At a very early stage in the fighting the question of the governance of the liberated territories arose. Initially no fewer than three provisional governments concurrently came into existence, while in 1822 a constitution, which by the standards of the day was highly democratic, was adopted with more than half an eye to securing the support of enlightened public opinion in Europe. A revised constitution was adopted in 1823, at which time the three local governments were unified in a central authority. However, unification did not bring unity. Feuding between rival groups culminated in outright civil war in 1824, prompting one chieftain, Makriyannis, to protest that he had not taken up arms against the Turks in order to end up fighting Greeks.
(Captain Makriyannis)
Such factionalism derived from a number of causes. There was a basic tension between the kodjabashis, or notables, of the Peloponnese, who were anxious to ensure that they retained the privileged status they had held under the Ottomans, and the military element, associated with such klephtic (kelphts came from all kinds of social classes) leaders as Theodoros Kolokotronis, who sought recognition in terms of political power for their contribution to the war effort. The Greek islands shipowners, whose contribution to the prosecution of the war at sea was vital, likewise laid claim to a share of power, while the small intelligentsia argued for the adoption of liberal parliamentary institutions.
To some degree the clash can be seen as a confrontation between Westernizers and traditional elites, to some degree as a clash between the military and civilian parties. The Westernizers, who were consciously nationalist and whose attitudes were expressed by their adoption of a Western lifestyle and Western clothing, wanted independent Greece to develop along the lines of a European state, with a regular army and with a curb on the traditional powers of the church. The traditional elites, on the other hand, tended to see the struggle in terms of a religious crusade against the Muslims, and their national consciousness was less fully articulated. Anxious to maintain the power and privileges they had enjoyed before the struggle began, they were chiefly concerned with substituting the oligarchy of the Turks with their own.
The insurgents could ill afford internecine fighting. Mahmud II had by this time forged an alliance with his nominal subject, Muhammad 'Ali, the ruler of Egypt, and his son Ibrahim Pasha (when Muslims get beaten they unite regardless of nation), who were promised lavish territorial rewards in return for their assistance in suppressing the revolt. From early 1825 Ibrahim Pasha engaged in a bitter war with the insurgents. As their initially favourable military position deteriorated, the insurgents looked increasingly for salvation to the Great Powers, which, from a combination of mutual suspicion as to each other's objectives and concern at the damage being done to their commercial interests, gradually moved toward a more interventionist position. This move was helped by the rampant philhellenic emotions that were present in Europe and the US as well as some great art by very important European Artists that expressed the Greek struggle in its own unique way (Delacroix paintings, poetry by Lord Byron)
In 1826, by the Protocol of St. Petersburg, Britain and Russia committed themselves to a policy of mediation, to which France became a party through the Treaty of London of 1827. A policy of “peaceful interference,” as the British prime minister Lord Canning described it, culminated in the not wholly planned destruction of the Turco-Egyptian fleet by a combined British, French, and Russian fleet at the Battle of Navarino in October 1827, the last great naval battle of the age of sail. This intervention by the Great Powers was instrumental in ensuring that some form of independent Greece came into existence, although its precise borders, which ran from Arta in the west to Volos in the east, took some years to negotiate.
This process was overseen by Count Ioánnis Kapod�strias, who was elected the first president of Greece by the Assembly of Troezene, which in 1827 enacted the third constitution of the independence period. Besides overseeing the negotiation of the boundaries of the new state, in which his extensive diplomatic experience in the Russian imperial service was employed to the full, Kapod�strias was also fully engaged in trying to create the infrastructure of a state in a country that had been ravaged by a vicious and destructive war. Schooled as he was in the traditions of Russian autocracy, Kapod�strias chafed under the provisions of the 1827 constitution, which, like its predecessors, was a remarkably liberal document, and he abrogated it. His paternalist and authoritarian style of government offended a number of key elements in the power structure of the embryonic Greek state. Growing unrest culminated in his assassination in Nauplia, the provisional capital, in October 1831.
I. Revolt of Ali Pasha
A. Ali Pasha, the "Lion of Ioannina" was an Albanian warlord who gained control of most of Epiros (northwestern Greece & modern Albania).
1. He was a ruthless warrior and oppressed and murdered his enemies, Christian and Muslim alike.
2. By 1819 Ali Pasha was in open revolt against Sultan Mamoud
B. Ali made overtures to the Filiki Etaireia and he even hoped to approach the Russian tsar through this route. In the end this was unsuccessful and Ali tried to use the threat of the Etaireia as a means to gain the support of the Porte. This too failed.
1. In 1820 Ottoman troops moved against Ali and his sons.
2. Alexander Ypsilantis noted this and ordered Kolokotronis to encourage and the Souliots to create disturbances at the same time.
II. War in the Principalities
A. Alexander Ypsilantis wanted to begin a revolt as soon as possible, while the Ottomans were occupied with Ali Pasha.
1. His plan was to rely on support for the Etaireia in Serbia and Bulgaria and to move rapidly to Thrace, Macedonia, Epiros, and--above all--the Peloponnesos.
2. This was in the autumn of 182
3. Preparations lagged in the Peloponnesos and Ypsilantis was forced to delay his plans.
4. Ypsilantis decided to begin the war with an invasion of the Principalities (essentially modern Romania).
a. This would provide a diversion for the main revolt in the Peloponnesos.
b. He sought to urge to Ottomans to cross the Danube, in violation of treaties with Russia.
5. On 5 March 1821 Ypsilantis crossed into the Principalites and began the revolt.
a. He had an army of 4,500 men, including 700 Greek students who made up the "Sacred Band."
b. His artillery was comprised of four cannons!
B. Course of the war.
1. There was no cooperation with the Rumanian rebels.
2. The tsar and the patriarch condemned Ypsilantis.
3. The Ottomans resisted and Ypsilantis troops were disunited.
4. Ypsilantis decided to make a stand at Dragatsani.
- The Sacred Band was annihilated and the revolt was at an end.
- Ypsilantis crossed into Austria where, despite a safe conduct, he was thrown into prison and held for 7 years until he died (the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not at all sympathetic to revolutionary causes, for obvious reasons).
- Ypsilantis’ last consolation was hearing the news that Kapodistrias had been named the first governor of an independent Greece.
5. Some of Ypsilants’ subordinates hold out longer, forcing the Turks to keep large numbers of troops in the Principalities
a. Olympios held the monastery of Sekoul, where he and his men blew themselves up.
b. Farmakis surrendered on a cease-fire, but he was tortured and executed.
"Thus perished two of the great sons of the Greek nation; and thus ended a campaign ill prepared and ill conducted from the outset, redeemed only by the outstanding but almost futile heroism of hardened chiefs and of unseasoned youg idealists. Ipsilantis had lived in a world of fantasy. None of the things on which he had counted had come to fruition: there was no attack on Constantinople, no help from Russia, no assistance from Vladimirescu, and no widespread support from the Serbs and Bulgarians." Dakin, p. 39
III. Revolt in the Morea (Peloponnesos)
A. Demetrios Ypsilantis, brother of Alexander, had been given the military command of the Etaireia in the Peloponnesos.
B. Many of the Greeks felt that if they acted and provoked the Turks, then the Russians would intervene.
- Murder of Turks began as early as 19 March (Old Style, 30 March in the Gregorian calendar).
- On 22 March (April 2) the Mani rose and on the next day Petrobey Mavromichalis laid siege to Kalamata.
- The best known event in the revolt was when Germanos, Archbishop of Patras, raised the standard of revolt at Agia Lavra near Kalavryta on 25 March 1821 (April 5).
- The islands of Hydra, Spetses, Psara revolted soon thereafter.
- The Greeks quickly took many of the fortresses of the Peloponnesos, since they were not well defended. No less that 15,000 Turks perished.
C. Revolts in the North and in Asia Minor were unsuccessful.
- The Turks put these down with considerable savagery.
- Massacres took place in Constantinople, Psara, Chios, and many of the cities of Asia Minor.
- These revolts did, however, occupy Turkish troops.
D. In the Morea operations centered around the fortresses that remained in Ottoman hands.
- Monemvasia and Navarino (Pylos) soon fell.
- There was a great battle for Tripolitsa (Tripoli).
a. Demetrios Ypsilantis commanded 12,000 troops.
b. The kelfts—especially Kolokotronis and Petrobey—wanted to get the booty in the city, so they persuaded Ypsilantis to go elsewhere.
c. Tripolitsa fell to the Greeks and at least 8,000 people were massacred. "It is often said that had greater clemency been shown, the Greeks could have arranged for the capitulation of most other towns." Dakin, p. 42
E. The Initial Turkish Response.
- Ali Pasha and the Russians were regarded as the main dangers.
- There were massacres in Thessaloniki, Asia Minor, and Constantinople, and the patriarch Gregory V was murdered, but the Sultan sought to restrain these excesses. He did not want to give the Russians an excuse to intervene.
- Ali Pasha and the Greeks made an alliance, but this had little practical effect.
- Khursid Pasha sent against Ali Pasha and on 5 February 1822 Ali was killed.
- Until this time the Otttoman state had not been able to devote any energy to putting down the Greek revolt.
