Lecture 7

The Reign of King Otho

I. Choice of King Otho

            A. Anarchy reigned after the assassination of Kapodistrias

                        1. Kolokotronis, Kolettis, and Kapodistrias' brother Agostino formed a council of state.

                        2. Kolokotronis reached a rapprochement with the "English party," and Kolettis seemed to represent French                                interests.

                        3. There was civil war, as Kolettis seized Nafplion by force and the British agent Dawkins intervened in favor of                               Kolokotronis.

                        4. Another way of seeing the struggle is to view Kolokotronis' party as authoritarians and Kolettis' party as                               constitutionalists.

                        5. Much of the struggle was to secure a firm position before the arrival of the new ruler, who had already been                               selected by the Powers.

            B. The Convention of London, 7 May 1832, named Otho as king

                        1. Prince Frederick Otto of Wittelsbach, the second son of the Philhellene King Ludwig of Bavaria, confirmed by                               a treaty between Bavaria and the Powers.

                        2. Terms of the Treaty were accepted by a Greek National Assembly at Pronoia (Nafplion).

                                    a. The Arta-Volos frontier was accepted--reflecting some of the most ambitious claims of the Greeks.

                                    b. Greece was to be an independent state.

                                    c. Until Otho's majority three regents (appointed by Ludwig) were to rule the country.

                                    d. The Bavarians were to provide an army of 3,500 men.

                                    e. Greece was not made party to the treaty and no provisions were made for the internal political system                                           or for the possibility that the Greeks might not want to accept Otho.

                                    f. Greece was a protectorate of Bavaria on behalf of the Powers.

                        3. The followers of Kolokotronis opposed Otho.

                                    a. They stole the government printing press and issued proclamations against him.

                                    b. When Otho arrived off Nafplion in a British frigate, it was not at first thought safe to bring him ashore.

            C. Arrival of Otho

                        1. Otho arrived at Nafplion on 6 February 1833.

                        2. Political dissent diminished for the moment since the young and handsome king was seen as a symbol of a                                revived Greece.

            D. Social and economic situation

                        1. 750,000 Greeks lived within the kingdom, some 2,000,000 outside the kingdom.

                        2. Most Greeks within Greece were poor peasants.

                        3. The kingdom had few natural resources or economic advantages--much had been destroyed by years of war                               and the collapse of the natural trade links with areas still within the Ottoman Empire.

II. The Regency (1833-37).

            A. In 1834  it was decided to move the capital from Nafplion to Athens.

            B. The members of the Regency:

                        1. Count Joseph von Armansperg, leader of the Bavarian Constitutional Party.

                        2. Professor Ludwig von Maurer, formerly Bavarian Minister of Justice.

                        3. Major-General Karl Wilhelm von Heideck

            C. Concerns of the Regency.

                        1. No interest in building a constitutional regime.

                        2. Their primary concern was to neitralize the various competing Greek factions, including those who supported                               the Great Powers.

                                    a. Theoretically, all power was centralized and the regents did ot have consult with the ministers, and                                           there was no legislature.

                                    b. Local government was provided by town councils.

                                    c. Provincial appointments (nomarchs and eparchs) were made by the Regency.

                        3. Land reform.

                                    a. Only about one-sixth of the peasants were landowners.

                                    b. A process was established whereby the peasants were given an opportunity to gain land for                                           themselves.

                        4. The church.

                                    a. There was considerable feeling that the Partricarch of Constantinople (the theoretical head of the                                           whole Orthodox community) should not dominate the church in an independent Greece, since he was                                           under the control of the Ottoman court.

                                    b. The Regents had little sympathy for or understanding of Orthodox sentiment or organization and they                                           wanted to place the church directly under the control of the king.

                                    c. The king (although a catholic) was named head of the church and the church was to be administered                                           by a synod of five clergy appointed by him; the Greek church was declared autocephalus                                           (independent), with the bishop of Athens at its head.

                                    d. The Partriarch of Constantinople opposed this arrangement and tried to impose his own candidate as                                            bishop of Athens but he was unable to do this.

                                    e. Three-quarters of the some 524 monasteries in Greece were suppressed and their land taken by the                                           state.

                        5. Political partisansihp abounded.

                                    a. Personal advancement within the system was the goal.

                                    b. Weak political parties formed around the Powers (i.e., each party favored intervention from one of the                                           Powers).

