HISTORY
THE MODERN GREEK NATION
1770s & 1780s
Catherine the Great of
Russia dislodges the
Turks from the Black
Sea coast and assigns
several towns with
Ancient Greek names.
She off ers Greeks
fi nancial incentives
and free land to settle
the region.1814
The underground
Hellenic Independence
organisation known
as the Filiki Eteria
(Friendly Society)
is established in the
town of Odessa on
the Black Sea coast.
Its infl uence spreads
throughout Greece.1821
On 25 March, Bishop
Germanos of Patra (a
member of the Filiki
Eteria) signals the
beginning of the War
of Independence on
the mainland. Greece
celebrates this date
as its national day of
Independence.1822–
Independence is
declared at Epidavros
on 13 January 1822,
but fi ghting continues
for another seven
years. The Ottomans
capitulate and accept
the terms of the Treaty
of Adrianople.end of the 1850s most of the stalwarts of the War of Independence had
been replaced by a new breed of university graduates (Athens University
was founded in 1817).The Great Idea
Greece’s foreign policy (dubbed the ‘Great Idea’) was to assert sovereign-
ty over its dispersed Greek populations. Set against the background of
the Crimean confl ict, British and French interests were nervous at the
prospect of a Greece alliance with Russia against the Ottomans, espe-
cially as in 1862 Otto had been ousted in a bloodless coup.
British infl uence in the Ionian Islands had begun in 1815 (following a
spell of political ping-pong between the Venetians, Russians and French).
The British did improve the islands’ infrastructure and many locals
adopted British customs (such as afternoon tea and cricket). But, Greek
independence put pressure on Britain to give sovereignty to the Greek
nation, and in 1864 the British left. Meanwhile, Britain simultaneously
eased onto the Greek throne the young Danish Prince William, crowned
King George I in 1863. His 50-year reign eventually brought some stabil-
ity to the country, beginning with a new constitution in 1864 that estab-
lished the power of democratically elected representatives.
In 1881 Greece acquired Thessaly and part of Epiros as a result of a
Russo-Turkish war. But Greece failed miserably when, in 1897, it tried to
attack Turkey in the north in an eff ort to reachenosis (union) with Crete
(who had persistently agitated for liberation from the Ottomans). The bid
drained much of the country’s resources and timely diplomatic interven-
tion by the great powers prevented the Turkish army from taking Athens.
Crete was placed under international administration, but the govern-
ment of the island was gradually handed over to the Greeks, and in 1905
the president of the Cretan assembly,Eleftherios Venizelos, announced
Crete’s union with Greece (although this was not recognised by inter-
national law until 1913). Venizelos went on to become prime minister
of Greece in 1910 and was the country’s leading politician until his
republican sympathies brought about his downfall in 1935.Balkan Wars
Although the Ottoman Empire was in its death throes at the beginning of
the 20th century, it had stillretained Macedonia. This was a prize coveted
by the newly formed Balkan countries of Serbia and Bulgaria, as well as
by Greece, and led to the outbreak of the Balkan Wars (1912 and 1913).
The outcome was the Treaty of Bucharest (August 1913), which greatly
expanded Greek territory (and with it its fertile agricultural resources).
Its borders now took in the southern part of Macedonia (which includ-
ed Thessaloniki, the vital cultural centre strategically positioned on theEugène Delacroix’
oil canvas The
Massacre at
Chios (1824) was
inspired by the
events in Asia
Minor during
Greece’s War of
Independence in- The painting
hangs in the
Louvre Museum
in Paris