Manto (Magdalene) Mavrogenous was born in 1796 or 1797 in Trieste and was a prominent figure in the Greek Revolution of 1821, one of the few women to stand out in the Struggle.
With the beginning of the Revolution, Manto Mavrogenous from Tinos, where she lived after the death of her father in 1818, hurried to Mykonos and led the uprising of the inhabitants of the island. She allocated large sums of money for the equipment and manning of Mykonian ships and according to the information of foreign travellers, mainly took part in operations against the Turks in Karystos, Pelion and Fthiotida (1823). On October 11, 1822 she led the struggle of the inhabitants of Mykonos to repel the landing of Algerian pirates on the island.
According to Greek sources, in 1823 the Parliament recognized with a decision its services until then and awarded her the rank of Lieutenant General and a small pension and granted her a dwelling in Nafplio, where she moved. Her resources had been exhausted and she was forced to sell her family’s property in the Cyclades Islands.
Mavrogenous led enlightenment expeditions in Europe and addressed an appeal to the women of Paris, to side up with the Greeks.
Mavrogenous΄ engagement to Demetrios Ypsilantis was opposed by several powerful politicians who saw the unification of two powerful families, which held pro-Russian affiliations, as a threat. Chief among their opponents in Greece was Ioannis Kolettis who led the successful charge to break the engagement. After the engagement she returned to Nafplio, where she lived, deeply depressed, in destitution and was not repaid the money she had given for various battles. After Ypsilanti’s death and her intense political conflicts with Ioannis Kolettis, she was exiled from Nafplio and returned to Mykonos, where she occupied herself with the writing of her memoirs.
After the murder of Kapodistrias (1831), the problems of survival intensified for the heroine. She settled in Paros, where there were relatives, but unfortunately she caught a typhoid fever. One morning in July 1840, the heroine closed her eyes forever, at the age of 44, almost forgotten by everyone…
Ανδρώνη Γεωργία
*Το άρθρο αυτό είναι εργασία της Γεωργίας Ανδρώνη για τους ήρωες και τις ηρωίδες του ΄21 στο πλαίσιο του μαθήματος των Αγγλικών. Ευχαριστούμε τόσο τη μαθήτρια όσο και την καθηγήτρια, κα Έφη Σαμαρά, που το επιμελήθηκε.
