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The Greek Revolution of 1821 |
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| The fact that the Ottoman Empire was in manifest decline made such a revolt feasible. In a number of ways Greeks enjoyed a privileged position in the Ottoman state. They controlled the affairs of the Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarch, based in Constantinople, and the higher clergy were always Greek. From the 18th century onwards Phanariot Greek notables (Turkish-appointed Greek administrators from the Phanar district of Constantinople) played an influential role in the governance of the Ottoman Empire. A strong maritime tradition in the islands of the Aegean together with the emergence in the 18th century of an influential merchant class generated the wealth necessary to found schools and libraries and to pay for young Greeks to study in the universities of Western Europe. Here they came into contact with the radical ideas of the European Enlightenment and the French Revolution.Rigas Velestinlis (Pheraios), aimed to overthrow Ottoman rule in an armed uprising, although Rigas was killed by the Turks before he could put his ideas into practice. In 1814 three young Greeks, much influenced by the martyrdom of Rigas, founded the Filiki Eteria, the secret “Friendly Society” which laid the organizational groundwork for the revolt. The society was founded in Odessa, an important centre of the Greek mercantile diaspora. The Greeks’ success marked the beginning of the gradual break-up of the Ottoman Empire, Moreover, the other peoples of the Balkan peninsula were to follow the Greek example in seeking their freedom from Ottoman rule. | |
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In 1821 the land that was Greece is controlled by the Turks except for the Ionian islands which has been occupied by the Venetians, then the French and in 1815 by the British. The rebellion of the Greeks actually begins in Moldavia when an army of 4500 Hellenes lead by General Alexander Ypsilantis, a Phanariot from so-named district of Constantinople, a member of the Filiki Eteria (Friendly Society), invades hoping to encouage the local Romanian peasants to throw off the yoke of the Turks. Instead they attack their wealthy countrymen and the Greeks have to escape. |
| When the revolution breaks out in the Peloponessos, the Sultan in Istanbul hangs the Patriarch Grigorios V for failing to keep the Greek Christians in line which they considered his duty for the vast privileges they allowed him. The Phanariot Greeks fall in line behind the new patriarch and condemn the revolution. But in the Peloponessos the rebellion is making progess and combined with Ali Pasha's rebellion in Ipirus the Turks have their hands full. On March 25th 1821 Bishop Germanos of Patras raises the flag of revolution at the monastery of Agia Lavra near Kalavrita and the battle cry of "Freedom or Death" becomes the motto of the revolution. Fighting begins to break out all over with massacres committed by both the Greeks and the Turks. On the island of Chios 25,000 Greeks are killed while in the Peloponessos the Greeks kill 15,000 of the 40,000 Turks living there. It would be unfair to over-look Ali Pasha and the fact that the insurrection of 1821 was actually something of an Albanian affair and that the Chios massacre was a consequence of this. The Chiotes had enormous privileges under the Ottomans even to the point of dominating the Ottoman admiralty. It was the role of the Chios 'navy' in the revolt that was seen as an act of treason by the Turks. | |
On March 13th 1821, twelve days before the official beginning of the War of Independence, the first revolutionary flag was actually raised on the island of Spetses by Laskarina Bouboulina. Twice widowed with 7 children but extremely rich she owned several ships. On April 3rd Spetses revolted, followed by the islands of Hydra and Psara with a total of over 300 ships between them. |
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| Bouboulina and her fleet of 8 ships sailed to Nafplion and took part in the seige of the impregnable fortress there. Her later attack on Monemvasia managed to capture that fortress. She took part in the blockade of Pylos and brought supplies to the revolutionairies by sea. Bouboulina became a national hero, one of the first women to play a major role in a revolution. Without her and her ships the Greeks might not have gained their independence. | |
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The Greeks, led by local heroes like Theodoros Kolokotronis from the Mani, capture the Peloponessos and form a provisional government, electing the Phanariot Alexandros Mavrokordatos president. On April 26th the Greeks attack Athens and the Turks of the city are forced to flee to the Acropolis. |
| They are rescued in August by Turkish troops but finally surrender in June of 1822 and are then massacred after being promised safe passage. In the meantime the Greeks in the Peloponessos, (or the Morea as it was called), are fighting amongst themselves. In European cities intellectuals and poets like Lord Byron embrace the Greek cause and sway public opinion. | |
