All about Zakynthos

The western side of the Forum ended at the residence of the Soumakis family, next to which there was a gate that separated the Forum from the Lachanagora. (picture 62 the first house on the left)

The Soumaki family originated from Constantinople and is found in Zakynthos since the middle of the 16th century.

Adzolos Soumakis, son of Signor Tzortzis, is the author of the "Narrative of the Rebellion of the Popolarians from the Nisi of Zakynthos where it took place in 1628".

The reason for the "rebellion of the popolarians" was the information that Saracen pirates were preparing to attack the island. The forecaster decided to record the population in "rolls" so that the protection of the island could be organized more effectively. The Popolarians, for their part, felt that the census would result in greater control of the population, the imposition of new taxes and compulsory recruitment. So riots broke out.

It was a revolt against the social stratification that the Venetians had applied and against the exclusivity of economic and social privileges and self-government monopolized by the class of "nobles".