c. _Modern History: 1800-1908._
The decadence of Turkey.
At the beginning of the 19th century Greece was still under Turkish
domination, but the dawn of freedom was already breaking, and a variety
of forces were at work which prepared the way for the acquisition of
national independence. The decadence of the Ottoman empire, which began
with the retreat of the Turks from Vienna in 1683, was indicated in the
18th century by the weakening of the central power, the spread of
anarchy in the provinces, the ravages of the janissaries, and the
establishment of practically independent sovereignties or fiefs, such as
those of Mehemet of Bushat at Skodra and of Ali Pasha of Tepelen at
Iannina; the 19th century witnessed the first uprisings of the Christian
populations and the detachment of the outlying portions of European
Turkey. Up to the end of the 18th century none of the subject races had
risen in spontaneous revolt against the Turks, though in some instances
they rendered aid to the sultan's enemies; the spirit of the conquered
nations had been broken by ages of oppression. In some of the remoter
and more mountainous districts, however, the authority of the Turks had
never been completely established; in Montenegro a small fragment of the
Serb race maintained its independence; among the Greeks, the Mainotes in
the extreme south of the Morea and the Sphakiote mountaineers in Crete
had never been completely subdued. Resistance to Ottoman rule was
maintained sporadically in the mountainous districts by the Greek
_klephts_ or brigands, the counterpart of the Slavonic _haiduks_, and by
the pirates of the Aegean; the _armatoles_ or bodies of Christian
warriors, recognized by the Turks as a local police, often differed
little in their proceedings from the brigands whom they were appointed
to pursue.
Russian influence.
Of the series of insurrections which took place in the 19th century, the
first in order of time was the Servian, which broke out in 1804; the
second was the Greek, which began in 1821. In both these movements the
influence of Russia played a considerable part. In the case of the
Servians Russian aid was mainly diplomatic, in that of the Greeks it
eventually took a more material form. Since the days of Peter the Great,
the eyes of Russia had been fixed on Constantinople, the great
metropolis of the Orthodox faith. The policy of inciting the Greek
Christians to revolt against their oppressors, which was first adopted
in the reign of the empress Anna, was put into practical operation by
the empress Catharine II., whose favourite, Orlov, appeared in the
Aegean with a fleet in 1769 and landed in the Morea, where he organized
a revolt. The attempt proved a failure; Orlov re-embarked, leaving the
Greeks at the mercy of the Turks, and terrible massacres took place at
Tripolitza, Lemnos and elsewhere. By the treaty of Kutchuk-Kainarji
(July 21, 1774) Russia obtained a vaguely-defined protectorate over the
Orthodox Greek subjects of Turkey, and in 1781 she arrived at an
arrangement with Austria, known as the "Greek project," for a partition
of Turkish territory and the restoration of the Byzantine empire under
Constantine, the son of Catharine II. The outbreak of the French
Revolution distracted the attention of the two empires, but Russia never
ceased to intrigue among the Christian subjects of Turkey. A revolt of
the inhabitants of Suli in 1790 took place with her connivance, and in
the two first decades of the 19th century her agents were active and
ubiquitous.
Greek revolutionary activity.
The influence of the French Revolution, which pervaded all Europe,
extended to the shores of the Aegean. The Greeks, who had hitherto been
drawn together mainly by a common religion, were now animated by the
sentiment of nationality and by an ardent desire for political freedom.
The national awakening, as in the case of the other subject Christian
nations, was preceded by a literary revival. Literary and patriotic
societies, the Philhellenes, the Philomousi, came into existence; Greek
schools were founded everywhere; the philological labours of Coraes,
which created the modern written language, furnished the nation with a
mode of literary expression; the songs of Rhigas of Velestino fired the
enthusiasm of the people. In 1815 was founded the celebrated _Philike
Hetaerea_, or friendly society, a revolutionary organization with
centres at Moscow, Bucharest, Triest, and in all the cities of the
Levant; it collected subscriptions, issued manifestos, distributed arms
and made preparations for the coming insurrection. The revolt of Ali
Pasha of Iannina against the authority of the sultan in 1820 formed the
prelude to the Greek uprising; this despot, who had massacred the Greeks
by hundreds, now declared himself their friend, and became a member of
the Hetaerea. In March 1821 Alexander Ypsilanti, a former aide-de-camp
of the tsar Alexander I., and president of the Hetaerea, entered
Moldavia from Russian territory at the head of a small force; in the
same month Archbishop Germanos of Patras unfurled the standard of revolt
at Kalavryta in the Morea.
