Ion Perdicaris
Ion Perdicaris (* 1840 ; † 1925 in Chislehurst ) was a Greek - American bon vivant whose abduction in 1904 triggered the so-called Perdicaris incident.
Life
His father, Gregory Perdicaris , immigrated to the United States from Greece and married into a wealthy South Carolina family . He returned to Greece as consul general. In 1846 the family moved to Trenton . There he made a substantial fortune and was one of the founders of the Trenton Gas Co. The family property in South Carolina was in danger of being confiscated by the Confederate government in 1862 . In order to prevent this, his son, Ion Perdicaris, went to Greece to give up his American citizenship and obtain Greek citizenship.
Eventually Perdicaris emigrated to Tangier ( Morocco ). It was there in 1871 that Perdicaris met Ellen Varley, wife of the eminent telegraph engineer Cromwell Fleetwood Varley . She left her husband and moved to Perdicaris, a scandal by the standards of the time. In 1873 the marriage with her husband was divorced and she settled with two sons and two daughters at Perdicaris in Tangier. Perdicaris wrote several books about Morocco and held an important position in the foreign community.
The abduction
On May 18, 1904, Ion Perdicaris and Ellen's son Cromwell Varley were kidnapped from their villa by subordinates of the Berber insurgent Mohammed Abdullah Ibn el Raisuli el Hasali el Alani . Raisuli made several demands on Sultan Abd al-Aziz 70,000 dollars in gold, safe conduct and recognition as Pasha in two districts around Tangier.
The incident caused outrage in the United States and prompted Theodore Roosevelt to send a naval squadron to Morocco. The cruisers Brooklyn and Atlanta were there . Also there were some companies of the Marine Corps under the command of Admiral French Ensor Chadwicks . Pressure should be exerted on the government there, or something should be done to free the hostages.
On June 1, it became known that Perdicaris was no longer a US citizen. But Roosevelt argued that since Raisuli believed he was a US citizen, it didn't matter. Roosevelt tried to involve Great Britain and France in military action. Both states refused, however, and only agreed to put pressure on the Sultan to comply with Raisuli's demands. On June 21, Sultan Abd al-Aziz complied with the demands. Foreign Secretary John Hay felt compelled to save face and said at the Republican National Convention : "The government wants Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead." A few days after these words, Perdicaris was released.
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The fact that the US government complied with all of Raisuli's demands and that Perdicaris was not a US citizen was kept secret. It was not until 1933 that historian Tyler Denett brought this information to light.
The story was filmed in 1975 with Sean Connery and Candice Bergen in the leading roles. The wind and the lion , however, took ample historical freedom. Even today, Perdicaris Place in Trenton is a reminder of Ion Perdicaris and his father Gregory. Perdicaris died in Chislehurst, London, in 1925.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Perdicaris, Ion |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek-American bon vivant whose abduction in 1904 sparked the so-called Perdicaris incident |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1840 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1925 |
| Place of death | Chislehurst |