PhD Thesis: Episode 2.4 (Patreon)

[PATRONS]

In this chunky episode, we finish our analysis of Chapter 2, and the idea of insults to national honour, by looking at an infamous case from 1850 - the Don Pacifico Affair. 

In this crisis, Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston focused his ire on the offences committed by Greece. After several efforts to acquire compensation for wronged British subjects in Athens failed, by late 1849 Palmerston asserted that he had lost patience with the young Hellenic Kingdom. One case in particular, that of Don (or David) Pacifico, proved the final straw. When Pacifico's house was ransacked and his possessions damaged by an anti-Semitic mob, Athenian authorities refused to act. 

Enter Britain, now determined to uphold the rights of its citizens, wherever they might be. Although the connection between slighted Britons overseas and British national honour had been observed, only during this crisis in 1850 was the link so clearly established. There could be no retreat in the face of these offences, and the royal navy was deployed to blockade Greece, to demonstrate how seriously London took the matter. After many months of crisis - and hostility from Russia and France - Lord Palmerston weathered the storm, acquired satisfaction, and delivered perhaps the most famous speech in his career. 

These exploits cemented Palmerston's legend. He was the man who would fight for British rights and British honour, and he would not be deterred from seeking justice no matter the threats from abroad. Nothing, Palmerston maintained, should stand in the way of British justice. Just as the citizens of Rome had expected such protection, Britain could do nothing else but fight for its citizens, regardless of the consequences. This episode examines this fascinating crisis, and also the language of insult, satisfaction, and deterrence in a period where the British Empire was at the peak of its powers. I hope you enjoy it!