Front Matter

History of Contemporary Greece

By Stoian Kiselinovski

(Translated from Macedonian to English and edited by Risto Stefov)

History of Contemporary Greece

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December 1, 2018

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PREFACE

The book “History of Contemporary Greece”, in a synthetic way, covers the history of Greece from the beginning of the Greek Uprising to this day (1821-2016). This book looks at the activities of the Filiki Eteria, the course of the Greek uprising, the appearance of the Philhellene movement, the position the Great Powers (Russia, Britain and France) took towards the Greek problem, and the role of the “Megali Idea” in creating a Greater Greece, i.e. a state that covers two continents and five seas.

This book also covers the development of the Greek state and its internal and foreign policies during this historic period. It looks at the Greek position during the Balkan Wars, the First World War and the Greek-Turkish War, and the Greek state’s territorial, ethnic and political consequences.

Special attention is paid to the historical destiny of the minorities in Greece after the Second Balkan War, the period between the two world wars, the period during World War II and the postwar period. The processes of indigenous population migration and the processes of foreign population colonization and its ethno-linguistic consequences are also examined.

The primary sources used to prepare this book came from various historical archives (Greek, Bulgarian, Macedonian, French and Romanian). The book “History of Contemporary Greece” will fill one more void in Macedonia’s historiography and will acquaint the Macedonian people with the history of their southern neighbour.

The author

GREECE - (1821-1913)

The Greek uprising (1821-1829)

The start of the French Revolution (1789), ended mankind’s “prehistoric” period and began the historic period. The French Revolution seriously influenced the emancipatory processes all around the world. The slogan “Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood” surfaced all across Europe. The Balkans too was included in this national liberation process. The First and Second Serbian Uprising led by Karadjordje Petrovich (1804) and Milosh Obrenovich (1815-1817) were started in the early 19th century. The same national-emancipatory process was also observed in Greece. The ideas of the French Revolution were brought to Greece by Greek students who studied in Western European countries, the new Greek trade class which maintained active trade and ideological ties with the numerous Greek colonies spread across the entire Mediterranean.

One of the first people to spread the new ideas in the Balkans was Rigas Velestenlis or Rigas from Ferrea. Rigas from Ferrea called on the Balkan nations to rise up against Ottoman rule and form a new Byzantine Empire with Constantinople as its capital. “Better an hour of freedom than forty years of slavery and dungeons,” was Rigas’s message to the enslaved Balkan nations. But, due to his rebel activities, Rigas from Ferrea was arrested by the Austrians and handed over to the Ottoman authorities who then executed him in Belgrade (1789).

The ideas about freedom which Rigas from Ferrea was spreading fell on fertile soil. In 1814, in Russia (Odessa), Emanuel Xanthos, Nikolaos Skufas and Anastasios Tsakalof founded the organization “Filiki Eteria” (Organization of Friendship). The aim of this organization was to liberate Greece from Ottoman slavery through an uprising. The “Filiki Eteria” quickly organized “Eforii” (branches) in different parts of Europe, where Greeks lived. Ioannis Capodistria, a Russian diplomat, was offered leadership of the uprising. Ioannis Capodistria, a skilled diplomat and good connoisseur of the European political reality created by the Vienna Congress (1815), rejected the offer. After Capodistria’s rejection it

was proposed that Alexandros Ipsilantis, an adjutant to the Russian Tsar, lead the uprising.

Instead of being started in Greece, the Greek uprising began in the principalities of Moldova and Walachia, in Romania. These Romanian principalities were governed by Ottoman appointed “Gospodars” (Masters) who were Greek-Fanariots. In January 1821, after the Fanariot Alexander Shuchu died, the government was passed on to the so-called “Protection Committee” which was made up of prominent “Boliars” (boyars) partly connected and affiliated with the “Filiki Eteria”.