Independence of Greece.
For the history of the prolonged struggle which followed see GREEK WAR
OF INDEPENDENCE. The warfare was practically brought to a close by the
annihilation of the Egyptian fleet at Navarino by the fleets of Great
Britain, France and Russia on the 20th of October 1827. Nine months
previously, Count John Capo d'Istria (q.v.), formerly minister of
foreign affairs of the tsar Alexander, had been elected president of the
Greek republic for seven years beginning on January 18, 1828. By the
protocol of London (March 22, 1829) the Greek mainland south of a line
drawn from the Gulf of Arta to the Gulf of Volo, the Morea and the
Cyclades were declared a principality tributary to the sultan under a
Christian prince. The limits drawn by the protocol of London were
confirmed by the treaty of Adrianople (September 14, 1829), by which
Greece was constituted an independent monarchy. The governments of
Russia, France and England were far from sharing the enthusiasm which
the gallant resistance of the Greeks had excited among the peoples of
Europe, and which inspired the devotion of Byron, Cochrane, Sir Richard
Church, Fabvier and other distinguished Philhellenes; jealousies
prevailed among the three protecting powers, and the newly-liberated
nation was treated in a niggardly spirit; its narrow limits were reduced
by a new protocol (February 3, 1830), which drew the boundary line at
the Aspropotamo, the Spercheios and the Gulf of Lamia. Capo d'Istria,
whose Russian proclivities and arbitrary government gave great offence
to the Greeks, was assassinated by two members of the Mavromichalis
family (October 9, 1831), and a state of anarchy followed. Before his
death the throne of Greece had been offered to Prince Leopold of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, afterwards king of the Belgians, who declined it,
basing his refusal on the inadequacy of the limits assigned to the new
kingdom and especially the exclusion of Crete.
King Otto.
By the convention of London (May 7, 1832) Greece was declared an
independent kingdom under the protection of Great Britain, France and
Russia with Prince Otto, son of King Louis I. of Bavaria, as king. The
frontier line, now traced from the Gulf of Arta to the Gulf of Lamia,
was fixed by the arrangement of Constantinople (July 21, 1832). King
Otto, who had been brought up in a despotic court, ruled absolutely for
the first eleven years of his reign; he surrounded himself with Bavarian
advisers and Bavarian troops, and his rule was never popular. The Greek
chiefs and politicians, who found themselves excluded from all influence
and advancement, were divided into three factions which attached
themselves respectively to the three protecting powers. On the 15th of
September 1843 a military revolt broke out which compelled the king to
dismiss the Bavarians and to accept a constitution. A responsible
ministry, a senate nominated by the king, and a chamber elected by
universal suffrage were now instituted. Mavrocordatos, the leader of the
English party, became the first prime minister, but his government was
overthrown at the ensuing elections, and a coalition of the French and
Russian parties under Kolettes and Metaxas succeeded to power. The
warfare of factions was aggravated by the rivalry between the British
and French ministers, Sir Edmond Lyons and M. Piscatory; King Otto
supported the French party, and trouble arose with the British
government, which in 1847 despatched warships to enforce the payment of
interest on the loan contracted after the War of Independence. A British
fleet subsequently blockaded the Peiraeus in order to obtain
satisfaction for the claims of Pacifico, a Portuguese Jew under British
protection, whose house had been plundered during a riot. On the
outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Turkey in 1853 the Greeks
displayed sympathy with Russia; armed bands were sent into Thessaly, and
an insurrection was fomented in Epirus in the hope of securing an
accession of territory. In order to prevent further hostile action on
the part of Greece, British and French fleets made a demonstration
against the Peiraeus, which was occupied by a French force during the
Crimean War. The disappointment of the national hopes increased the
unpopularity of King Otto, who had never acquiesced in constitutional
rule. In 1862 a military revolt broke out, and a national assembly
pronounced his deposition. The vacant throne was offered by the assembly
to Duke Nicholas of Leuchtenberg, a cousin of the tsar, but the mass of
the people desired a constitutional monarchy of the British type; a
plebiscite was taken, and Prince Alfred of England was elected by an
almost unanimous vote. The three protecting powers, however, had bound
themselves to the exclusion of any member of their ruling houses. In the
following year Prince William George of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, whom the British government
had designated as a suitable candidate, was elected by the National
Assembly with the title "George I., king of the Hellenes." Under the
treaty of London (July 13, 1863) the change of dynasty was sanctioned by
the three protecting powers, Great Britain undertaking to cede to Greece
the seven Ionian Islands, which since 1815 had formed a commonwealth
under British protection.
