citinotes

Manchester of the Aegean

Wandering through the streets of Ermoupoli, the capital city of Syros island, is a visual delight. Marble-paved streets encircle a magnificent city square, where elegant mansions and public buildings engage in a neoclassical beauty contest. However, the allure of this glamorous facade, which fills the locals with pride, is underpinned by a landmark of equal significance, though less prestigious: Syros’ historic shipyard and industrial zone, stretching west of the port.

Tracing back to the early 1820s, a time when Greeks from across the nation were locked in a struggle against Ottoman rule, Syros, traditionally under French protection, stood as one of the rare war-neutral havens. With a port shielded from both winds and fire-guns, Syros became a promise-land for countless Greek war refugees, determined to rebuild their lives from the ashes.

At the shipyard of Ermoupolis, newcomers among seafarers and merchants encountered a commercial fleet ravaged by naval battles and undertook its reconstruction. Infused with a keen business acumen, they crafted ships that not only fueled the war with essential resources like wheat and guns but also generated the funds necessary for expanding their fleet and establishing the roots of their own industrial production.

Their expertise, rooted in craftsmanship methods brought from their homelands, bestowed the island with invaluable know-how, contributing to the production of top-quality goods ranging from cotton fabrics and glass to oil-based paints, tanned hides, and delectable sweets. In no time, they ventured into international markets, significantly increasing their exports to destinations as distant as Marseille and the original Manchester.

In just a few years, Syros’ ships and factories successfully redrew the trade map of the Eastern Mediterranean, positioning the island at its very center. Alexandros Moraitidis (1850 – 1929), a notable 19th-century Greek travel writer, harkens back to the turn of the 20th century when Syros earned the moniker of the ‘Greek Manchester.’ The comparison is apt: in an agrarian nation untouched by the industrial revolution sweeping the West, the expansive premises of Syros’ factories employed hundreds of workers. The scale of this workforce was unparalleled in Athens, Greece’s burgeoning new capital.

Moraitidis, in his travel notes, guides us through the bustling workshops of a steamship shipbuilding company, a tannery, and a weaving mill. Amidst the clatter, sophisticated cogwheels, dryers, and looms diligently wove, thread after thread, the fabric of the island’s economic glory.

Subsequently, the perspective shifts to that of Rita Boomi-Papa (1906 – 1984), a notable female Greek poet, who eloquently paints a vivid picture of the daily life of a ship worker. For countless years, hundreds of islanders would rise before dawn, embarking on a journey covering miles to reach the shipyard, a tablecloth poke hanging from their arms. Each night, their wives poured their love into preparing husbands’ meals, wrapped in freshly cleaned cotton pokes—simple lunches composed of humble fare like bread, onion, and olives.

With equal measures of care and humility, successive generations of workers and craftsmen devoted their entire lives to the shipyard. In a mere 30 years, they accomplished a staggering feat: the construction of over 4,000 ships, solidifying Syros as a formidable naval power.

Snapshot that captures the launching of a new boat in Syros’ shipyard, 1954. Photo by V.Panayotopoulos, featured in The Industrial Museum of Ermoupoli.

Citinotes

"This is the Manchester city of Greece, where factory chimneys stand in line, like minarets of life and labor."

Alexandros Moraitidis, On the Waves of a Northern Wind, 1902.

chapter 1

City of smokestacks

Today, let’s take a leisurely stroll through the city of smokestacks, where the factory chimneys of the Greek Manchester stand in orderly succession, resembling minarets of life and labor.

Venturing beyond the coastal road […] our gaze is met with awe at the grandeur of the steamship building company’s factories, adorned with the opulence of machinery. Within various compartments, amidst the rhythmic thumping of iron machines and the thunderous clunks, engineers, workers, and apprentices diligently construct all the engines required to power a steamship. A bit farther, in a quieter chamber, lathe operators and craftsmen fashion the luxurious recliners of a passenger steamship using noble mahogany wood. They also skillfully craft sculpted cabin doors and other intricate decorations. Outside, at the expansive dry dock, a colossal steamship looms like a mountain, challenging to approach, patiently awaiting cleaning before resuming its journeys.

rusty scrap from old factory machinery

As we continue our stroll, we encounter two magnificent tannery factories, renowned throughout Europe for their comprehensive machinery and tools dedicated to leather treatment. These establishments boast courtyards, halls, washing machines, dryers, tanks, and basins, all essential for processing the raw materials, the majority of which originate from the abundance of cows in South America. Workers, seated in a corner, partake in a simple meal of bread and grapes – it being Wednesday, a day of strict fasting. These twin leather factories form a city within the city, exporting diverse leather types to the country’s mainland, islands, and the Anatolian coasts […]. Adorned with numerous golden medals and awards from various European Expositions, both factories employ an extensive workforce, with over 150 workers in each tannery department, predominantly hailing from Crete and Chios islands.

Approaching the expansive weaving mill of Nostraki and Andreopoulou, a delightful melody emanates from the factory, as if a grand celebration is underway. It is the song of the working girls who, during their break, harmonize in this melodic interlude. This melody serves as the finely crafted solace of labor, a response to the somber and disreputable idleness that Hesiodos first rebuked in the ancient mythical years.

