Greek War of Independence

I mean, there's no doubt that the emergence of the Greek state, uh, in, in the, in the early part or the middle part of the nineteenth century, it was very much the product of great power politics.

It was very much the product of an international relations nexus in Europe in which the great powers, the British, the French, and the Russians were initially opposed to the Ottoman Empire, and they supported the Greek War of Independence because it served the purposes of the balance of power in Europe.

It served the purposes of, um, uh, of some kind of concept of realpolitik in which, you know, trying to get one over on your adversary and rival by supporting a war of independence in Greece or in Serbia or elsewhere was seen as a way of advancing your interests across Europe.

Now, of course, those alignments between the great powers are constantly changing, but one of the things that did happen was that the Greek War of Independence in the eighteen twenties resulted, uh, in the creation of a Greek state, which was supported by outside powers, and it was very much, uh, upheld by outside powers to a certain extent.

Now, we mustn't forget that there was a great degree of Philhellenism built into that.

There is this romantic notion that, um, the Greek state emerged not only because of the realities of international politics in Europe, but also because there was this great affinity to supporting the Hellenes, uh, the birthplace of various ideals and philosophies and, uh, and, and, and the romantic notion of struggles of independence against, um, you know, the Ottoman, uh, outsider barbarian in a sense in European times.

Even as modern empires rose and fell, the connection survived.

In 1830, following the Greek War of Independence, the Ottoman Sultan handed the administration of Crete over to his powerful ally, Muhammad Ali of Egypt, as payment for military support.

This initiated the Egyptian Decade on Crete under the governorship of Mustafa Naili Pasha.

Known locally as the Cretan, Pasha repaired roads, built public health facilities, and completely rebuilt the iconic lighthouse standing in Chania harbour.

During those four centuries of foreign rule, the Orthodox Church preserved the Greek language, education, and cultural identity.

Because the Ottoman millet system granted the religious community a degree of self-administration, the Church became deeply entwined with the idea of Greek national identity.

When the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, it carried a strong religious dimension, with monks and priests aiding the fight under banners of the cross.

The new nation soon recognized the Church as the prevailing religion in its constitution.

Greece to go fight there.

It was the Greek War of Independence.

Yeah.

Okay.

I think I pronounced that correctly, probably not.

Greek forces massacre 6,000 to 15,000 Muslims and Jewish civilians during the Greek War of Independence.

Yeah, it was a very, very brutal war.

The Greeks trying to win their independence from the Ottoman, uh, from the Ottoman Empire, who had kept them under heel for a long time, and the Greeks trying to win back their own country.

I had a quick look.

That, for us, this would be the Greek War of Independence, the Republic of Fredonia in Texas, the first passenger railway.

These are things I do not know much about.

[laughs] Yeah, true.