Greek Revolution Dbq

The Greek revolution that began in 1821, followed by the war of independence, was the second of the "national revolutions" in the Balkans, against the Ottoman Empire. It ended in 1830, with a partial satisfactory result for the Greeks, who from that moment on became a separate state, liberating themselves from the Ottoman domination.

It is necessary to insert the war in a larger context, begun in 1815 with the Congress of Vienna . The Congress, to which the principal European powers participated in order to redraw the European map and to restore the Ancient regime, after the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, opened the age of the “Restoration” in Europe, that ended, according to the majority of studies, in 1830-31 with the Greek Revolution.

The Congress of Vienna was often criticized for having ignored the national and liberal impulses and to have imposed a repressive reaction on the continent.
Before 1821, The Ottoman regime inspired different revolutionary motions to the recovery of the independence. Many men owed leave their lands. These people were called Kleftes (thieves), but for the Greek population this word took the meaning of "partisans" during the years.
The relationship between the Ottomans and the Greeks depended on social classes, jobs and religion.

They were based on the millet system, where for identification, religion was the main criterion. Greek clergy, who controlled the Orthodox millet in the Ottoman system, had educational, religious, legal and administrative privileges, especially because Orthodox culture and education became identified with Greece. That is the reason why Greeks held administrative roles in the central administration itself, even if they were not Muslims. Wealthy or educated Greek people, therefore, already enjoyed substantial privileges in Ottoman Empire, which is why the revolution was not attractive for them since they had much to lose. However, at the same time that was only a little-privileged part of the population, made also by peasants, poor priests and

sailors.
When the Empire decided to strengthen its administrative authority with fiscal oppressions on some regions, first movements of rebellion took place. That is why in 1814, in the Russian Odessa, the first Society of Friends was founded, whose true purpose was the revolt to attend the autonomy and the independence from the Ottoman Empire. The founders were originally from that Greeks bourgeoisie who, in exile, revenged their political and cultural rights in order to develop a new national Greek feeling. Engaged in the cause there was Adamantios Korais, a supporter of the proposal of a revolution, deeply influenced by French thought of the period and the philosophy of Hobbes and Locke, and then by French Revolution, where he was an eyewitness. His contribution was more cultural than political, since he started writing modern versions of ancient Greek tales, translated Herodotus and Homer, and produced a Greek dictionary. Rhigas Pheraios was also influenced by the French Revolution and Romanticism. Arrested in 1798, in Austria, as part of a conspiracy against the Empire, he was executed. Moreover, the French presence in these countries was together with the idea of revolutionary fervour and laws. Since Turkey was fighting against Persia, Ali Pasha was in revolt and the Great Powers were already worried about revolts in Spain and Italy: there would have been no better time to start.
When the revolution started, the Greek question became soon a European question at a diplomatic level, since all the Great European powers were concerned.

Prince Metternich represented Austrian interests, being one of the founding fathers of the Vienna’s order, who saw in the Greek revolution a menace for the European peace and the balance of power. Mahmud II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 to 1839, was afraid of the first breakaway from the Empire, due to the Greek uprising. He had to face diplomatic issues especially against Russia, represented by Alexandre I and soon after Nicolas I, who were both involved in the resistance. A simple independent war became in less than a decade a European affair and although it was not the Greeks’ aim, they deeply influenced the XIX century, its mentality and its international relations in politics. Therefore, this essay wants to ask the question:

“To what extent the Greek revolution can be considered a turning point in the XIX century?”

After having described the development of the situation, which from a little uprising brought to the foreign powers’ military intervention (I), it is necessary to analyse how this movement for the Greek independence represented a turning point in the XIX century. In order to do this, firstly the essay will focus on the cultural significance, with the rising of the philhellenic movement (II), and the following one on the diplomatic level, where the war represents a revolutionary change in the politics