Accession of George I.
On the 29th of October 1863 the new sovereign arrived in Athens, and in
the following June the British authorities handed over the Ionian
Islands to a Greek commissioner. King George thus began his reign under
the most favourable auspices, the patriotic sentiments of the Greeks
being flattered by the acquisition of new territory. He was, however,
soon confronted with constitutional difficulties; party spirit ran riot
at Athens, the ministries which he appointed proved short-lived, his
counsellor, Count Sponneck, became the object of violent attacks, and at
the end of 1864 he was compelled to accept an ultra-democratic
constitution, drawn up by the National Assembly. This, the sixth
constitution voted since the establishment of the kingdom, is that which
is still in force. In the following year Count Sponneck left Greece, and
the attention of the nation was concentrated on the affairs of Crete.
The revolution which broke out in that island received moral and
material support from the Greek government, with the tacit approval of
Russia; military preparations were pressed forward at Athens, and
cruisers were purchased, but the king, aware of the inability of Greece
to attain her ends by warlike means, discouraged a provocative attitude
towards Turkey, and eventually dismissed the bellicose cabinet of
Koumoundouros. The removal of a powerful minister commanding a large
parliamentary majority constituted an important precedent in the
exercise of the royal prerogative; the king adopted a similar course
with regard to Delyannes in 1892 and 1897. The relations with the porte,
however, continued to grow worse, and Hobart Pasha, with a Turkish
fleet, made a demonstration off Syra. The Cretan insurrection was
finally crushed in the spring of 1869, and a conference of the powers,
which assembled that year at Paris, imposed a settlement of the Turkish
dispute on Greece, but took no steps on behalf of the Cretans. In 1870
the murder of several Englishmen by brigands in the neighbourhood of
Athens produced an unfavourable impression in Europe; in the following
year the confiscation of the Laurion mines, which had been ceded to a
Franco-Italian company, provoked energetic action on the part of France
and Italy. In 1875, after an acute constitutional crisis, Charilaos
Trikoupes, who but ten months previously had been imprisoned for
denouncing the crown in a newspaper article, was summoned to form a
cabinet. This remarkable man, the only great statesman whom modern
Greece has produced, exercised an extraordinary influence over his
countrymen for the next twenty years; had he been able to maintain
himself uninterruptedly in power during that period, Greece might have
escaped a long succession of misfortunes. His principal opponent,
Theodore Delyannes, succeeded in rallying a strong body of adherents,
and political parties, hitherto divided into numerous factions, centred
around these two prominent figures.
New frontier, 1881.
