“Little Malta”: Psara and the Peculiarities of naval warfare in the Greek Revolution

Abstract The tiny island of Psara, located in the northeastern Aegean Sea, constitutes a lieu de mémoire for Greek War Independence. Psara occupied prominent place Philhellenic discourse due to spectacular achievements island’s fireships and bloody reprisals after an attack 1824 by Ottoman navy. This chapter utilizes case as laboratory examining various questions related military history (such nature naval operations, their resources, techniques, command) Mediterranean framework (particularly involving legacy Russian–Ottoman 1768–1774). It addresses broader issues debates concerning immediate causes outbreak Revolution 1821 well perceptions events (e.g., looting Muslim settlements on Anatolian coast Psara’s warships). study draws neglected corpus sources, including voluminous “Archive Psara” (Academy Athens, 1974) diaries war ships.