Modern Greece and the Diaspora Greeks in the United States by George Kaloudis (review)

Abstract

Poor economic conditions, instability within the country and the region, and a unique geographic location explain Greece’s intimate connection with migration, mostly as a sender and less frequently as receiver of refugees or returnees. In Modern Greece and Diaspora Greeks in the United States, George Kaloudis, a native of Greece and a USeducated academic, has tackled an important and, in view of the rising tides of antiimmigrant sentiments in Europe and the United States, increasingly relevant subject. The author recognizes that dealing with the Greek diaspora throughout the ecumene would be an enormous task and instead focuses the book on the causes and evolution of Greek immigration to the United States as well as the standing of and issues facing Americans of Greek ancestry in the “New World.” Kaloudis traces the trajectory of Greek immigration to the United States by identifying and examining “major episodes in domestic and foreign policy developments” in the mother country’s turbulent history. The author sees a close and conspicuous relationship between domestic economic, political, and social developments and the peaks and valleys in the history and nature of Greek diaspora. He identifies four fairly distinct periods. The first occurred before Greece achieved independence in 1830 and encompasses the nearly four centuries of Ottoman subjugation. In fact, aristocrats and intellectuals left the crumbling Byzantine Empire even before the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The subjugated people suffered from all sorts of restrictions and were subjected to heavy taxation by the Ottomans. Taxes became harsher as the empire lost the ability to expand and descended into poverty and decay. Oppressed Christian