Ioannis Vlachos (), better known as Daskalogiannis (; 1722/30 – 17 June 1771) was a wealthy shipbuilder and shipowner who led a Cretan revolt against Ottoman rule in the 18th century. Life and career Ioannis Vlachos was born in Anopolis village in Sfakia, a semi-autonomous region of Crete, in 1722 or 1730. His father, who was also a wealthy shipowner, sent him to be educated abroad. Due to his education, his compatriots called him "Daskalos" (teacher), hence his nickname Daskalogiannis, literally "John the Teacher." He is referred to as a town clerk in 1750, as chairman of the region of Sfakia in 1765, and as the owner of four, three-mast merchant ships. These would have sailed from Prosyalo and the gulf of Loutro. Daskalogiannis knew Emmanouil Benakis at Mani and it is likely that Benakis introduced him to Count Orlov who Catherine the Great had sent to the Peloponnese in 1769 to instigate a revolt there. Many men from Sfakia also participated in the revolt which Orlov instigated in the Peloponnese. Leader of revolt In early 1770, he was contacted by Russian emissaries, who hoped to instigate a revolt amongst the Greek subjects of the Ottoman Empire. Daskalogiannis agreed to fund and organize a rebellion in Sfakia against the Turkish authorities when the Russian emissaries promised to support him. In the spring of 1770, Daskalogiannis made preparations for the revolt; he brought together men, rifles, and supplies and had defenses built at strategic locations. However, the Russian fleet in the Aegean, under Count Orlov, did not sail for Crete, and the revolt was left to rely on its own resources. The uprising began on 25 March 1770, the rebels attacked the areas of Kydonia, Apokoronas and Agios Vasilios, north east of Lefka Ori. The rebels at first, put the Turks to flight and parts of Crete had the attributes of an independent nation, including its own coins minted in a cave near Hora Sfakion. However, in a matter of only a short time the Turks had gathered together their troops again, and as early as May they had an army of 40.000 men ready at the village of Vrysses. When the Turks attacked Daskalogiannis and his men on the Krapi plateau, the rebels suffered a crushing defeat and had to take refuge in the high mountains. The Turks held the rebels in check, while they destroyed many of the villages