Chiot Refugees in the British Empire after the Chios Massacre (1822)

The Chios Massacre (1822), where 100,000 inhabitants of the Aegean Island of Chios were killed, enslaved, or displaced by Ottoman forces, was one of the defining moments during the Greek War of Independence (1821–32). Following the massacre, a call went out from English Philhellenes (‘admirers’ and supporters of Greece) asking British houses in the ports of Europe to house fleeing Chiot refugees. The massacre ultimately spurred on a mass migration of Chiots to Britain, particularly London where there was already a small existing Chiot community, and to ports in the Mediterranean, including the British possessions of the Ionian Islands and Malta. This chapter follows discussions of the Chiots as a coerced diaspora and looks at the emigration, settlement, community building, and integration of Chiot refugees into Britain and the British Empire following the massacre. It explores concepts including their relationship with the Greek community and wider society, the role of British officials, consuls, missionaries, and Philhellenes, their long-term community outcomes, and their movements within and utilisation of British Imperial networks.