Synopsis

Between 1828-1830, the Greek administration undertook the collection of statistical data concerning the population and settlements of the Peloponnese. Through systematic research, which involved the identification and mapping of approximately 1,800 place names, it became possible to reconstruct the demographic landscape of the Peloponnese at the conclusion of the Greek Revolution.

This presentation will first outline the key characteristics of settlement distribution and population patterns in the Peloponnese during this period. Moreover, it will briefly examine specific issues such as the impact of military conflicts on settlements and population mobility—both Christian and Muslim—the fundamental features of the rural economy (including agriculture and livestock farming) during the turbulent years of the war, and the significance of studying the etymological origins of place names prior to the renaming process carried out by the Greek state following its establishment.

Bio

Michael Festas was born in Athens in 1986 and is a graduate of the Department of History and Archaeology at the Faculty of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, holding both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. He completed his doctoral dissertation in the same department, titled “The Settlements of the Peloponnese during the Greek Revolution: Space, Population, and Habitation”. His research interests focus on the study of population history, settlements, and the geography of the Greek territory during the period of Ottoman rule and in modern times.

He is well-versed in the cartographic capabilities offered by Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for historical research and has published articles on the history of settlements and the population of the Peloponnese during the Revolution in both Greek and international academic journals. He has worked as an external research associate on numerous projects at the Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation and the Department of History and Archaeology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

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