September 2, 1877: Konstantinos Kanaris, the prankster of ’21, diestranslated

Konstantinos Kanaris was a leading figure of 21, military and political. He was born in 1793 or 1795 in Psara, into a family with a long maritime tradition. His father Michael or Mikes Kanargios or Kanarios was repeatedly the mayor of the island and from his marriage with Maria he had three boys, Anagnosti, Georgios and Konstantinos. Constantis was orphaned at a young age and followed the naval profession with the surname Kanaris. He worked as a porter in the kettle of his uncle Dimitris Vourekas, which transported Souliotes from Parga to Lefkada and learned the secrets of the sea. After his uncle's death, he took over as captain of his ship, with which he made many commercial voyages in the Mediterranean. At the age of 22, he married Despina Maniati, daughter of a well-known maritime family of Psara, with whom he had seven children.

Kanaris does not appear to have been initiated into the Friendly Society, but when the Revolution broke out, he was among the first to take part in the Struggle. He enlisted as a simple sailor in the fishing flotilla, formed by his friend Nikolis Apostolis. From the first companies he began to specialize in pyrotechnics and to...