The Greek Revolution - 25 March 1821

No doubt the Greeks had wanted their freedom from the very beginning of the Ottoman rule, but in the 18th century the idea of a free Greece grew into an organised plan. With Russian help a revolt started in 1770, which failed. Inspired by the French revolution and the heroic poems (thourios) of Rigas Feraios, the Greeks did not give up, and the secret society Filiki Eteria ("Friendly Union") was founded in 1814 in Odessa of Russia by Nikolaos Skoufas, Emmanuel Xanthos and Antonios Tsakalof. Weapons and funds were collected, and help was sent from Greeks in exile as well as other countries on the Balkan and the Mediterranean sea.The revolution started when Alexander Ypsilantis invaded Jassy and declared Greece a free country. In the Peloponnese the Archbishop of Patras Paleon Patron Germanos led the uprising on 23 March 1821. The Greek army of the Peloponesse was led by Theodoros Kolokotronis. Other famous Greek leaders of the revoloution where Georgios Karaiskakis, Athanassios Diakos, Odysseas Androutsos, Grigorios Dikaios or Papaflessas, while in the seas, Konstantinos Kanaris, Laskarina bouboulina and Andreas Miaoulis fight the Turkish fleat with their ships. The Greeks may have got certain aid from abroad, but they had to fight on their own. The Turks got help from Egypt and the whole of the Peloponnese was captured by the Egyptian army by 1826.The following year, a republic was proclaimed, and Ioannis Kapodistrias was declared as the first governor of Greece. The same year European countries decided to help Greece and after the failure of negotiations with Turkey, Britain, France and Russia sent naval forces to Greece. Turkey was forced to accept peace, and the so called London Protocol declared the independence of Greece in 1830. Many parts of Greece were soon given back to the Ottoman empire, though, and several parts of Greece were not free until the beginning of the 20th century..

Comments

[summer]

hi ms anastasia. i've been trying to go to ur yahoo blog alot of times but until now i cant open it, it keeps saying "page cant be displayed" *sigh*... so i tried to go here hoping it's posted here too. and am glad it is. mwahh! its nice to read ur blogs again. thanks for sharing about greek revolution, ms anastasia. your blogs are always a source of knowledge, im learning from u alot. thanks. big hugs.. takecare always :)

[Constantinos]

Xronia polla Anastasia. Thank you for sharing our culture and history through your blogs. It's true that Greece had moral support from all over the world - yet what is admirable for those days is that the Greek men and women were left to fight alone against the Ottoman Empire and finally won their independence.

[Lakis]

Greece was the light of the world in antiquity. Throughout history Greece has taught the world what courage, self-denial and heroism mean. Xronia Polla

[Michalis]

Μακάρι το 21 να μας φωτίζει πάντα, Χρόνια πολλά, Αναστασία μου. - Μιχάλης

[Sophia]

Στων Ψαρών την ολόμαυρη ράχη,
περπατώντας η δόξα μονάχη
μελετά τα λαμπρά παλικάρια
και στην κόμη στεφάνι φορεί
γινωμένο από λίγα χορτάρια
που 'χαν μείνει στην έρημη γη…

Διονύσιος Σολωμός

[Haruko]

Hi Anastasia and thanks for putting a clock on your page. From now on I will never confuse the time. lol! It was great to share your history about which I don't know much. I hope you enjoyed your independence day.

[Jeff]

It's always a pleasure to read your blogs and learn more about Greece and Cypress.

[Andy]

Thank you for this very interesting and informative blog on the greek revolution.

[Alex]

Il faut lever le regard vers quelque chose d’autre que la réussite matérielle, sans chercher à l’imposer du dehors mais en gardant l’espérance : un idéal moral, c’est la source du bonheur, la clé de l’épanouissement intérieur - ce que les grecs ont prouvé à travers leurs luttes pour la liberté