FREE ESSAY ON GREEK INDEPENDENCE

GREEK INDEPENDENCE

Greek Independence
The Greek war of Independence was the result of several factors. One of the most
important events was the Orlov Rebellion of 1778-79. Inspired by the belief that Russia's
war with the Turks that countries were ready to liberate all the Christians in the
Ottoman Empire, a short-lived uprising took place in the Peloponnesus, in the beginning
of 1778. This venture however failed because of poor organisation, but it set a model for
violent resistance to Ottoman rule. The Orlov Rebellion also urged brutal measures by the
Sublime Porte (the Ottoman government) which increased anger against the empire.
The intellectual basis of nationalism came form the rich and prominent diaspore Greeks of
the eighteenth century. Two leaders of that group were Adamantios Korais and Rigas
Velestinlis. Korais argued the education of Greeks about their ancient heritage was the
path towards freedom. Velestinlis wrote a blueprint for a new Greek state that would rise
from the ashes of revolution against the Ottoman empire. Needless to say he was executed
in 1798.
In 1821 Greece met threemajor requirements for a successful revolution: materials to
stimulate a mass support for action; an ideological framework giving direction to the
movement; and an organisational structure to coordinate the movement. Greek intellectuals
had provided the language and ideas necessary for a nationalist struggle, and episodes
such as the Orlov Rebellion provided memories of violent resistance which made action
achievable. And so in the early 1820s the three converged.
The economy of the Ottoman Empire was seriously damaged by the general depression of
commerce that followed the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815. The Greek movement also
developed organtisational leadership during the 1810s. The Friendly Society, founded in
Odessa in 1814, was the most important of many revolutionary groups that arose. Unlike
others, it was able to attract a subsatntial membership while undetected by the Ottoman
authorities. The organisation brought together men from many levels of society to provide
an organisational base for revolutionary ideas and coordinated action. By the early
1820s, the revolution was a fact.