In 1877 the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War produced a fever of
excitement in Greece; it was felt that the quarrels of the party leaders
compromised the interests of the country, and the populace of Athens
insisted on the formation of a coalition cabinet. The "great" or
"oecumenical" ministry, as it was called, now came into existence under
the presidency of the veteran Kanares; in reality, however, it was
controlled by Trikoupes, who, recognizing the unpreparedness of the
country, resolved on a pacific policy. The capture of Plevna by the
Russians brought about the fall of the "oecumenical" ministry, and
Koumoundouros and Delyannes, who succeeded to power, ordered the
invasion of Thessaly. Their warlike energies, however, were soon checked
by the signing of the San Stefano Treaty, in which the claims of Greece
to an extension of frontier were altogether ignored. At the Berlin
congress two Greek delegates obtained a hearing on the proposal of Lord
Salisbury. The congress decided that the rectification of the frontier
should be left to Turkey and Greece, the mediation of the powers being
proposed in case of non-agreement; it was suggested, however, that the
rectified frontier should extend from the valley of the Peneus on the
east to the mouth of the Kalamas, opposite the southern extremity of
Corfu, on the west. In 1879 a Greco-Turkish commission for the
delimitation met first at Prevesa, and subsequently at Constantinople,
but its conferences were without result, the Turkish commissioners
declining the boundary suggested at Berlin. Greece then invoked the
arbitration of the powers, and the settlement of the question was
undertaken by a conference of ambassadors at Berlin (1880). The line
approved by the conference was practically that suggested by the
congress; Turkey, however, refused to accept it, and the Greek army was
once more mobilized. It was evident, however, that nothing could be
gained by an appeal to arms, the powers not being prepared to apply
coercion to Turkey. By a convention signed at Constantinople in July
1881, the demarcation was entrusted to a commission representing the six
powers and the two interested parties. The line drawn ran westwards from
a point between the mouth of the Peneus and Platamona to the summits of
Mounts Kritiri and Zygos, thence following the course of the river Arta
to its mouth. An area of 13,395 square kilometres, with a population of
300,000 souls, was thus added to the kingdom, while Turkey was left in
possession of Iannina, Metzovo and most of Epirus. The ceded territory
was occupied by Greek troops before the close of the year.
Trikoupes and Delyannes.
In 1882 Trikoupes came into power at the head of a strong party, over
which he exercised an influence and authority hitherto unknown in Greek
political life. With the exception of three brief intervals (May 1885 to
May 1886, October 1890 to February 1892, and a few months in 1893), he
continued in office for the next twelve years. The reforms which he
introduced during this period were generally of an unpopular character,
and were loudly denounced by his democratic rivals; most of them were
cancelled during the intervals when his opponent Delyannes occupied the
premiership. The same want of continuity proved fatal to the somewhat
ambitious financial programme which he now inaugurated. While pursuing a
cautious foreign policy, and keeping in control the rash impetuosity of
his fellow-countrymen, he shared to the full the national desire for
expansion, but he looked to the development of the material resources of
the country as a necessary preliminary to the realization of the dreams
of Hellenism. With this view he endeavoured to attract foreign capital
to the country, and the confidence which he inspired in financial
circles abroad enabled him to contract a number of loans and to better
the financial situation by a series of conversions. Under a stable,
wise, and economical administration this far-reaching programme might
perhaps have been carried out with success, but the vicissitudes of
party politics and the periodical outbursts of national sentiment
rendered its realization impossible. In April 1885 Trikoupes fell from
power, and a few months later the indignation excited in Greece by the
revolution of Philippopolis placed Delyannes once more at the head of a
warlike movement. The army and fleet were again mobilized with a view to
exacting territorial compensation for the aggrandizement of Bulgaria,
and several conflicts with the Turkish troops took place on the
frontier. The powers, after repeatedly inviting the Delyannes cabinet to
disarm, established a blockade of Peiraeus and other Greek ports (8th
May 1886), France alone declining to cooperate in this measure.
Delyannes resigned (11th May) and Trikoupes, who succeeded to power,
issued a decree of disarmament (25th May). Hostilities, however,
continued on the frontier, and the blockade was not raised till 7th
June. Trikoupes had now to face the serious financial situation brought
about by the military activity of his predecessor. He imposed heavy
taxation, which the people, for the time at least, bore without
murmuring, and he continued to inspire such confidence abroad that Greek
securities maintained their price in the foreign market. It was ominous,
however, that a loan which he issued in 1890 was only partially covered.