The Romanian population, however, was dissatisfied with the Ottoman appointed Fanariot regime that ruled it and this dissatisfaction was expressed through a counter-uprising led by Tudor Vladimirescu, who was also in collusion with the supporters of the “Filiki Eteria”. The uprising in this region began on January 23, 1821 in the mountain village Padesh, where Vladimirescu called on the population to rise up and fight for freedom and justice. At the same time, in March 1821, Alexandros Ipsilantis with the so-called “Holy Battalion” crossed the Prut River (the border between Russia and Moldova) and invaded Iashi, Moldova’s capital. There Ipsilantis called on the Romanian people to rise up and promised them that a great power (alluding to Russia) was behind the “Filiki Eteria” movement.

After the Russian Tsar condemned the uprising, cooperation between the “Filiki Eteria” and Vladimirisku did not last long. “I am not ready to shed Romanian blood for the Greeks...” confessed Vladimirescu to an Austrian representative. Accused of collaborating with the Ottomans, on Ipsilantis’s orders, Vladimirescu was arrested by “Filiki Eteria” operative Iordake Olimpios. Then, without a trial, Vladimirescu was executed by Vasilis Karavia in the evening between May 26 and 27, 1821. His body was cut to pieces and thrown down a well.

After Vladimirescu’s death his army (the Panduri) broke up and thus weakened the “Filiki Eteria” movement in the Romanian principalities. On June 7, 1821 in Dragoshani, the Ottomans defeated the “Filiki Eteria” fighters and forced them out to Moldova

and Austria. Those of the “Filiki Eteria” who had fled to Moldova were also defeated at Skulen at Prut and in the Monastery Seku. With this, the Ottomans suppressed the “Filiki Eteria” uprising in Moldova and Wallachia. Ipsilantis fled to Austria where he was arrested and died in jail in 1828.

The struggle against Ottoman rule, however continued in Greece. The first armed clashes between the Greek rebels and the Ottoman army began in the Peloponnesus and in the islands. The first people who fought in the ranks of the rebels were the so-called “Kleftes” and “Armatoles”, the armed Orthodox militia in the civil service of the Ottoman Empire.

Both sides, the Greek rebels and the Ottoman army, were extremely cruel to each other during this rebellion. The Ottoman authorities began to repress the so-called Greek population in Constantinople. The Patriarch Grigorios V of Constantinople was hung on the Patriarchate church gate. A number of Greek Phanariots who lived in the famous “Phanar” district in Constantinople were also killed. After the Patriarch was hung the church was painted black and no longer held church services. After they captured Tripoli in the Peloponnesus, the Greek rebels, led by Theodoros Kolototronis, killed a large part of the local Ottoman population. In April 1822, 7,000 Ottoman soldiers landed on the island Chios and massacred the local Greek population. The majority of the people were killed and those who were caught and survived were sold into slavery in the Middle East. Only a small part the population managed to save itself by fleeing to other Greek islands (Cyclades). This tragic event was preserved by French artist Eugene Delacroix in his famous painting “Massacre at Chios”.

The insurgents had great success both on land and at sea in the period between 1821 and 1824. This was mainly due to the fact that the rebels were led by capable people such as Theodoros Kolototronis, Markos Botsaris, Constantinos Canaris, O. Andrutsos, Grigorios Diakos-Papaflesas and Dimitris Ipsilantis (brother of Alexandros Ipsilantis).

Just as the Greek uprising began internal misunderstandings and clashes between the various rebel groups began to occur. There was

strong resistance to the “Filiki Eteria’s” activities coming from the so-called “Kotsobati”, a privileged layer of people from the former administration, who sought to take over the leadership of the uprising. On March 24, 1821, the first local government, headed by Bishop Germanos, was organized in Patra. On March 25, 1821, the Metropolitan of Patra blessed the uprising and since then March 25 is celebrated in Greece as a national holiday.

After part of the Greek territory was liberated, steps were taken to organize a state government. Elections were held on November 20, 1822 and the First National Assembly was convened in Epidaur where it proclaimed Greece an independent state and accepted the first Constitution which proclaimed Greece a Republic. With the new Constitution, legislative power was held within the competence of the National Assembly. Executive power was the responsibility of a five-member Executive Council, which appointed the government. The Constitution guaranteed the right to life, property, ownership rights, freedom of speech and prohibited slavery. Unfortunately the new Constitution did not offer a resolution to the agrarian question which interested the Greek peasants the most. The second National Assembly, held in Argos (April 10, 1823), also did not solve the agrarian question. The National Assembly decided that the lands abandoned by the Ottomans should be sold and not shared by the peasants.

