Greek War of Independence: Encyclopedia II - Greek War of Independence - The Movement For Independence

Greek War of Independence - The Movement For Independence

The reasons why the Greeks were the first people to break away from the multi-ethnic, multi-religious Ottoman Empire are several. The fact that the Ottoman Empire was in manifest decline made such a revolt feasible. In a number of ways Greeks enjoyed a privileged position in the Ottoman state. They controlled the affairs of the Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarch, based in Constantinople, and the higher clergy were always Greek. From the 18th century onwards Phanariot Greek notables (Turkish-appointed Greek administrators from the Phanar district of Constantinople) played an influential role in the governance of the Ottoman Empire.

A strong maritime tradition in the islands of the Aegean together with the emergence in the 18th century of an influential merchant class generated the wealth necessary to found schools and libraries and to pay for young Greeks to study in the universities of Western Europe. Here they came into contact with the radical ideas of the European Enlightenment and the French Revolution.Rigas Velestinlis (Pheraios), aimed to overthrow Ottoman rule in an armed uprising, although Rigas was killed by the Turks before he could put his ideas into practice. In 1814 three young Greeks, much influenced by the martyrdom of Rigas, founded the Filiki Eteria, the secret “Friendly Society” which laid the organizational groundwork for the revolt. The society was founded in Odessa, an important centre of the Greek mercantile diaspora. The Greeks’ success marked the beginning of the gradual break-up of the Ottoman Empire, Moreover, the other peoples of the Balkan peninsula were to follow the Greek example in seeking their freedom from Ottoman rule.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The Movement For Independence", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki