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

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