I. Response in the West
A. Most of the governments of Europe, including Russia, opposed the Revolution and regarded it as a dangerous precedent.
B. This was in the aftermath of the French Revolution and most of the powerful governments of Europe were empires that wanted to maintain their power.
C. At the same time, many educated Westerners were influenced by Philhellenism and some came to Greece to join in the struggle:
- Lord Byron
- Sir Richard Church
- Frank Abney Hastings
- Samuel Gridley Howe
II. Military Events, 1822-24
A. The Turkish troops in the Peloponnesos had been sent north to deal with Ali Pasha and most of the fortresses could not resist.
B. Turkish campaigns were designed to relieve the great fortresses that were still in Ottoman control but were being besieged by the Greeks: Methone, Korone, Patras, Rion, Roumeli, Nafplion, Negroponte, Chalkis, Karystos, Athens.
1. The Ottoman navy was weak and not equal to the Greek fleet, and they had to send large land forces into Greece, one along the west and one in the east.
2. This required a long supply and communication line and it encouraged the Greeks in their use of guerilla techniques.
C. Campaign of Dramali--1822.
1. Dramali was the Ottoman commander ordered to move down the east coast of Greece.
2. He was unopposed until he reached the Peloponnesos.
3. Dramali took Korinth and proceeded into the Argolid, hoping to relieve the siege of Nafplion, but failing to defend the dervenakia (the pass between the Korinthia and the Argolid).
4. Dramali overextened his line of communication and found himself in trouble in the Argolid.
5. Bouboulina and the fleet of Spetses kept the Ottoman fleet from entering the Gulf of Argos.
6. Ypsilantis and his troops attacked the Turks from Argos.
7. Meanwhile, the Greeks seized the dervenakia.
8. Dramali was decisively defeated by Kolokotronis, Ypsilantis, and Stamatopoulos (????ta? ????ta?a? ? ??????fa???).
9. Of the 23,000 Turks who entered the Peloponnesos with Dramali, 17,000 perished, including the Pasha himself.
10. For years visitors were taken to the pass to view the bones of the fallen Turks.
11. The victory over Dramali probably saved the young rebellion.
III. Early Attempts at Government
A. There were conflicting interests among the Greeks.
1. The hetairists (members of the Filiki Etaireia) had generally failed in their proposal for a pan-Balkan uprising--the Revolution was henceforth to be a Greek affair.
2. The wealthy leaders (archontes) generally wanted to be free of Ottoman control, but they did not want to change the social system that brought them prosperity.
3. The church (especially the bishops) was already part of the Ottoman administrative system and it did not want any change at all (there were many notable exceptions of heroic bishops, monks, and priests).
4. The poor wanted economic and social changes, but they had no leaders.
5. The kapetanioi (the klephts) found the war a profitable undertaking and they had little patience with civilian politicians.
- Theodore Kolokotronis
- Georgios Karaskaikis
- Nikitas Nikitaras
- Oddeseas Androutsos
- Ioannis Makryiannis
- Petrobey Mavromichalis
6. The Phanariots hoped to dominate the Revolution and they were the only Greeks with any experience in government.
- Demetrios Ypsilantis--thought to represent a hope for Russian intervention on the Greek side.
- Alexander Mavrokordatos--commander in western Greece.
7. Naval commanders
- Konstantine Kanaris--from Psaras, commander of fireships
- Bouboulina--commander from Spetses
- Miaoulis--another fireship captain
B. Attempts to form a government
1. Both Mavrokordatos and Ypsilantis wanted to form a national government, essentially along the lines established during the Ottoman period.
a. The primates were to dominate the government.
b. There were to be regional governments that would elect a national government.
2. All this set forth in the "Constitution of Epidavros," signed on 7 January 1822.
a. This was designed in part to impress Europe with its liberality, but in fact it was revolutionary.
b. The Turkish ruling class was replaced by committees made up of men with vested interests.
c. The constitution sanctioned regionalism.
d. The kapentanioi were clearly to be the power behind all government.
e. Generally they were included in the committees, but they did not hesitate to take things in their own hands, since they had a preponderance of military power.
f. In fact, the kapetanioi controlled whole areas--Kolokotronis in the Peloponnesos and Androutsos in the East.
IV. Civil Wars, 1824-1825
A. The failure of the Turkish military operations gave the Greeks a respite and they used the opportunity to fight among themselves!
B. Rival governments were established, largely on a regional basis.
C. There was a national assembly at Astros and this elected Petrobey Mavromichalis as President and Thodoros Kolokotronis as Vice-President.
