The Greek War of Independence

The official date for the Declaration of Greek independence is celebrated on March 25, 1821. An independent Greece was recognized on February 3, 1830, in the London Protocol. The Kingdom of Greece was formally instituted in May 1832 in the Convention of London.

Finally, on March 25, 1831, after 400 years of Ottoman rule, the modern state of Greece came into existence after a hard fought and bitter decade long war of independence. The origin of the rebellion originally dated to 1814 with the activities of the “Philikí Etaireía” or the Friendly Brotherhood. It was a patriotic conspiracy founded in Odessa, Ukraine. The formal revolt began in March 25 of 1821 in Kalavytria at the Monastery of Agia Lavra.

Sporadic revolts against the Turkish occupiers broke out in the Peloponnese and in the Aegean islands by fierce guerrilla fighters seeking finally to return Greece to a state of freedom. A year later, the rebels gained key locations in the Peloponnese, and the independence of Greece was formally declared in January 1822.

The Greek cause created a feeling of “philhellenism,” or love for Greece, from foreigners all over Europe. Many of them also came in Greece to fight and die for the country, the most famous of which was the English poet Lord Byron who died at Mesolonghi.

The determination of the Greek freedom fighters and their ardent Philhellene supporters eventually won the support of the great powers of the day: Russia, Britain and France. These allied nations asked the Turkish Sultan to relent in its occupation of Greece. The Turkish government refused and after years of vicious conflict, a final and decisive naval battle was fought when Russia, Britain and France sent their naval fleets to Navarino Bay, off the coast of Messinia. There they destroyed the Egyptian fleets that were helping the Turkish occupiers. This was the coup de grace that led to Greece gaining its independence.

A Greco-Turkish agreement was finally adopted in London which declared Greece an independent monarchical state under the Protection of Britain. However, even with her independence, Greece’s border’s had not been restored to its previous dimensions. For the next century, Greek political and military leaders focused great efforts into regaining the borders of the old Byzantine era. These leaders also sought to reunify the Greek population scattered throughout the Mediterranean.

In 1832, the Turkish Sultan finally agreed to recognize Greek Independence. This led to Prince Otto accepting the Greek crown as the first King of modern Greece. Prince Otto was seventeen years old when he arrived at the throne. He was exiled in 1862 for ignoring the Greek Constitution. After that, the Greeks allowed the installation of the Danish King George I. He ruled over Greece for 50 years and brought stability and a new Constitution in 1864 which specified the monarch’s powers.

Even though the revolution had been successful, many serious problems still existed in post-independence Greece. Once the War of Independence came to an end, Greece felt into a period of poverty and lack of direction. The country was very poor, and there was a marked divergence between the wealth of those with land and those without.