The grand weaving mill of Ladopoulos stands as the most remarkable spectacle of all. It holds the distinction of being the sole factory of its kind not only in Greece but also in Asia Minor. Boasting an impressive array of 65 steam-powered looms, skillfully operated by a workforce of 300 young ladies, the factory operates for 7 hours each day. Their collective efforts result in the production of approximately six thousand cubits of cloth, which transform into exquisite towels, sheets, and other magnificent linen pieces.

Alexandros Moraitidis, On the waves of a northern wind, 1902 in Manos Eleftheriou, Syros in literature, Metechmio, 2003.

Αλέξανδρος Μωραϊτίδης, Με του Βοριά τα Κύματα, 1902 in Μάνος Ελευθερίου, Η Σύρος στη Λογοτεχνία, Μεταίχμιο, 2003.

A working table from Emmanuil Ladopoulos's textile factory. — Working table of a renowned textile factory, founded in 1895 by Emmanuel Ladopoulos -later minister of finance- featured in the frame of the background wall.

Certificate of excellence to Zoumboulakis sweet manufacture.

Manual-operated cylindrical press for the moulding of sugar candies.

A box of « Halvadopites » a famous sweet delicacy of the island. — A box of nougat pies, the so-called “Halvadopites”, a famous sweet delicacy of the island. This group of photos was taken at the Industrial Museum of Syros.

chapter 2

A day at the shipyard

In 1886, my mother, Chrysso, arrived in Syros.

During that period, our city thrived in commercial prosperity and maritime splendor, radiating cultivation and opulence. […] The city, designed in an amphitheatrical fashion, possessed the power to captivate even the most seasoned travelers with its beauty, especially when glimpsing the island’s grand port for the first time.

The bustling port was a cacophony of activity, adorned with ships sporting flags from various nations. The streets teemed with crowds, echoing with the clamor of boatmen, the hustle and bustle of loading and unloading boats, and the lively calls of coffee sellers, fishermen, and newspaper vendors announcing headlines or other proclamations from the authorities.

The resounding din emanated from the docks, echoing through the streets. Even as dusk descended, the clamor from the port, though it seemed to originate from the sea, showed no signs of abating. Instead, it swelled, fueled by crowds pouring out of every street, converging towards the city center. […]

The moniker ‘Greek Manchester’ bestowed upon Syros by foreign cotton importers was apt. In its renowned shipyard, where both my grandfather and father served as master builders amidst a workforce of around a thousand, countless top-notch sailboats were meticulously constructed and rigged. From 1834 to 1864, Syros’ registry proudly recorded 4,103 ships, nearly all of them crafted in its shipyards. The revenue generated from the Customs, with their expansive warehouses, could almost single-handedly cover the expenses of the nascent Greek State. […]

Charterparty document

. A detail from Doxford opposed piston oil engine.

The old shipyard building of Syros

In the meadow of the shipyard, where the wind’s whistle carried away the laughter and voices of more than a thousand workers, a melodic tapestry unfolded as many sang songs hailing from their homelands.

In this vibrant space, the air was filled with Kleftika songs resonating from the Greek mainland (note: Kleftika were 19^th -century guerilla songs); Amanedes from Anatolia (languishing songs singing sorrows); Cantades from the Ionian Islands (Romantic songs with Venetian origins, serenading beneath ladies’ balconies); and Mantinades from Crete (recitation of poems or dialogs, set to rhythmic music). […]

All these diligent workers devoted their entire day to labor, from 6 o’clock in the morning until dusk, guided by the sun as their clock. Given the considerable distance between their homes and workplaces, the possibility of reuniting with their families for lunch was practically non-existent—except on Sundays. To cope, they brought breakfast and lunch from home, neatly packed in a denim towel secured with a knot: a half-pound of rye bread, a handful of olives, one or two onions, a slice of halva cake, and occasionally a few crumbs of touloumotyri, reputed as the most economical cheese globally. A jug of water, also transported from home and shaded beneath the keel to shield it from the sun’s warmth, completed their provisions. The more fastidious among them dined with a fork and spoon, utilizing ceramic pots for their legumes or greens, all prepared at home the night before.

This shipyard, in 1879, became the epicenter of the first and second significant strikes in the history of Greek labor movements, resonating across the entire nation and startling employers, bosses, the affluent, and even kings!

The impact wasn’t confined to shipyards alone; numerous other industries joined the cause. Dozens of factories seized the attention of the populace, employing thousands of workers. From the tanneries, where animal skins were buffed, to the spinning mills, the glass factory, and countless workshops producing emery, socks, towels, boxes, and brass items, to the factories creating clothes, shoes, shirts, hats […]. Trade and production were ablaze, with ships being loaded and unloaded at an unrelenting pace.

Rita Boomi-Papa, I Chrysso, Karanasi, 1984.

Ρίτα Μπούμη-Παπά, Η Χρυσώ, Καρανάση,1984.