of Congress between Great European powers (III).
1. The Greek war of Independence
a. 1821-1825: the outbreak against the Empire
The first aspect that is important to underline is that the revolution had different origins from two separates spheres: centred in the Danubian principalities, well ideologically organised, influenced by the western world, the first big source was the outer world of the merchants. The second one, very different, was made by Military elements and peasant people.
The Greek revolution began as a planned conspiracy. Philike Hetairia planned the attack in three places: the first one was the Peloponnessus, then Istanbul, and eventually the invasion of Moldavia and Wallachia (in Romania), crossing the Russian border. Ypsilantis expected to convince Romanian peasants into war against the Empire. However, when in March 1821 they entered Moldavia, peasants ignored the Turks. The first Greek try of invasion was a complete fiasco. Ypsilantis ended up in Austria, where he died imprisoned. Considering our modern awareness of ethnicity, the failure was expectable, but not for a thought conformed to the division of the world into Orthodox and Muslim halves. At the same time, the success of the uprising in Istanbul was undercut by the Greek class division so Turks decided to hang the Greek Orthodox patriarch. The new patriarch condemned the revolution. Nevertheless, they manage to succeed in the Peloponnesus: Turkish towns were taken and massacred and Ottoman reaction was quite weak because of the uprisings in the Principalities and the war against Persia. This is the beginning of a circle of atrocities from both sides with the most famous episode happened in Chios in April 1822 (the same year as the Congress of Verona ), with more than 25000 dead and 40000 deported. That was accompanied by the fact that in January 1822 there was the unilateral proclamation of the Greek independence made by the national assembly. After it, the war became a stalemate until 1825 for different reasons. First, there was no side strong enough to fight and win and secondly an internal dissention between Greeks, based on the class difference mentioned above, took place. In 1823, the two Greeks sides were actually engaged in a civil war.
b. 1825-1831: the foreign interventions
Each of the Great Powers had all kinds of interests in Turkey. Great Britain was sympathetic to the Greek cause but unwilling to see Russia gaining control on the Mediterranean trade thanks to a Turkish weakness. Russian intervention was justifiable by different reasons. It had already shown its interest in Balkans as the “Protector of Balkan orthodoxy” against the common Muslim enemy. Moreover, almost every Russian in the Balkans took part with the Society of Friends. France was interested in its financial trade with Turkey and it was so anxious to re-join politics after the Napoleonian wars. These were some of the actual reasons why they all wanted to intervene, but they eventually did it in order to avoid a powerful Mehmet Ali in Egypt. On 6th July 1827 Russian, France and Great Britain signed the Treaty of London, as an ultimatum to the sultan: he had to recognise Greek autonomy in exchange of an annual tribute. The Empire refused it and the war against the Great European Powers started. On 20th October 1827 the three countries agreed to ask for a mediate peace, sending to Navarino Bay a Power-fleet against the Egyptian Navy. The Battle of Navarino, starting as a misunderstanding between the Egyptian and the European navy, was the turning point in the Greek revolution as the most clamorous defeat for the Empire.
However, the Great Powers still have to decide whether Greece would be an autonomous state or entirely free. Meanwhile, the war continues between Turks and Russians (1828-1830), with the formal neutrality of the other Great Powers. On 20th September 1829, Turks admitted the definitive defeat against Russians who were invading Turkey and imposed to Turks the Adrianople Treaty. They, therefore, had to recognise Greek, Serbian and Rumanian autonomy. After this treaty, rumours started spreading out the rising of the Russian influence in the Balkan region, developing a moral and military protector. That is why Russia accepted a second Treaty where British and French participation was fundamental. The Second London Protocol in 1830, declared the Greek independence in order to protect it, as a state, through international law.
c. 1830-1831: The ambiguous constitution of a Greek Kingdom
The final victory of 1830 was the opportunity for the Great Powers of claiming a major role in Greek politics thereafter. In the immediate aftermath, the consequences were ambiguous. A ten years of fighting ravaged country with displaced refugees and empty Turkish estates, needed administrative reforms. Moreover, it contained 800,000 people, one-third of the Greeks of the Ottoman Empire and the other two-thirds sought the liberation of the rest of the Greeks, following the Big Idea - Megale Idea-, the unification of all the Greeks in just one country. Meanwhile, the Muslim population, considered the “still imprisoned” Greeks as traitors. They were replaced by Armenians in banking and by Bulgarians in trade and merchants’ business.
Considering the creation of the state, there were three practical problems: the level of its independence, its borders and its new ruler. For what concerns the first one, Metternich was the one who most underline that a complete independence was a feasible solution with regard to the foreign interferences. The territorial extent of Greece was given without the respect of Greek willingness and without taking into consideration people’s interests. Analysing the third problem, the main powers decided to accept only candidatures chosen from among other courts. In the end, they stipulate the constitution of a Greek kingdom, and they nominated Leopold od Saxe-Couburg-Saalfeld, who became king formally on 23rd February of the same year. Greeks’ interests were actually out of question during the agreements.
The new state had to face several problems. First, the land question: the government manage to distribute the confiscated land among the poor and veterans. This was the first achievement in a society where equality and solidarity were guaranteed. The class division was thereby reduced. Secondly, the new state had to face the foreign imposition of the new Bavarian King Otto, because four years after having become President, Kapodistrias was murdered. A year later, Otto (Othon), son of Ludwig of Bavaria, became King of the Hellenes according to the British, Russians and French decision and influence. In 1834, he moved the capital to Athens. Since he never had the popular support, representing the foreign intervention over the territory, he had to face a military coup led by the army as a reaction to budget cuts. Its result was the concession of the Constitution of 1844.

Although the war for independence in Greece was long, full of foreign interventions and did not attend the results expected, it actually raised up a big movement in Europe that contributed to a change in people’s mentality and opinion. For the first time, people among Europe recognised themselves as part of a bigger identity, the European identity, and the majority embraced the Greek cause as the European cause, fighting again the principles proclaimed by the monarchies of the contra revolution.