Meanwhile the Cretan difficulty had become once more a source of trouble
to Greece. In 1889 Trikoupes was grossly deceived by the Turkish
government, which, after inducing him to dissuade the Cretans from
opposing the occupation of certain fortified posts, issued a firman
annulling many important provisions in the constitution of the island.
The indignation in Greece was intense, and popular discontent was
increased by the success of the Bulgarians in obtaining the _exequatur_
of the sultan for a number of bishops in Macedonia. In the autumn of
1890 Trikoupes was beaten at the elections, and Delyannes, who had
promised the people a radical reform of the taxation, succeeded to
power. He proved unequal, however, to cope with the financial
difficulty, which now became urgent; and the king, perceiving that a
crisis was imminent, dismissed him and recalled Trikoupes. The hope of
averting national bankruptcy depended on the possibility of raising a
loan by which the rapid depreciation of the paper currency might be
arrested, but foreign financiers demanded guarantees which seemed likely
to prove hurtful to Greek susceptibilities; an agitation was raised at
Athens, and Trikoupes suddenly resigned (May 1893). His conduct at this
juncture appears to have been due to some misunderstandings which had
arisen between him and the king. The Sotiropoulos-Rhalles ministry which
followed effected a temporary settlement with the national creditors,
but Trikoupes, returning to power in the autumn, at once annulled the
arrangement. He now proceeded to a series of arbitrary measures which
provoked the severest criticism throughout Europe and exposed Greece to
the determined hostility of Germany. A law was hastily passed which
deprived the creditors of 70% of their interest, and the proceeds of the
revenues conceded to the monopoly bondholders were seized (December
1893). Long negotiations followed, resulting in an arrangement which was
subsequently reversed by the German bondholders. In January 1895
Trikoupes resigned office, in consequence of a disagreement with the
crown prince on a question of military discipline. His popularity had
vanished, his health was shattered, and he determined to abandon his
political career. His death at Cannes (11th April 1896), on the eve of a
great national convulsion, deprived Greece of his masterly guidance and
sober judgment at a critical moment in her history.
Nationalist agitation, 1896.
His funeral took place at Athens on 23rd April, while the city was still
decorated with flags and garlands after the celebration of the Olympic
games. The revival of the ancient festival, which drew together
multitudes of Greeks from abroad, led to a lively awakening of the
national sentiment, hitherto depressed by the economic misfortunes of
the kingdom, and a secret patriotic society, known as the _Ethnike
Hetaerea_, began to develop prodigious activity, enrolling members from
every rank of life and establishing branches in all parts of the
Hellenic world. The society had been founded in 1894, by a handful of
young officers who considered that the military organization of the
country was neglected by the government; its principal aim was the
preparation of an insurrectionary movement in Macedonia, which, owing to
the activity of the Bulgarians and the reconciliation of Prince
Ferdinand with Russia, seemed likely to be withdrawn for ever from the
domain of Greek irredentism. The outbreak of another insurrection in
Crete supplied the means of creating a diversion for Turkey while the
movement in Macedonia was being matured; arms and volunteers were
shipped to the island, but the society was as yet unable to force the
hand of the government, and Delyannes, who had succeeded Trikoupes in
1895, loyally aided the powers in the restoration of order by advising
the Cretans to accept the constitution of 1896. The appearance of strong
insurgent bands in Macedonia in the summer of that year testified to the
activity of the society and provoked the remonstrances of the powers,
while the spread of its propaganda in the army led to the issue of a
royal rescript announcing grand military manoeuvres, the formation of a
standing camp, and the rearmament of the troops with a new weapon (6th
December). The objects of the society were effectually furthered by the
evident determination of the porte to evade the application of the
stipulated reforms in Crete; the Cretan Christians lost patience, and
indignation was widespread in Greece. Emissaries of the society were
despatched to the island, and affairs were brought to a climax by an
outbreak at Canea on 4th February 1897. The Turkish troops fired on the
Christians, thousands of whom took refuge on the warships of the powers,
and a portion of the town was consumed by fire.
