Greek War of Independence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a war against the Ottoman Empire for independence, which started that year. Independence was finally granted by the Treaty of Constantinople in July 1832 when Greece (Hellas) was recognised as a free country. Greeks celebrate their Independence day annually on March 25.
The Ottoman Empire had ruled all of Greece, with the exception of the Ionian islands since its conquest of the Byzantine Empire over the course of the 14th and 15th centuries (see: History of Ottoman Greece). But in the 18th and 19th century, as revolutionary nationalism grew across Europe (due, in part, to the influence of the French Revolution), and the power of the Ottoman Empire declined, Greek nationalism began to assert itself and drew support from Western European "philhellenes".
One of the early writers who helped shape opinion among the Greek population in and out of the Ottoman Empire was Rigas Feraios (Ρήγας Φεραίος). Born in Thessaly and educated in Constantinople, Pheraios published a Greek-language newspaper Ephimeris in Vienna in the 1790s. He was deeply influenced by the French Revolution and he published revolutionary tracts and proposed republican constitutions for Greek and pan-Balkan nations. He was arrested by Austrian officials in Trieste in 1797 when he was betrayed by a Greek merchant in that city. He was handed over to Ottoman officials and was transported to Belgrade with his co-conspirators. They were all strangled to death and their bodies dumped in the Danube River in June, 1798. Instead of diminishing support for Feraios' ideas, his martyrdom fanned the flames of Greek independence.
In 1814, Greek nationalists formed a secret organization called the Friendly Society (Filiki Eteria) in Odessa. With the support of wealthy Greek exile communities in Britain and the United States, the aid of sympathizers in western Europe and covert assistance from Russia, they planned a rebellion. John Capodistria, an official from the Ionian Islands who had become the Russian Foreign Minister, was secured as the leader of the planned revolt. The start of the uprising can be set on March 6 when Alexander Ypsilanti accompanied by several other Greek officers crossed the river Prut in Romania, or on March 23 when rebels took control of Kalamata in Peloponnese. Simultaneous risings were planned across Greece, including in Macedonia, Crete and Cyprus. With the advantage of surprise, and aided by Ottoman inefficiency, the Greeks succeeded in taking control of the Peloponnese and some other areas.
The Ottomans soon recovered, and retaliated violently, massacring the Greek population of Chios and other towns. The retribution, however, drew sympathy for the Greek cause in western Europe—although the British and French governments suspected that the uprising was a Russian plot to seize Greece and possibly Constantinople from the Ottomans. The Greeks were unable to establish a coherent government in the areas they controlled, and soon fell to fighting among themselves. Inconclusive fighting between Greeks and Ottomans continued until 1825, when the Sultan asked for help from his most powerful vassal, Egypt.
Egypt was then ruled by Mehemet Ali Pasha who was eager to test his newly modernized armed forces. The Ottoman Sultan also promised Ali concessions in Syria if Egypt participated. The Egyptian force, under the command of Ali's son Ibrahim, was successful and quickly gained dominance of the seas and Aegean islands through the navy. Ibrahim was also successful in the Peloponnese, where he managed to recapture Tripolis, the administrative center of the area.
In Europe, the Greek revolt aroused widespread sympathy. Greece was viewed as the cradle of western civilization, and it was especially lauded by the spirit of romanticism that was current at the time. The sight of a Christian nation attempting to cast off the rule of a Muslim Empire also appealed to the western European public.
One of those who heard the call was the poet Lord Byron who spent time in Greece, organising funds, supplies and troops, but died from fever at Messolonghi in 1824. Byron's death did even more to augment European sympathy for the Greek cause. This eventually led the western powers to intervene directly.
On 20 October 1827 the British, Russian and French fleets, on the initiative of local commanders but with the tacit approval of their governments, attacked and destroyed the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Navarino (Πύλος). This was the decisive moment in the war of independence, although the British Admiral Edward Codrington ruined his career (see Great Naval Blunders) since he wasn't ordered to achieve such a victory or destroy completely the Turko/Egyptian fleet. In October 1828 the Greeks regrouped and formed a new government under Ioannis Kapodistrias (Καποδíστριας). They then advanced to seize as much territory as possible, including Athens and Thebes, before the western powers impose a ceasefire. The Great Powers, in the London Conference of 1832 determined that the new Greek state would be a monarchy and invited Otto, the second son of the Bavarian King Ludwig I to be King of Greece, thus, Greece was finally recognised as a sovereign state. This state of affairs and an agreed border was formally recognized by the Turks and the European powers with the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople in July 1832.