In the meantime, clashes between the rebels and the Ottoman army continued. Advised by Austrian diplomacy, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II sought military assistance from Mehmed Ali, an Egyptian Pasha and Ottoman vassal. In 1825, the Egyptian army led by Ibrahim Pasha, son of Mehmed Ali, bloodily crushed the uprising in Crete and the Peloponnesus. So, in order to avoid huge casualties the rebels began to carry out guerrilla warfare through “hit and run” tactics.

From the very beginning of the uprising the bloodshed in Greece attracted the attention of the European public and a strong “Philhellene” movement began to appear. As a result the Greek insurgency was helped in a variety of ways and by many Europeans, including Byron, an English poet who had gone to Greece to fight for Greece’s freedom. Almost 2,000 Europeans gave their lives for

the freedom of Greece. At the same time, the “Philhellene” movement exerted strong pressure on European governments to intervene on behalf of Greece. In 1826 tragedy struck the city Mesolongi. The city was surrounded by the Ottoman army for a long time during which the population suffered from hunger, thirst and diseases. Many residents, including Lord Byron, died of typhus. All attempts made by the rebels to break the Ottoman siege were unsuccessful. Then, after Ibrahim Pasha and Reshid Pasha’s troops invaded the city they massacred the entire population.

After the Mesolongi tragedy (1826) the European Great Powers decided to intervene. Russia, England, and France demanded that all armed actions stop. The Ottoman Empire refused. This forced the European Great Powers to intervene directly in the armed conflict in Greece. In 1827 the English, French and Russian fleets struck the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet at the port of Navarino and defeated it. The Ottoman fleet then was under the command of Ibrahim Pasha. Sixty Ottoman and Egyptian ships were destroyed and many Ottoman sailors were killed. At the same time, Russian Emperor Nikolay I declared war on the Ottomans (1828-1829). Defeated, the Ottoman Empire was forced to accept a truce. A Peace Treaty was signed (September 14, 1829) in Odrin between Russia and the Ottoman Empire where the Ottoman’s recognized Greece’s autonomy. Then the London Protocol recognized Greece as an independent state and it became the first new independent state in the Balkans. The New Greek state at the time encompassed an area of 47,516 km² with 753,400 inhabitants. The new state included the territories of Peloponnesus (Morea), Central Greece, Eubeia and Cyclades. In the north, the new state’s border stretched from the bay of Arta in the west to the bay of Volos in the east.

After the new Greek state was created, under conditions of great political instability, the process of organizing it was started. This process was propelled forwards by the Third National Assembly, held in Trisina (1827), which accepted the new Constitution proposed by A. Mavrocordatos, a representative of the wealthy class in Greek society. The new Constitution called for the state to be organized as a presidential republic. While responsibility for legislative power remained in the hands of the National Assembly, the Republic’s president was put in charge of the executive branch.

Ioannis Capodistria was elected president. But, as soon as he took power, Capodistria, relying on the “Russian party” and the country’s military leaders headed by Thedoros Colototronis, suspended the Constitution, dissolved the National Assembly, and created a new government called “Panhellenium”. Capodistria then began to implement reforms and organize the administration and public education sector, but failed to solve the agrarian problem.

In solving this particular problem Capodistria was faced with how to divide 721,000 hectares of land left behind by the Ottomans who had fled Greece. As it was the “National elders” had usurped 300,000 hectares and only 421,000 hectares remained to be given to the landless peasants. The old privileged layers of Greek society, which Capodistria referred to as the “Ottoman Christians”, bravely fought to preserve their own privileges. There was internal turmoil in the country that took the proportion of a civil war which then culminated with the killing of Capodistria on October 9, 1831. He was murdered by two members of the Mavromihalis brotherhood from Peloponnesus.

