David Pacifico, known as Don Pacifico, was a Portuguese Jewish merchant whose home in Athens became central to a 19th century diplomatic crisis. Through 2015 the opening said his home was attacked and vandalised by an anti-Semitic mob that included the sons of a government minister, while police looked on and did nothing. Today the opening identifies him only as a merchant and diplomat who was the central figure in the Don Pacifico Affair, with the antisemitic mob attack gone entirely though the word survives three times in the body. A reader today does not learn that the international crisis bearing his name began with an antisemitic attack on his home.
Read line by line and written up by hand.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01. “blockade” appeared 2 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 2.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Don Pacifico became famous in 1850 as the trigger of a notorious international incident. Pacifico was a Portuguese Jew who had been born in Gibraltar . It was this claim to British citizenship that was the cause of the incident. He had been living in Greece for a period of time, owning some property and running a business. In 1847 Pacifico's business was attacked and vandalised.1He appealed to the Greek government for compensation for his injury.2When the Greek government was not forthcoming with assistance he appealed in 1848 to the British government for support. Lord Palmerston was the foreign secretary at this time and he took unilateral action in support of Pacifico. He sent the Royal Navy to Greece to blockade Greek ports and threaten Greek shipping. The blockade lasted 2 years, and caused great tensions with France and Russia . The affair ended only when the Greek government agreed to compensate Pacifico, after Greek ships were seized by the Royal Navy . Palmerston received a great deal of criticism from both foreign powers and domestic politicians. Queen Victoria was also said to be "not amused". However, Palmerston made an impassioned speech defending his actions before the House of Commons in which he compared the British Empire to the Roman Empire . Where a Roman citizen could say "Civis Romanus Sum" or, "am I not a citizen of Rome" and demand the full protection of the Roman Empire . He argued that British citizens should be able to do the same, thus justifying his particular style of gunboat diplomacy .3
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The opening as it stood in 2010 15 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
David Pacifico (1784–April 12, 1854) was of Portuguese Jewish descent and born in Gibraltar .He is best known to history as "Don Pacifico".In 1850, Don Pacifico was a key figure in the international crisis known as the Don Pacifico Affair .In 1847, while he was living and working in the Greek capital, Athens , as the Portuguese consul, Don Pacifico's home was attacked and vandalised by an anti-Semitic mob that included the sons of a government minister, whilst police looked on and did nothing.Don Pacifico appealed to the Greek government for compensation for loss of possessions, including documents relating to a substantial claim against the Portuguese government for monies owed.When in 1848 it became clear that compensation would not be given, he appealed to the British.Because Don Pacifico had been born in Gibraltar and was therefore a British subject, then foreign minister Lord Palmerston decided on military action and despatched a squadron of the Royal Navy to blockade Piraeus, the port of Athens.After some eight weeks of blockade, the Greek government at last paid suitable compensation to Pacifico.When challenged in Parliament on this issue, Palmerston justified his actions with, "Civis Romanus sum": translated as "I am a Roman citizen", this declaration by a Roman would protect him from harm anywhere in the ancient Roman empire .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 366193444.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
David Pacifico (1784 – 12 April, 1854) was a British subject from Gibraltar of Portuguese Jewish descent.He was born in 1784 and died in London 12 April, 1854.He is best known to history as "Don Pacifico" and for his role as the key figure in the Don Pacifico Affair of 1850. In 1847, while he was living and working in the Greek capital, Athens , as the Portuguese diplomatic consul , Don Pacifico's home was attacked and vandalised by an anti-Semitic mob that included the sons of a government minister, whilst police looked on and did nothing. Don Pacifico appealed to the Greek government for compensation for loss of possessions, including documents relating to a substantial claim against the Portuguese government for monies owed. When in 1848 it became clear that compensation would not be given, he appealed to the British. Because Don Pacifico was born in Gibraltar and was therefore a British subject, then foreign minister Lord Palmerston decided military action would be justified and dispatched a squadron of the Royal Navy to blockade Piraeus , the port of Athens.After an eight week blockade , the Greek government paid compensation to Pacifico.When challenged in the British Parliament about his course of action, Lord Palmerston justified it using the phrase, " Civis romanus sum ": translated as "I am a Roman citizen", this declaration by a Roman would protect him from harm anywhere in the ancient Roman empire .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 664396236.
The opening as it stood in 2020 9 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
David Pacifico , known as Don Pacifico (1784? – 12 April 1854), was a Portuguese Jewish merchant and diplomat.He was considered a British subject by birth and was the central figure in the Anglo-Greek dispute of 1850, known as the Don Pacifico Affair .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 961818296.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Gibraltarian merchant David Pacifico , known as Don Pacifico (1784? – 12 April 1854), was a Portuguese Jewish merchant and diplomat. He was considered a British subject by birth and was the central figure in the Anglo-Greek dispute of 1850, known as the Don Pacifico Affair .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1169387108.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Gibraltarian merchant (d. 1854) David Pacifico , known as Don Pacifico (1784? – 12 April 1854), was a Portuguese Jewish merchant and diplomat. He was considered a British subject by birth and was the central figure in the Anglo–Greek dispute of 1850 known as the Don Pacifico Affair .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1232760254. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
“blockade” appeared 2 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 2. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
antisemitism
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2010 and 2015.
Then
of portuguese jewish descent and born in gibraltar
Now
british subject from gibraltar of portuguese jewish descent
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
