GREECE. (REVOLUTION.) 



545 



mentioned, was permitted to land (Feb. 22, 1825), 

 with 4500 men, between Coron and Modon, and was 

 strengthened in the beginning of March, so that his 

 force amounted to 12,000 men. His army, owing to 

 their European tactics, French leaders, the use of 

 bayonets, and a disciplined cavalry, was far more to 

 be dreaded than the undisciplined host of Turks. 

 Thus Ibrahim began the siege of Navarino, the key 

 of the interior of the Peloponnesus. In vain Mian- 

 lis attacked with his fleet that of the enemy, on the 

 night of the 12th of May, when he burned an Egyp- 

 tian frigate, two corvettes, three brigs, and many 

 transport-ships. In vain Mavrocordato did every- 

 thing, by personal exposure, to animate the courage 

 of the garrison of Navarino, which was reduced to 

 extremity. Conduriotti found no obedience as he ap- 

 proached for the relief of the place. The inactivity 

 of the capitani, who would give no aid to the Hydri- 

 ots and the government, was the cause of the capitu- 

 lation of Navarino ; after which Ibrahim pressed on, 

 without resistance, to Tripolizza. In this danger, the 

 government saw themselves compelled to pardon the 

 old Colocotroni, and, after receiving a solemn pro- 

 mise of fidelity from him, to give him the command 

 of the Peloponnesus. This happened in the last of 

 May, 1825. In th#mean time, lleschid Pacha forced 

 his way into Acarnania and ^Etolia, after he had 

 beaten the Greeks at Salona. April 22, the third 

 siege of Missolonghi and Anatolica began. The ca- 

 pudan pacha did not arrive sufficiently soon to sup- 

 port the attack on the side of the sea. lie lost sev- 

 eral ships in May, near capo d'Oro,in an engagement 

 with the Greek admiral Sactouri, and reached Modon 

 at the end of this month. Ibrahim had already taken 

 Calamata, and occupied Tripolizza, which the Greeks, 

 in their retreat, set on fire. He pressed on, destroy- 

 ing every thing, and reached even Argos. Napoli di 

 Romania itself was threatened by him. But, after 

 the battle of the mills, at the distance of two leagues 

 from the capital, he was obliged to draw back to 

 Tripolizza, in the midst of repeated attacks from Co- 

 locotroni's army. This continued to be the centre of 

 his enterprises. Not one Greek village obeyed his 

 command to submit and receive his protection, so 

 that he laid waste every thing, put to death the men, 

 and sent the women and children as slaves to Egypt. 