After Capodistria’s death, England, Russia and France decided to establish a hereditary monarchy in Greece. The Greek crown was first offered to Leopold Saxe-Coburg but he refused it. It was then offered to Otto of Bavaria, the second son of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, and was accepted. In 1832, Prince Otto arrived in Navplion where he was welcomed by the population. In August 1832, after a brief Bavarian regency, led by Johan Von Malo Armansberg, the National Assembly chose Otto as the permanent king of Greece under the name Othon I (1832-1862). On his arrival Otto was accompanied by 3,500 Bavarian soldiers, who then left Greece in 1838. With Otto’s crowning a process began of not only building the state but also building the Greek nation. Criminal and civil legislation was introduced, education was organized and the Athens University (1837) was created. The state apparatus was also organized. The key places in the state apparatus were given to Bavarians. In other words the administration was run by “Bavarians”. This “Bavarian” period is recorded in Greek history as the period of “Xenocrates” (rule by foreigners) or “Bavarocrates” (rule by Bavarians). The Greek Church proclaimed its autocephaly in relation to the Constantinople Patriarchate, during Otto I’s reign.

The proclamation of autocephaly by the Greek Orthodox Church strained relations with the Constantinople Patriarchate, which delayed the Greek church’s recognition by the Patriarchate of Constantinople until 1850. Greece’s capital was also moved from Navplion to Athens during Otto I’s reign.

The authoritarian royal rule, the administration’s “Bavaria-zation”, the king’s refusal to turn from Catholicism to Orthodoxy, the lack of heirs caused dissatisfaction among the population. On September 3, 1843 the army, supported by the population, carried out a coup. The king was forced to accept and convene a constitutional assembly to draft a new constitution. The constitution, following the example of the Belgian Constitution of 1831, was accepted in March 1844 and laid the foundations of the hereditary constitutional monarchy in Greece. The Constitution envisioned a dual-house Parliament: the House of Representatives elected in general elections and the Senate with lifelong appointments of members by the king. The legislature was also put under the authority of the king and parliament. The executive was led by the king through the government. Judicial power was performed by judges who were also appointed by the king. In other words, the new Constitution allowed the king to have huge privileges with his traits being holy and undeniable. The 1844 Constitution guaranteed personal freedom, freedom of the press and prohibited any form of slavery.

Outside of the king, political life in Greece was dominated by two other figures: Ioannis Koletis and Alexandros Mavrocordatos. They were able to skilfully manipulate the supporters of the so-called “English”, “Russian” and “French” parties. In this respect, Koletis, father of the “Megali Idea” (Greater Greece) was particularly prominent because he was in favour of creating a Greater Greece that was to span over two continents (Europe and Asia) and five seas (Black, Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean and Ionian).

Despite the existence of a Constitution, Otto continued with his authoritarian rule. In 1862, he was ousted by the military because he did not respect the Constitution. He was forced to abdicate and, together with his wife Amalia from Oldenburg, left for Bavaria. He died in 1876 in Munich and until then he was considered the king of

Greece. It was reported that from nostalgia he often dressed in the Greek national dress, the fustanela.

After Otto was kicked out, Wilhelm from the Danish Glissburg dynasty was appointed king of Greece under the name king Georgios I (1863-1913). In 1864, the newly elected Assembly adopted the new Constitution which was a little more liberal than the 1844 constitution. Under the new Constitution, legislative power was in the hands of parliament and the executive was under the authority of the king, which he performed through the appointment of ministers. The first minister was elected from the ranks of the party that had the most MPs in parliament. The new Constitution guaranteed freedom of the press and the right to association.

The two personalities that left their imprint on Greek political life in the second half of the 19th century were Theodoros Delianis and Harilaos Trikupis. Unlike Delianis, Trikupis was a pragmatic politician who thought that in order to realize its “Megali Idea” Greece must be turned into an economically and politically stable country. As things were the Greek economy often operated in crisis mode. The state was unable, even while performing regular services, to meet its obligations to foreign creditors and was always on the verge of bankruptcy. And every time Greece postponed its financial obligations, its creditors and lenders imposed new political conditions.

