GREECE. (REVOLUTION.) 



547 



fit last arrive in Greece, and take tlie chief command 

 of the sea forces, while general Church stood at the 

 head of the land forces. The Turks remained in 

 possession of the whole of Eastern and Western 

 Hellas. The distress was increased by a violent 

 struggle of parties in Napoli di Romania itself. 

 Here Grivas, being in possession of the fortress called 

 Palamedes, began to cannonade the city, in order to 

 compel the payment of arrears. The national 

 government fled to the island of JJgina. They now 

 cast their eyes to Russia. They chose count Capo 

 d'lstria Cq. v.) as their president. This statesman 

 received his discharge from the Russian service July 

 13, 1827, but could not enter upon his high office 

 :intil Jan. 22, 1828. Meanwhile the ambassadors of 

 the three powers had, on the 16th of August, pre- 

 sented to the Porte the treaty concluded at London, 

 for the pacification of Greece, and waited for an 

 answer till the 31st. " Greece" they said, " shall 

 govern itself, but pay tribute to the Porte." Europe 

 had now more reason than ever to demand from the 

 Porte the independence of Greece, by which piracy 

 in the Grecian and Turkish seas might be prevented ; 

 an African slave-holding and piratical state should 

 not be allowed to rule the beautiful Archipelago of 

 Europe ; and order might take the place' of bloody 

 anarchy, which the Porte had neither sagacity nor 

 strength to suppress. The Greek government imme- 

 diately proclaimed (Aug. 25) an armistice in confor- 

 mity to the treaty of London. But the reis eftendi 

 rejected the intervention of the three powers (Aug. 31). 

 The Greeks then commenced hostilities anew, and 

 the Turkish-Egyptian fleet (Sept. 9) entered the bay 

 of Navarino. A British squadron appeared in the 

 bay on the 13th, under admiral Codrington. To this 

 a French squadron, under admiral Rigny, and a Rus- 

 sian, under count Heyden, united themselves on the 

 22d. They demanded from Ibrahim Pacha a cessa- 

 tion of hostilities. He promised this, and went out 

 with part of his fleet, but was forced to return into 

 the bay. As he now continued the devastations in 

 the Morea, and gave no answer to the complaints of 

 the admirals, the three squadrons entered the bay, 

 where the Turkish-Egyptian fleet was drawn up in 

 order of battle. The first shots were fired from the 

 Turkish side, and killed two Englishmen. This was 

 the sign for a deadly contest (Oct. 20, 1827), in which 

 Codrington nearly destroyed the Turkish-Egyptian 

 armada of 110 ships. One part was burned, another 

 driven on shore, and the rest disabled. None struck 

 their flag. The news of the victory was received 

 with exultation in Europe. An involuntary suspen- 

 sion of hostilities now ensued, during which the 

 depredations of pirates became more serious. The 

 admirals of the three united squadrons, therefore, 

 sent a warm remonstrance to the legislative council 

 of the Greeks, and, after a nuznber of capital punish- 

 ments, the safety of the seas was restored, particularly 

 after the British had destroyed the head-quarters of 

 the corsairs (Karabusa, in Candia, Feb. 28, 1828). 

 The Greeks now resumed the offensive against the 

 Turks; but their attempt upon Scio (where they vainly 

 besieged the citadel from November, 1827, till March 

 13, 1828) was productive of nothing but injury to 

 the inhabitants. Enraged at the battle of Navarino, 

 the Porte seized all the ships of the Franks in Con- 

 stantinople, detained them from Nov. 2 to Nov. 19, 

 and, on the 8th, stopped all communication with the 

 ministers of the allied powers, till indemnification 

 should be made for the destruction of the fleet. At 

 the same time it prepared for war. Since the aboli- 

 tion of the janizaries (q. v.), in June, 1826, the sultan 

 had exerted himself, with great zeal, to establish a 

 new army, trained in the European discipline. He 

 conducted their exercises in person, and i'.seJ all the 



means in his power to inflame the passions of the 

 Moslems. For this reason, the Russian ambassador, 

 Ribeaupierre, left Constantinople on the 4th of Dec., 

 J827 ; the French, Guilleminot, and the British, 

 Stratford Canning, on the 8th. Upon this the Porte 

 adopted conciliatory measures, and sent a note, on 

 the 15th, to count Ribeaupierre, who was detained 

 in the Bosphorus by contrary winds ; but the hatti- 

 sheriff addressed to the pachas (Dec. 20), demanding 

 war. and heaping many reproaches on Russia, forbade 

 the idea that the intentions of the Porte were friendly. 

