1. Nikolaos Galatis was a Greek pre-revolutionary figure from Ithaca and one of the founding members of the Filiki Etairia, the secret revolutionary society.
16 Facts About Nikolaos Galatis
1. 2.
Nikolaos Galatis was initiated into the society by Nikolaos Skoufas in Odessa, and in turn he initiated many others into the revolutionary society, some of whom became important figures in the events of 1821.
3.
Nikolaos Galatis was born in either Anogi or Kioni in Ithaca, Greece, to a noble family of the Ionian Islands who had first received noble privileges in the late 14th and early 15th centuries under the Tocco family.
4.
Nikolaos Galatis is described by one report as 'a young Ithacan, handsome, from a noble family'.
5.
The only information known about the direct family of Nikolaos comes from the archival records of his being questioned by Russian authorities in 1817.
6.
Nikolaos Galatis had a brother, Eustathios, an archimandrite, who attempted to seek revenge for his brother after he was assassinated in 1819.
7.
Nikolaos Galatis was educated and cultivated, sufficiently so to join the Philomuse Society at Athens.
8.
Nikolaos Galatis claimed to have been educated at the prestigious school at Kydonies, and spoke Italian and French with sufficient fluency that he would use both of these languages professionally.
9.
Nikolaos Galatis spoke French with Capodistria when the two met in Russia.
10.
Nikolaos Galatis was arrested by officials in British-ruled Corfu in February 1816, for reasons which remain unclear, and upon being asked why he believed he was being questioned, he responded: 'I do not know, I cannot think of anything other than because I worked in the service of Ali Pasha'.
11.
Toward the end of 1816, Nikolaos Galatis set off for Odessa, where he met with members of the Greek community who were involved in the young revolutionary movement.
12.
Nikolaos Galatis was initiated into the secret society by Skoufas, one of its founding members.
13.
Nikolaos Galatis was either the third or fifth member of the society in sequence of initiation.
14.
Nikolaos Galatis wrote to Ioannis Capodistria, Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire under Tsar Alexander I, whom he asked to allow him to come to St Petersburg in order 'to make an announcement of great significance'.
15.
In St Petersburg, Nikolaos Galatis, who claimed to be a cousin of Capodistria's, asked him to take up the leadership of the secret society, which Capodistria resolutely refused.
16.
In St Petersburg, Nikolaos Galatis styled himself as a count and wore the uniform of the National Guard of the Ionian Islands.