But, economic development in Greece at the end of the 19th century began to improve. Agriculture was developing rapidly and the output of grain crops were added after Thessaly was annexed by Greece and Greece became a major producer of raisins. At the same time steps were taken to industrialize the country by mechanizing the food and textile industry. Mining was also developing rapidly. The first railway line was built (1869), as well as the first shipyard in Saros (1879). At the same time the Corinthian Canal (1889-1893) and internal and external trade were being rapidly developed. Also at about the same time Greece was developing one of the largest commercial fleets in the world. But, despite the resurgence in the Greek economy, the country was unable to employ its entire working population. As a result many people began to migrate for the first time. At the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries,

350,000 people left Greece for the United States. With the money sent back to their families, they contributed to the economic pulsation of the Greek economy.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Greece faced another political crisis. The military, headed by the “War League”, rebelled and retreated to Gudi, a suburb of Athens. The “Military League”, at the time led by Colonel Nicholas Zorbas, requested from the king that several reforms be made. Some of the reforms included the reduction or elimination of military responsibilities held by the prince/princes, appointing a defence minister from the ranks of the military and promoting military personnel, in the army and navy, based on merit. At the same time the military proposed to the Greek government that Eleftheros Venizelos be appointed as their leader. Venizelos, who at the time was a symbol of Greek nationalism and state expansionism, after his Liberal Party’s win in the parliamentary elections of 1910 and 1912, began to carry out serious internal reforms so that Greece could prepare to cope with the hectic events of the early 20th century.

Greek foreign Policy (1832-1912)

After the Greek independent state was created it began to work on creating a foundation for implementing the “Megali Idea” in order to expand the Greek state. The argument was that the new Greek state did not encompass all the Greek ethno-historical territories, which at the time consisted of the Peloponnesus, Central Greece (Sterea Elada), Eubea and several islands in the Aegean Sea. Accordingly, there were more supposedly Greek historic territories to be incorporated which included Crete, Epirus, Thessaly, the Aegean islands (Limnos, Mitilini, Lesbos, Chios, Samotraki, Dodecanese and Southern Sporades), and Cypros. There was a compact Greek population living among a Turkish minority in Cyprus that could also be incorporated into the Greek state. The population in Cyprus, however, attracted the attention of both Greece and Turkey.

The Greek state strived to unite all Greek-ethnic territories and, if possible, extend them to foreign non-Greek ethno-historical territories such as Macedonia and Odrin in Thrace. Greece sought to realize this idea in two phases: first unite all Greek-ethnic territories,

and second expand and occupy non-Greek ethno-historical territories. All Greek governments, without exception, were devoted to the realization of this “sacred national ideal”. Since the start of the Crimean War (1853-1856), Greece was looking towards Russia but was blocked by Britain, and did not gain any territorial expansion. In 1864, pleased with the appointment of king George I as king of Greece, England gave the Greek kingdom the Ionian Islands which it ruled since 1815.

At the end of the 19th century, the political situation in the Balkans became very complicated. The Eastern Crisis began with a strong uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1875-1878) and with the April Uprising in Bulgaria (1876). Ottoman massacres in those regions, especially the tragedy in the village Batak, gave the Great Powers cause to intervene. The Eastern crisis culminated with a new Russian-Turkish war (1877-1878). After the Russian armies and Bulgarian militias fought a bloody battle at Pleven and heroically defended the Shipka pass, the road to Constantinople was opened. Defeated, the Ottomans were forced to negotiate a peace treaty with Russia (March 3, 1878). With the signing of the San Stefano Treaty a Greater Bulgaria was created that also encompassed Mizia, Thrace and Macedonia. The Ottomans were forced to recognize the independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. The Western powers (Austria-Hungary, Britain, France and Germany) did not agree with the decisions made at San Stefano. The Treaty of San Stefano was revised at the Berlin Congress (June-July, 1878) and confirmed the independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro but Greater Bulgaria was divided into two parts: the northern part was allowed to become a Bulgarian Principality, and the southern part, the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia, was given back to the Ottomans. Macedonia too was given back to the Ottoman Empire with the condition that some reforms be implemented (Article 23). After a strong uprising in Thessaly (1878), Greece’s right to annex that region was recognized. With the Constantinople Agreement signed by the Ottomans and Greece in 1881, Greece was able to annex Thessaly and part of Epirus (Pirsos). With the acquisition of Thessaly and part of Epirus, the territory of the Greek kingdom expanded by another 13,400 km².

