Nikolaos Skoufas ( el, Νικόλαος Σκουφάς; 1779 – July 31, 1818) was a founding member of the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''ret ...

("Society of Friends"), a Greek conspiratorial organization against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. (''retrieved from University of California Library'')

Biography

Skoufas was born in 1779 in the village of

Kompoti Kompóti ( el, Κομπότι, ) is a village and a former municipality in the Arta regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nikolaos Skoufas, of which it is a municipal unit. The munic ...

near Arta,

Ottoman Greece Most of the areas which today are within modern Greece's borders were at some point in the past part of the Ottoman Empire. This period of Ottoman rule in Greece, lasting from the mid-15th century until the successful Greek War of Independence t ...

. His father's surname was "Koumparos". He worked at various times as an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

, a commercial secretary and a

hatter Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

(from which he took the name Skoufas). Skoufas left as a merchant for

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

for business purposes. While there, he became acquainted with

Athanasios Tsakalov Athanasios Tsakalov ( el, Αθανάσιος Τσακάλωφ) was a member of the Filiki Eteria ("Society of Friends"), a Greek patriotic organization against Ottoman rule. (''retrieved from University of California Library'') Biography Tsakalo ...

and

Emmanuil Xanthos Emmanuil Xanthos ( el, Εμμανουήλ Ξάνθος; 1772 – November 28, 1852) was a Greek merchant. He was one of the founders of the Filiki Eteria ("Society of Friends"), a Greek conspiratorial organization which opposed the Ottoman Empir ...

. The three men came up with the idea of founding a secret organisation to prepare the ground for Greek independence. So, the Filiki Eteria was founded in 1814 in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

. Skoufas dedicated the rest of his life to the cause. For this purpose he went to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

but his ideas did not meet with the approval of many people of the local Greek community. In 1818, the three partners moved to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

to further their cause, but in July of that same year Skoufas fell ill and died.

References

1779 births 1818 deaths Members of the Filiki Eteria Greek Freemasons Milliners People from Arta (regional unit) {{Greece-bio-stub