| The Greek struggle is interpreted by many Europeans simplistically and romantically as a battle between the ideals of the ancient Greeks against the ruthless Turks who had been occupying and supressing the decendents of Pericles, Socrates and Plato. Many, including Lord Byron volunteer to fight and become leaders and heroes of the revolution, known as the Philhellenes (friends of the Greeks). |  |
| Some sing the praises of the modern Greeks but many are completely disillusioned by the pettiness and greed of the Greek klefth leaders who seem to just want glory and riches. Though some of these warlords are elevated to the role of saviors and heroes in the national mythology, the reality is that many of them were just pirates and thieves looking out for their own self-interest. In 1823 Lord Byron arrives in Missolonghi, to take part in the resistance there, but dies three months later, not as romantically as he would have liked, but by disease. In 1826 the Peloponessos is back in Turkish hands and Athens is one of only a few cities controlled by the Greeks. When the Turkish army returns a major battle takes place and on June 5th the Acropolis is surrendered. Among the fifteen hundred Greek dead are 22 of the 26 Philhellenes. By 1827 the Turks have all of Greece with the exception of Nafplion and a few islands. | |
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But the Greeks are rescued by their own history as support for them in their struggle grows. The Treaty of London, backed by Britain, Russia and France. declares that the three great powers can intervene 'peacefully' to secure the autonomy of the Hellenes. |
| In October of that year the British, French and Russian show the power of peaceful intervention when they destroy the Turkish-Egyptian fleet in the bay of Navarino (Pylos) in what may have been the world's biggest and most fatal 'misunderstanding'. Whether by accident or not, when an Egyptian ship fires on a small boat filled with British sailors, all hell breaks loose and when the smoke clears the entire Turkish-Egyptian fleet is at the bottom of the bay, (where they can still be seen). It is the most one-sided battle in the history of naval warfare. With the destruction of the Egyptian-Turkish fleet the Hellenes have a clear path to nationhood except for the usual fighting amongst themsleves.
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In 1828 Count Ioannis Capodistrias of Corfu is elected the first governor of Greece by the assembly of Troezene as the Turkish-Egyptian army leave the Peloponessos once and for all. The Greeks draw up a constitution as a republic and on March 31st 1833 the Turkish troops who have been occupying the Acropolis leave. Four years after being elected President, Kapodistrias is assassinated in the new capital city of Nafplion by members of a mani clan who were at odds with his belief in a strong central government. |
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A year later the 17 year old Otto (Othon), son of Ludwig of Bavaria, is declared King of the Hellenes by the British, Russians and French. He arrives in Nafplion a year later to great fanfare. In 1834 the capital is moved to Athens, which is now a town of 10,000 inhabitants. In 1837 the University of Athens opens. King Otto is forced by the military to accept a constitution in 1843. He is overthrown by the army in 1862 and he and his wife Amalia are exiled and replaced in 1863 by the Danish Prince Christian William Ferdinand Adolphus George of the Holstein-Sonderburg-Gluckbsburg who becomes George I, King of the Hellenes. In March of 1864 the Ionian islands are ceded to Greece by Great Britian.
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In 1878 Great Britain takes over the administration of Cyprus from the Ottoman government. Two years later revolution breaks out in the still Turkish occupied island of Crete. In 1881 Thessaly and the Arta region of Epirus are ceded to Greece by the Ottoman empire. From the mid-1880's to 90's Harilaos Trikoupis and Theodoror Deliyannis alternate power, in what is the beginning of a two-party system. Trikoupis focuses on domestic issues and during his rule roads are built, tracks are layed, the metro is built and even the Corinth Canal which had been started by Nero in 67 AD is completed in1893. Deliyannis on the other hand is a believer in the Megalo Idea, that Greece will one day rule a new Hellenic empire along the lines of the Byzantine. |
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The same year that the Olympics in 1896 are held another rebellion breaks out in Crete. Greece, under Deliyannis backs the island's liberation and declares war on Turkey. In three weeks the Greek army is defeated but Crete is put under international administration. In 1898 Crete is granted autonomy and Prince George, the 2nd son of the King is appointed governor. |
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In 1905 Eleftherios Venizelos, the president of the Cretan assembly announces the Union (enosis) with Greece. Though this union is not recognized until 1913, Venizelos comes to Athens where he becomes one of the most important political players of 20th century Greece. |
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| Source: Matt Barrett Reproduced from:www.ahistoryofgreece.com with permission |
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Recommended link:
TWENTY-FIVE LECTURES ON MODERN BALKAN HISTORY
(THE BALKANS IN THE AGE OF NATIONALISM)
by Steven W. Sowards
Lecture 6: The Greek Revolution and the Greek State