During the Serbian-Bulgarian War (1885), Greece’s position was anti-Bulgarian and, like Serbia, it sought to obstruct the process of the so-called “unification of all Bulgarian ethnic territories” into one state. At the end of the 19th century, Greece’s relation with the Ottoman Empire remained strained. Greece supported the frequent uprisings in Thessaly and Crete (1866-1868) which brought the two countries to the brink of war. In 1896, a strong anti-Ottoman uprising flared up in Crete demanding that Crete be unified with Greece. The T. Delianis Greek government decided to intervene in the conflict and started a brief war between Greece and the Ottoman Empire (1897). Greece was quickly defeated and a status quo ante bellum peace agreement was signed in Constantinople. By this agreement Greece was forced to pay military damages of 100 million francs. With the annexation of Thessaly, Greece came much closer to Macedonia.

Macedonia

Macedonia did not have a Greek ethnic character. The majority of the population was non-Greek (affiliated mainly with the exarchate church), while those people who affiliated themselves with the Patriarchate (Greek) church were a small minority (9.8%). The organization IMORO (Internal Macedonian Odrin Revolutionary Organization) developed a strong popular liberation movement in Macedonia. This movement was led by Gotse Delchev, Damian Gruev, Hristo Tatarchev, Boris Sarafov and other revolutionaries. The Macedonian people’s liberation movement culminated with the Ilinden Uprising (August 2, 1903).

After the uprising was put down, on top of the intensified Greek educational and church propaganda, the Greek state began to send armed gangs, the so-called “Makedonomahi” (Macedonian Fighters) to frighten the Macedonian people into affiliating themselves with the Greek Patriarchate. Most of these Greek armed gangsters were recruited from the outcasts of IMORO, the likes of Kote Hristov from the village Rulia, nicknamed “Kota” by the Greeks. Their role was to terrorize the Macedonian civilian population but avoid collisions with the IMORO and the Ottoman army. These gangs, appropriately named “Andartes” (rebels) by the Greeks, were led by Pavlos Melas and Germanos Karavangelis, the Greek bishop of

Kostur. In addition to terrorising the Macedonian population, these Andartes constantly sent threatening letters to the exarchate-affiliated people demanding that they join the Greek Patriarchate, which most Macedonians hated passionately.

Here is a letter, dated March 15, 1907, that one of these gang chiefs wrote to the villagers of B’mboki (later changed to Stavropotamos by the Greeks) in Kostur Region: “Think about this very carefully and again become what you were, ‘Hellenic Christians’, because if you don’t by April 20, I will return very angry and destroy your village. I will leave nothing alive, not a woman, not a child, not even a dog. There is still time, think about it. Greetings, Gr. Zakas, Glavatar (leader).” The activities of these so-called “Macedonian fighters” culminated with the mass killings of the entire exarchate affiliated civilian population in the villages Zelenich (Sklitron) and Zagorichani (Vasiliada). On November 13, 1904, a Greek Andart unit led by Captain Rouvas (Georgios Katehakis) entered the village Zelenich, Lerin Region, and killed 13 wedding guests. This tragedy was recorded by history as the “The Bloody Wedding of Zelenich”. On March 25, 1905, a Greek national holiday, a large armed unit, led by Captain Vardas (Georgios Tsondos) killed 60 innocent villagers from the village Zagorichani, Kostur Region. This bloody incident made news all across Europe.

The “Young Turk” Revolution began its debut in July 1908, with the outcry “Long live freedom” and with the singing of “Marzellez”. The Young Turk Revolution was the last historical opportunity for the Ottoman Empire to evade the reform obligations imposed on it by the Berlin Congress and to preserve its territorial integrity.

But, that problem too was solved militarily. The “Sick man of the Bosporus” was put out of his misery through the start of the First Balkan War.