With the onset of hostilities, the Kasiots began raiding the coasts of Anatolia, the Levant, and even Egypt. Under their elected admiral, Nikolaos Gioulios, they also often gave aid to the other Greek rebels in Crete, Samos, and elsewhere.[1][2] As George Finlay reports, "It was said that the Kasiots usually murdered their captives at sea", especially since the island was barren and could with difficulty sustain its existing population.[1] Apostolos Vakalopoulos also points out that control of Kasos was necessary for consolidating Ottoman–Egyptian control over rebellious Crete; strategically, Kasos was analogous with Samos and Psara as an advanced bulwark and base of operations for the Greek revolutionaries.[3]