In 1821, on the day of Holy Annunciation, our Greek forefathers revolted against their Turkish masters. At that time, all the lands populated by Greeks – the Greek mainland, all the way north to Macedonia and east along Thrace and to Constantinople, as well as most of the islands, and Asia Minor – were all under Turkish rule, all parts of the Ottoman Empire. The quest for freedom, the Greek Revolution of 1821, involved all these many segments of the Greek population: those living in the countryside, in villages and towns, the merchants, ship-owners and their sailors, the Constantinople Greeks, as well as the Greek Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate. This complex movement started well before 1821 and came together over many years – all focused to bring freedom to the Greeks. . One very prominent segment of the Hellenic population were the Greeks of Constantinople – specifically in the district called the FANAR [the Lighthouse]. Greeks had lived in Constantinople for centuries – even before this city became the capital of the great Byzantine state. Byzantium was conquered by the Ottomans and Constantinople finally fell to the Turks in 1453. Many Fanarioti Greeks not only survived the conquest, but in time, some worked in the Ottoman administration and became very important in running the vast Ottoman state. They became the translators and secretaries, the accountants and managers, as well as key people in Ottoman foreign affairs. . Greeks also became involved in trade and commerce. Greek businessmen had stores and warehouses in many port cities throughout the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It was in the Black Sea port city of Odessa that Greek merchants formed the “Filiki Heteria” [Society of Friends] – a wide- spread secret society, whose goal was freedom from Ottoman oppression. One prominent leader of the Filiki Heteria was Alexandros Ypsilantis, son of a Fanariot family, who sought his fortune in Orthodox Russia and became a general in the Russian Army. And Fanarioti also devoted themselves to serving the Greek Orthodox religion, both in the Patriarchate and in the many Orthodox churches in Constantinople. . Other Greeks who yearned for freedom and participated in the revolution, were the Greek peasants – the “raya” of the mainland – who supplied most of the fighters. Their life was very hard; they worked the land under feudal landlords – the Turkish Spahis and Pashas. Peasants supplied the labor and the food; they also paid taxes; any perceived disobedience was severely punished, sometimes by execution. Some Pashas were renown for their cruelty. From time to time, the Turks went through the villages and took away healthy young boys, to be converted to Islam and taught to serve the Sultan as his personal body guards and soldiers – the Janissaries. . The peasants’ duties also included supplying goods for trade: raw materials such as wool, cotton, leather, cereals, raisins. In the years before the revolution, this led to the development of commerce and exports – from the Greek mainland to Europe – both by land and by sea. Greeks who lived on the coast and the islands, manned the ships that transported the goods to port cities all over Europe and the Middle East. Thus thousands of Greek sailors saw and tasted the freedom that existed outsideOttoman rule. . Another important prelude to the Greek revolt was the French revolution – not because of its idea of freedom – the Greeks always knew that, but because sailing and trading by French ships, in the Mediterranean, came to a halt during the French revolution – leaving a big gap in trade and commerce. This gap was filled by expanded fleets of ships owned by Greek merchants, and sailed by Greek sailors. In turn, on the mainland, some Greeks rose above poverty level, not only by supplying more agricultural products, but also by covering the increased need for more finished goods, such as woven cloth of wool or cotton, finished carpets, silk material, and fur garments – all produced by a growing cottage industry and craftsmen. . So in the twenty to thirty years before the Greek revolution of 1821, there was an increased contact between the enslaved Greeks and the free world, leading to an intense desire to be free, as well as leading to an increased feeling of nationality – a realization that there is a Greek NATION – which deserved to be equal to other nations and to have its own state – like the French, or the English, or the Russians. During this time, the years before the revolution, two names truly stood out: Adamantios Korais, the scholar, educator, and writer, who combined classical Greek works and language with the common Greek spoken by the people. Korais published the Greek classics and greatly influenced the feeling that the Greeks are ONE NATION. The other name was Rhigas Fereos – the fiery revolutionary and poet, who formed secret organizations and actively planned the overthrow of the Turkish yoke. Unfortunately, he was caught and executed by the Turks. Rhigas left a wonderful collections of national poems and songs: perhaps the most outstanding of all was the War Hymn - Thurios : “How long, my heroes, shall we live in bondage ?” - he asked in the poem - “Better an hour of life that is free, than forty years in slavery” . . In March, 1821, in a region of the Peloponnesus already rife with dissatisfaction, Turkish authorities called the heads of leading Greek families to come to an important meeting. Greek leaders suspected a Turkish trap – that the Turks would hold them as hostages, to repress further unrest. Instead of meeting with the Turks, the Greeks met at the Monastery of Aghia Lavra. On March 25th, the Holy Day of Annunciation, together with Bishop Germanos, they decided the time had come for open revolt. To mark the beginning of the uprising, Bishop Germanos raised the Greek standard – the flag – which looked exactly the same as it does now – and blessed the freedom fighters, who swore to wage war against the Turks until they achieved Liberty or Death. . In the first year, the revolt was quite successful; Greek fighters were led by renown commander Theodoros Kolokotronis and other guerilla chiefs, including Andreas Zaimis, and ship-owner Georgios Koundouriotis. The revolutionaries gained control of the whole Peloponnesus, and also territory north of the Isthmus of Corinth, capturing Mesolonghi, Athens, and Thebes, as well as many Aegean islands, including Ydra, Spetse, and Psara. The losing Turks retaliated – in Constantinople they hung the Orthodox Patriarch Gregorios V; on the island of Chios they massacred most of the Greek population and sold the survivors into slavery. Janissaries were often in the forefront of Turkish troops. . The revolution had numerous ups and downs, but the popular sentiment – among the Greeks, throughout Europe, and even in the US – rallied to the Hellenic side. The uprising of 1821 had a national goal – freedom and independence for all Greeks. It also influenced and involved international interests, including the then great powers – England, France, Russia, which both helped and sometimes hindered the situation. In 1830, Greece became an independent kingdom, although smaller and by no means including all Greeks. We salute the freedom fighters of March 25, 1821. May their memory be eternal !
Prepared and distributed by AHEPA Chapter 277