HISTORYTHE MODERN GREEK NATION1827
British, French and
Russian forces
sink the combined
Turkish-Egyptian naval
fl eet in the Battle of
Navarino (at Pylos, in
the Peloponnese), a
decisive action in the
War of Independence.
1827–
Ioannis Kapodistrias
is appointed prime
minister of a fl edgling
government with
its capital in the
Peloponnesian
town of Nafplio.
Discontent ensues
and Kapodistrias is
assassinated.1833
The powers of the
Entente (Britain,
France and Russia)
decree that Greece
should be a monarchy
and dispatch Prince
Otto of Bavaria to
Greece to be the fi rst
appointed monarch in
modern Greece.1862–
The monarchy takes
a nosedive and King
Otto is deposed in a
bloodless coup. The
British return the
Ionian Islands (a British
protectorate since
1815) to Greece in an
eff ort to quell Greece’s
expansionist urges.Balkan trade routes), part of Thrace, another chunk of Epiros, and the
northeastern Aegean Islands, as well as recognising the union with Crete.
WWI & Smyrna
In March 1913 a man assassinated King George, and his son Constantine
became the monarch. King Constantine, who was married to the sister
of the German emperor, insisted that Greece remain neutral whenWWI
broke out in August 1914. As the war dragged on, the Allies (Britain,
France and Russia) put increasing pressure on Greece to join forces with
them against Germany and Turkey, promising concessions in Asia Minor
in return. Prime Minister Venizelosfavoured the Allied cause, placing him
at loggerheads with the king. The king left Greece in June 1917, replaced
by his second-born son, Alexander, who was more amenable to the Allies.
Greek troops served with distinction on the Allied side, but when the
war ended in 1918 the promised land in Asia Minor was not forthcoming.
Venizelos then led a diplomatic campaign to further the case and, with Al-
lied acquiescence, landed troops inSmyrna (present-day İzmir in Turkey)
in May 1919, under the guise of protecting the half a million Greeks living
in the city. (However, the occupation of Smyrna stirred internal resent-
ments and helped spark a series of sanguinary reprisals against its local
Muslim population.) With a seemingly viable hold in Asia Minor, Venize-
los ordered his troops to march ahead, and by September 1921 they’d ad-
vanced as far as Ankara. But by this stage foreign support for Venizelos had
ebbed and Turkish forces, commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later to become
Atatürk), halted the off ensive. The Greek army retreated but Smyrna fell in
1922 , and tens of thousands of its Greek inhabitants were killed.
The outcome of these hostilities was the Treaty of Lausanne in July
1923 , whereby Turkey recovered eastern Thrace and the islands of Imv-
ros and Tenedos, while Italy kept the Dodecanese (which it had tempo-
rarily acquired in 1912 and would hold until 1947).
The treaty also called for a population exchange between Greece and
Turkey to prevent any future disputes. Almost 1.5 million Greeks left Tur-
key and almost 400,000 Turks left Greece. The exchange put a tremen-
dous strain on the Greek economy and caused great bitterness and hard-
ship for the individuals concerned. Many Greeks abandoned a privileged
life in Asia Minor for one of extreme poverty in emerging urban shanty
towns in Athens and Thessaloniki.
The Republic of 1924–
The arrival of the Greek refugees from Turkey coincided with, and com-
pounded, a period of political instability unprecedented even by Greek
standards. In October 1920 King Alexander died from a monkey bite
and his father Constantine was restored to the throne. But the ensuing
Prince Philip, the
Duke of Edin-
burgh, was part
of the Greek royal
family – born on
Corfu as Prince
Philip of Greece
and Denmark
in 1921. Former
king of Greece,
Constantine, is
Prince William’s
godfather and
Prince Charles’
third cousin.