From the book 'The Greeks in Morocco 1904-2012'
Ion Perdikaris was born in Athens.
His father, Gregory Perdikaris, was the US ambassador in Greece. At the age
of five years old Ion Perdikaris moved to the US.However, in 1862, during the
American Civil War, he settled in Greece and became a Greek citizen. In the
late 1900s he travelled to Morocco and resided in the city of Tangier.
On 18/5/1904, Ion Perdikaris and his adoptive son were abducted by an Moroccan bandit, Raisuli. According to descriptions, the first day of the hostage they forced to ride for more than 18 hours. When Theodore Roosevelt, the then president of the USA was informed of the incident he sent an ultimatum to the Sultan of Morocco. He declared that if Perdikaris had not been liberated, the US would declare war on Morocco. The US war ships approached the Morocco coasts but finally, Raisuli received the amount of $70,000 from the Perdikaris family and set him free on 23/06/1904.
The adventure of Ion Perdikaris became a movie by the title «The wind and the lion».
