities bring back to the island bandits from the surrounding areas to become their bodyguards.

Order will be imposed, though, only when the authorities surrender, the schools open, the old debts are abolished and the people agree to pay a certain contribution to the 'Demarchia' for the Maktou and the needs of the Community, participating effectively in the practice of the Communal Authority.

It is a period that starts in 1869 and draws near 1912. It is characterised by constant attempts to oppress the Dodekanese.

Since 1869, the people of Kalymnos struggled to defend their privileges. Four years after the establishment of the system of 'kaimakamies' on the island, the local authorities announced that there would be an increase of 8% in the imported goods and an extra percentage of 1% in the exported kinds. Furthermore, the 'Demarchia' would be deprived of the 3% from the tax, which was used to pay for the educational expenses of the Community of Kalymnos.

That order was discussed by the Greeks in a meeting which took place on the 21st November 1873.

There, it was decided to ask Heppocratis Tavlarios, the Kalymnian General Secretary and interpreter of Vilsetio in Archipelagos, to intervene in Ipsili Pili for the cancellation of the order. Tavlarios agreed and he managed to assure the privilege of the people to receive the percentage of the taxation
from the island's customs house. Both the industry of collecting sponges and the trading flourished again. Many people crowded the island. Pothia and the new Metropolis, Christos, was built and it was endowed with the great masterpieces of the Kalymnian art, such as the icons of Sak. Maglis, George Economou and Mihalis Alahouzos.

On the 1st March 1884, the people of Kalymnos voted for the establishment of the 'Nautical Organisation of collecting Sponges' and the next year, on the 9th February 1886, several matters of the local self-government were settled.

On the 20th December 1894, the Regulation of proper function of the Kalymnian Community was enforced.

During the last decade of the 19th century a kind of industrial revolution took place on the island ; the 'diving suit' was being used for the fishing of sponges, but the Kalymnians feared that the prevailance of this equipment would cause more deaths. Therefore, they voted for the abolishment of these diving suits on the 2nd November 1893.

On the 20th December 1895, the written law for the establishment of the local self-government of
the island, which was called 'Regulation of Demogerondia of Kalymnos', was voted in a festive meeting. On the 23rd January 1895, the representatives of this new system asked the Sultan to confirm the recognised privileges of the island again and to abolish the diving suits - the 'engines' as the locals called them - since the number of victims was getting bigger and bigger each year. Unfortunately, these requests were not accepted by the Sultan, so the Kalymnians entrusted Tavlarios with the matter of the cancellation of this diving equipment, on the 8th and 12th January 1900. Giannis Mailis and Stefanos Tiliakos went to Konstandinopolis and made the matters known to Tavlarios, who later announced the abolishment of the institution of the port and the prohibition of the use of diving suits. As a result, the Turkish flag was taken down from the port, the Turkish harbour master departed and the sail for fishing sponges with diving suits was forbidden.

The 19th century was over and the 20th century was rising with the material and intellectual peak of Kalymnos blooming.

In 1905, 'Nikiforios Greek School' was set up by Nikiforos Zervos, an Archimandritis of the Greek church. Nikolas Vouvalis, follows the steps of Zervos and moves forward to the erection of the 'Vouvalios School' where only young girls could attend.

In July 1908, revolution bursted out in Turkey. The 'Neotourki', who were in power, published the Constitution and asked to assimilate all regions of the Turkish State. They also granted the Christians the right to have their own representatives in the Turkish Parliament, so they asked from all twelve islands to choose them. The 'Demogerondia' of Kalymnos, in August 1908, sent letters to the 'Demogerondies' of the other islands in order to elect someone who was well aware of their privileged state and would be in position of protecting it whenever it was threatened. Five of the islands though, were included in the 'santzak' of Chios and the other seven in the 'santzak' of Rhodes. Therefore, the 'Demogerondia' of Kalymnos asked all the islands to demand common administrative dependence, otherwise they wouldn't participate in the elections. This recommendation wasn't accepted, though.
The Turkish Constitution abolished the dismissal of the Christians from the Othomanian army and established the conscription. The new government started taking away the privileges gradually, took over the customs houses, set up ports, imposed several taxes and introduced the Turkish language as the language of the Courts of law.

The war between Turkey and Italy which broke out, though, ended the Othomanian sovereignty over the Dodekanese, which lasted for 389 years.