Chronicling the Greek textiles industry in the first half of the twentieth century: two case studies

Abstract

Having spread its wings in the sky of independence post-revolutionary Greece employed new ways of supporting its tormented people and the shattered economy of the newly born Greek State by focusing on the development of local craft and industry, most sectors of which showed remarkable growth until the beginning of the twentieth century. The textile sector, as early as the 1860s, had proven to be particularly productive and in spite of the historical and socio-political difficulties of the second half of the nineteenth century it was developed into one of the most prolific sectors of Greek industry in the years that followed, especially in the then ‘metropoles’ of industry and transit trade of the country, as were the ports of Piraeus and Hermoupolis, the capital of Syros island.

This research attempts to trace the development of the domestic textile industry from its birth to its heyday in the interwar period, commenting and analyzing its importance for the cities of Piraeus and Hermoupolis. Moreover, the case studies of the textile factory of Retsina brothers and of Krystallis-Tsagarakis textile company respectively will shed light on the way the Greek textile industry functioned, but also on its impact on the sociocultural and economic profiles of these two ports in the early twentieth century.