 In the defence of Missolonghi, the spirit of the 

 Greeks appeared more clearly than ever. The garri- 

 son refused every exhortation to surrender. Noto 

 Botzaris stood first among the brave. The Turks, 

 with 35,000 land forces and 4000 sea forces, were 

 wholly defeated (Aug. 2, 1825), after a contest which 

 lasted several days. The Turks lost 9000 men. Dur- 

 ing the struggle, Miaulis arrived, burned severalTurk- 

 isli ships, and forced the fleet to retire. The siege was 

 raised, Oct. 12, 1825, four months and a half after 

 the opening of the trenches. Ibrahim Pacha spread 

 more and more widely the terror of his arms. The 

 government found itself in great danger. It had lost, 

 almost entirely, the confidence of the auxiliary socie- 

 ties, even in Britain, because the money from the 

 British loan had not been properly laid out. The 

 British party then exercised much influence over the 

 Greek government, through their secretary of state, 

 Mavrocordato ; and, after an interview with the Bri- 

 tish commodore (Hamilton), they determined to throw 

 themselves on the protection of Britain. But be- 

 fore the Greek deputy arrived in London, the British 

 government (Sept. 30, 1825) issued a decided decla- 

 ration of neutrality. The whole state of European 

 politics forbade any single power from promising di- 

 rect intervention. Yet the British government per- 

 mitted their consul at Alexandria to forbid British 

 ships to carry ammunition from Egypt to Greece for 

 the assistance of the pachas. Britain even seemed 



to recognise the right of search on the part of the 

 Greeks. The British declaration of neutrality ap- 

 peased the divan, and the new British ambassador 

 (Stratford Canning) set out, at last, upon a journey 

 to Constantinople ; but he stopped a long time on 

 the way, and had an interview (January, 1826J with 

 Mavrocordato, and other Greek statesmen, at Hydra, 

 in order to inform himself of the general state of 

 affairs. He then went to Smyrna, and sailed from 

 that place through the Dardanelles (January 15), and 

 arrived at Constantinople in the last of February. 

 About this time (March, 1826), the duke of Welling- 

 ton, as envoy extraordinary at St Petersburg, and lord 

 Strangford, then resident minister there (who had 

 formerly been minister to Constantinople) , discussed 

 the affairs of Greece with the Russian cabinet ; for, 

 at the end of the year 1825, the idea of restoring 

 independence to the Greek states seemed to be gain- 

 ing strength in the principal European cabinets. The 

 unsuccessful issue of the Turkish-Egyptian campaign, 

 begun under such favourable auspices, contributed 

 much to this. The capndan pacha had received the 

 command of the Egyptian fleet at the end of August, 

 in Alexandria, where the brave Kanaris (August 10) 

 had, with three fire-ships, in vain forced his way into 

 tiie harbour, with the intention of burning the Egyp- 

 tian fleet ; the pacha had also landed fresh troops at 

 Navarino (August 5) ; he had afterwards directed his 

 efforts against Missolonghi, in order to invest this 

 place on the sea side. Reschid Pacha thus began, 

 in connexion with Ibrahim, a winter campaign. Yet 

 this did not effect any thing decisive. The affairs of 

 Greece appeared to be hastening to ruin. The 

 Greek fleet (73 men-of-war and 23 fire-ships) arrived 

 too late before Navarino. The government had 

 hardly 6000 men under arms. The capitani squan- 

 dered the money with which they were to provide 

 troops. General Roche, manager of the French 

 committee for the assistance of the Greeks, worked 

 openly and secretly against the measures of the Bri- 

 tish party, which had the upper hand in the govern- 

 ment. The members of the senate and of the exe- 

 cutive council had no confid&ice in each other. The 

 secretary of state, Mavrocordato, who laboured, with 

 little aid but that of his own foresight and prudence, 

 to maintain order, was, for this reason, held in ill will 

 by all parties, and had little influence. The islanders 

 presented the last bulwark for the defence of the 

 Morea, but were obliged also to provide for their 

 own security. Notwithstanding this, their fleet suc- 

 ceeded in entering Missolonghi (November 24), now 

 besieged for the fourth time, and in providing it with 

 ammunition and provisions, after the garrison had 

 again repulsed an attack made by sea and land. At 

 the same time, Gouras had advanced from Livadiato 

 Salona, and had expelled the Turks from this impor- 

 tant point (November 7), after which he attacked 

 Reschid Pacha's besieging army in the rear. A body 

 of troops, also, sent by Ibrahim Pacha against Cor- 

 inth, was wholly destroyed by Niketas. Hereupon the 

 provisional government, in December, 1825, called 

 for a voluntary contribution for the equipment of a 

 new naval force at Hydra, in order to save Misso- 

 longhi. Strengthened by the accession of these ves- 

 sels, Miaulis appeared, in January, 1826, in the 

 waters of Missolonghi, and successfully encountered 

 the capudan pacha on the 8th of this month. In the 

 mean time, Reschid and Ibrahim Pacha were making 

 arrangements for a new siege. Ibrahim, as governor 

 of the Morea, had taken possession of Patras with 

 this view, after the brave Jussuf Pacha had been 

 appointed governor of Aidin (Magnesia) in Natolia. 

 The capudan pacha appeared anew before Mi>s<>- 

 longhi. The attempts of the Grecian fleet to supply 

 it again with provisions and ammunition failed ; the 



