GREEK INDEPENDENCE A brief history

For many Greeks, March 25 marks the day of independence from almost four centuries of Turkish rule. Starting in 1821, Greece became engaged in the 10-year War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. Some facts:

The Ottoman Empire ruled nearly all of Greece, with the exception of the Ionian Islands, since its conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the 14th and 15th centuries.

In the 1700s and 1800s, the empire’s power declined, leading to the rise of Greek nationalism, with the support of much of Western Europe.

Before the war, Rigas Feraios, a Greek writer, shaped many Greeks’ opinions by publishing revolutionary tracts that advocated nationalism in the country, among other things. Feraios was viewed by many as a martyr after having been strangled in 1798, and his death fueled the desire to achieve independence.

Atrocities during the war led to sympathies among most Western European countries.

Independence was achieved in July 1832 with the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople, which set boundaries for the new Greek kingdom.

After independence, Aegina became the first capital.

Source: BookRags.com