                                    c. The major ideological issue was whether there should be a constitution.

III. The Personal Rule of Otho (1837-44)

            A. The Megale Idea (Great Idea)

                        1. A primary fact was the weakness of the Ottoman state and the growth of sentiment in favor of territorial                               expansion.

                                       a. Most Greeks still lived outside the kingdom and it was felt that they should be brought inside.

                                        b. There was a general feeling that God willed the restoration of the Byzantine Empire and the Greek                                               capture of Constantinople (the Megale Idea).

                                        c. The Powers continued to be concerned about the power vacuum in the East.

                        2. In 1839 the leaders of Crete petitioned the Powers for enosis (union) with Greece.

                        3. Otho, however, wished to secure a commercial treaty with the Ottomans since restrictions on Greek shipping                               had hurt tax revenues.       

            B. A Constitution

                        1. Political intrigue continued and no stong political parties emerged.

                        2. The problem of debt remained and in 1842 the Powers installed an agency to assure compliance in repayment                               and to oversee the Greek economy.

                        3. A conspiracy formed, led by the military.

                                        a. Among the leaders was Makryiannis.

                                        b. Many officers resented the fact that the Bavarian officers received higher pay and better benefits.

                       4. On September 3 (September 14 in the Gregorian calendar) troops surrounded the palace and Otho was                               forced to accept a constitution.

                        5. An election was held to form a constitutional assembly which debated the elements of the document during                               1844.

                                        a. Legislature of two houses.

                                        b. Orthodox church established as the state religion and made independent of the patriarchate.

                                        c. The successor to the throne was to be orthodox.

                        6. The constitution was accepted by Otho in March 1844.

                        7. Greece thus had a political system that was theoretically a democracy, but it continued to be plagued by                               partisan politics and office-seeking, and by the ability of politicians to manipulate the constitution to their own                               advantage.

IV. War with the Turks

            A. In 1853 Otho felt thatthe time had come for war.

                        1. Russia was supportive and Otho thought he had diplomatic support in Europe.

                        2. Otho encouraged Greek bands to infiltrate Thessaly (i.e., above the Arta-Volos line) and he moved regular                               troops toward the frontier.

            B. The British and French were in fact opposed to any attack on the Ottoman Empire.

                        1. They threatened to forclose on the Greek debt and in May 1854 they occupied the Piraeus.

                        2. Otho was forced to declare neutrality and change government.

                        3. The Greek irregulars, in any case, had met defeat by the end of April (1854).

            C. Plans for a Balkan alliance.

                        1. Otho's popularity began to fall, when it seemed that he could not generate the support of the Powers for                               Greece.

                        2. Greeks looked at Italy, where the revolutionary movement of Garibaldi had the support of France and                               England.

                        3. In hopes of gathering support, Otho planned war against the Ottomans.

                        4. A Balkan League was proposed, made up of Greece, the Principalities, Montenegro, and Serbia.

                        5. In the end this came to nothing, but it was a forerunner for the future.

V. Overthrow of the Dynasty

            A. Succession problem.

                        1. Only an orthodox could succeed as king, but none of the Bavarian princes had converted.

                        2. Otho hesitated to have a successor in Athens, since he would surely become a center for opposition.

            B. Revolution

                        1. Anti-dynastic (i.e., anti-monarchic) sentiment came to Greece from Italy.

                        2. In February 1862 the garrison at Nafplion rose in revolt and when Otho left Athens, the garrison there also                               revolted.

                        3. A provisional government, under the leadership of Voulgaris, was formed on 22 October 1862, and it                               declared Otho's rule at an end.

                        4. On the advice of the Powers, Otho decided not to resist, but to leave Greece quietly, "in oder to avoid civil                               war," as he said.

                        5. Otho never formally abdicated, but he died on 26 July 1867.

  The Greek National Anthem ("Hynn to Liberty") was written by the Greek poet Dionysios Solomos between the years 1822-1823 and was composed by Nikolaos Mantzaros in 1865. The "Hymn to Liberty" was translated into English by Rudyard Kipling in 1918 as follows:


We knew thee of old
Oh, divinely restored,
By the lights of thine eyes
And the light of thy Sword

From the graves of our slain
Shall thy valour prevail
As we greet thee again-
Hail, Liberty! Hail!

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