1. This Peloponnesian government came to be dominated by Kolokotronis.
2. Panos Kolokotronis tried to coerce the assembly by force.
3. Another assembly was established at Kranidi, in the southern Argolid.
4. This assembly represented mainland interests, the Greeks of western Greece, and the remnants of the national party, such as Mavrokordatos--they were few in number but they were better educated than the kapetanioi and they had raised large loans in England.
5. Koundouriotis was chosen as President.
6. Ypsilantis was thoroughly discredited and no longer played a role, largely because it was clear that there would be no help from Russia.
7. Civil war resulted between these two rival government.
a. To a degree this was a difference between the kapetanioi (Astros) and the civilians (Kranidi)
b. The kapetanioi came to represent rural, traditional Greece (in dress, language, culture), while the civilians wanted to westernize Greece.
c. Koundouriotis and Mavrokordatos came to the fore.
d. Kolokotronis was imprisoned and nearly put to death.
IV. Invasion of Ibrahim Pasha
A. The Sultan (Mahmud II) in Constantinople offered Greece to Muhammed Ali, ruler of Egypt, if he would subdue the revold.
1. It was clear that the Turks were not going to be successful with an invasion from the north.
2. Muhammed Ali was a muslim from northern Greece who had established a virtually independent state in Egypt in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars.
B. The expedition was put under the command of Muhammed's son Ibrahim, who had European-trained troops (resulting from Napoleon's presence in Egypt 30 years earlier).
1. Ibrahim landed in the Morea in February of 1825.
a. Kolokotronis was in prison and the Egyptians quickly overran much of the Peloponnesos.
b. Ibrahim looted and burned wherever he went, resulting in antagonism in the West.
c. Kolokotronis was released and inflicted some losses on the Turks.
2. Ibrahim had a kind of success with the fall of Mesolongi in 1826, but the death of Lord Byron there and the massacre of the inhabitants of the city gained Ibrahim enmity in Europe.
3. Ypsilantis and Makryiannis with 250 men defeated Ibrahim, with 7,000 men, at Myloi near Argos.
4. Ibrahim's forces began to dwindle and by the end of 1826 he had lost 16,000 of his original 24,000 men.
VI. Intervention of the Powers
A. England became a supporter of Greek independence.
1. Lord Cochrane, a Philhellene, became commander of the Greek navy.
2. British Foreign Minister George Canning first recognized the Greeks as combatitants in 1823 (i.e., that this was a legitimate war) and he was determined to support the Greeks.
B. The Russians proposed that "Greece" be divided into three separate principalities, which would continue to recognize the suzerainty of the Sultan.
C. At least from this time on people in Greece tended to be divided into three groups, each seeking support from one of the Great Powers.
D. Treaty of London -- July 1827.
1. England was afraid that Russia would intervene in Greece and gain territory at the expense of the weak Ottoman Empire.
2. England entered into an agreement with Russia that they would jointly support the Greek side; France then joined the alliance.
3. With the Treaty of London Russia, France, and Britain agreed to impose an armisice on the belligerents.
4. Greece was to be an autonomous state, still under Ottoman suzerainty--something that nobody could have expected 6 years earlier.
E. Nomination of Kapodistrias
1.The Greeks continued to squabble, based on regional and personal differences.
2. All the Greek groups came to support British intervention, understanding that this meant that the three Great Powers would intervene on the Greek side.
3. Kolokotronis now threw his support to Ioannis Kapodistrias (an aristocrat from Kerkyra, then in the service of the tsar).
a. All other Greek leaders were compromised by intrigue or incompetence to rule.
b. Only Kapodistrias remained "safe".
4. A National Assembly at Damala accepted Kapodistrias as governor of Greece.
a. Term of 7 years.
b. His power was severely limited in a constitution drafted at Damala.
c. Cochrane was confirmed as commander of the navy and General Sir Richard Church was put in charge of the army. (Notice how the British were in control of military power.)
VII. Battle of Navarino
A. The Treaty of London called on both sides to agree to an armistice; the Greeks agreed, but the Turks did not.
1. The Allies agreed to prevent supplied from reaching Ibrahim.
2. A large Ottoman fleet had assembled in Navarino Bay (Pylos).
a. It was feared that the fleet would carry supplies to Turkish troops in other parts of Greece.
b. Admiral Codrington established a blockade against the Ottoman fleet.
3. The Battle
a. Codrington entered the bay and anchored within the arc of the Ottoman ships.
b. The Turks could have wreaked considerable havoc with their fireships had they waited until nightfall.
c. Instead, they apparently attacked (nobody knows exactly what happened to begin the fighting).
d. The Turks lost 60 our of their 89 ships and 8,000 men.
e. The war was over, even though the Ottoman government did not immediately agree, and Russia declared war on the Porte
Fotios