Georgios Michalakis (1780 – 1839)

Georgios Michalakis (1780 – 1839)

Also known as Captain Manolakis, he was from Leonidio, in the Eastern Peloponnese and was the leader of the Tsakonians during the Greek War of Independence.

In the years before the Revolution, he was a Klepht, operating mainly throughout the Eastern Peloponnese.

Tsakonia, a distinct area in the east of the Peloponnese, was notable as a region in that in the months leading up to the Revolution, it was used as a suitable area to accumulate, as well as store large amounts of hidden weapons and ammunition.

At the outbreak of the 1821 Revolution, Captain Manolakis along with his small crew, participated in the Siege of Monemvasia, helping to liberate the town from the Turks in July of 1821.

He took part in the Battle of Granas in Arcadia in August of 1821 and also took part in the Battle of Dervenakia, north of Argos, in 1822.

The latter, is the site of one of the most crushing victories for the Greek Revolutionaries over the Turks, during the whole Revolution.