 From all parts of the kingdom, the Ayans were now 

 called to Constantinople (a measure quite unusual), 

 and discussed with the Porte the preparations for 

 war. All the Moslems, from the age of nineteen to 

 fifty, were called to arm. On the 30th, Mahmoud, 

 on hearing that Persian Armenia had fallen into the 

 power of Russia, misled by the artful representations 

 of one part of this intolerant and disunited people, 

 caused all the Catholic Armenians to be driven from 

 Galata and Pera, so that within fourteen days (Jan., 

 1828) 16,000 persons were obliged to emigrate to 

 Asia in the most deplorable condition. In the mean 

 time, the president of the Greeks, count Capo d'lstria, 

 appointed the able Tricoupi his secretary of state, 

 and established a high national council, called Pan- 

 Aellenion, at Napoli di Romania ; Feb. 4, 1828, took 

 measures for instituting a national bank ; and Feb. 14, 

 put the military department on a new footing. The 

 improvements, however, could go on but slowly. 

 Without the assistance of France and Russia, each of 

 which lent the young state 6,000,000 francs (as is 

 represented in the Courier of Smyrna, or, as others 

 state, paid a monthly subsidy of 500,000 francs), 

 nothing could have been effected. The attempts at 

 pacification were fruitless, because the Porte reject- 

 ed every proposal, and Britain appeared to disap- 

 prove of the' battle of Navarino. Codrington was 

 recalled, and Malcolm took his place. In this state 

 of uncertainty, Ibrahim was allowed to send a num- 

 ber of Greek captives as slaves to Egypt. In March, 

 1828, the war between Russia and Turkey broke out, 

 and gave the Porte full occupation. In the mean 

 time, the French cabinet, in concurrence with the 

 British, to carry into execution the treaty of Lon- 

 don, sent a body of troops to the Morea, whilst the 

 British admiral Codrington concluded a treaty with 

 the viceroy of Egypt, at Alexandria (August 6), the 

 terms of which were that Ibrahim Pacha should eva- 

 cuate the Morea with his troops, and set at liberty his 

 Greek prisoners. Those Greeks who had been car. 

 ried into slavery in Egypt, were to be freed or ran- 

 somed. 1200 men, however, were to be allowed to 

 remain to garrison the fortresses in the Morea. To 

 force Ibrahim to comply with these terms, the French 

 general Maison arrived, on the 29th of the following 

 August, with 154 transport-ships, in the Morea, in 

 the bay of Coron, near Petal idi. After an amicable 

 negotiation, Ibrahim left Navarino, and sailed 

 (October 4) with about 21,000 men, whom he carried 

 with the wreck of the fleet to Alexandria ; but he 

 left garrisons in the Messenian fortresses, amounting 

 to 2500 men, consisting of Turks and Egyptians. 

 Maison occupied the town of Navarino without op- 

 position. He then attacked the Turkish fortresses 

 in Messenia. The garrison made no resistance, and, 

 on the other hand, the commanders would not capi- 

 tulate. The French, therefore, almost without op- 

 position, took possession of the citadels of Navarino 

 (October 6), of Modon (on the 7th), and of Coron 

 (on the 9th). The garrisons were allowed free egress. 

 Patras, with 3000 men, capitulated (October 5) also, 

 without resistance ; and the flags of the three powers, 

 parties to the treaty of London, waved with the na- 

 tional flag of Greece, on the walls of the cities. 

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