Cretan crisis, 1897.
Delyannes now announced that the government had abandoned the policy of
abstention. On the 6th two warships were despatched to Canea, and on the
10th a torpedo flotilla, commanded by Prince George, left Peiraeus amid
tumultuous demonstrations. The ostensible object of these measures was
the protection of Greek subjects in Crete, and Delyannes was still
anxious to avoid a definite rupture with Turkey, but the Ethnike
Hetaerea had found means to influence several members of the ministry
and to alarm the king. Prince George, who had received orders to prevent
the landing of Turkish reinforcements on the island, soon withdrew from
Cretan waters owing to the decisive attitude adopted by the commanders
of the international squadron. A note was now addressed by the
government to the powers, declaring that Greece could no longer remain a
passive spectator of events in Crete, and on the 13th of February a
force of 1500 men, under Colonel Vassos, embarked at Peiraeus. On the
same day a Greek warship fired on a Turkish steam yacht which was
conveying troops from Candia to Sitia. Landing near Canea on the night
of the 14th, Colonel Vassos issued a proclamation announcing the
occupation of Crete in the name of King George. He had received orders
to expel the Turkish garrisons from the fortresses, but his advance on
Canea was arrested by the international occupation of that town, and
after a few engagements with the Turkish troops and irregulars he
withdrew into the interior of the island. Proposals for the coercion of
Greece were now put forward by Germany, but Great Britain declined to
take action until an understanding had been arrived at with regard to
the future government of Crete. Eventually (2nd March) collective notes
were addressed to the Greek and Turkish governments announcing the
decision of the powers that (1) Crete could in no case in present
circumstances be annexed to Greece; (2) in view of the delays caused by
Turkey in the application of the reforms, Crete should be endowed with
an effective autonomous administration, calculated to ensure it a
separate government, under the suzerainty of the sultan. Greece was at
the same time summoned to remove its army and fleet within the space of
six days, and Turkey was warned that its troops must for the present be
concentrated in the fortified towns and ultimately withdrawn from the
island. The action of the powers produced the utmost exasperation at
Athens; the populace demanded war with Turkey and the annexation of
Crete, and the government drew up a reply to the powers in which, while
expressing the conviction that autonomy would prove a failure, it
indicated its readiness to withdraw some of the ships, but declined to
recall the army. A suggestion that the troops might receive a European
mandate for the preservation of order in the island proved unacceptable
to the powers, owing to the aggressive action of Colonel Vassos after
his arrival. Meanwhile troops, volunteers and munitions of war were
hurriedly despatched to the Turkish frontier in anticipation of an
international blockade of the Greek ports, but the powers contented
themselves with a pacific blockade of Crete, and military preparations
went on unimpeded.
War with Turkey.
While the powers dallied, the danger of war increased; on 29th March the
crown prince assumed command of the Greek troops in Thessaly, and a few
days later hostilities were precipitated by the irregular forces of the
Ethnike Hetaerea, which attacked several Turkish outposts near Grevena.
According to a report of its proceedings, subsequently published by the
society, this invasion received the previous sanction of the prime
minister. On 17th April Turkey declared war. The disastrous campaign
which followed was of short duration, and it was evident from the outset
that the Greeks had greatly underrated the military strength of their
opponents (see GRECO-TURKISH WAR). After the evacuation of Larissa on
the 24th, great discontent prevailed at Athens; Delyannes was invited by
the king to resign, but refusing to do so was dismissed (29th April).
His successor, Rhalles, after recalling the army from Crete (9th May)
invoked the mediation of the powers, and an armistice was concluded on
the 19th of that month. Thus ended an unfortunate enterprise, which was
undertaken in the hope that discord among the powers would lead to a
European war and the dismemberment of Turkey. Greek interference in
Crete had at least the result of compelling Europe to withdraw the
island for ever from Turkish rule. The conditions of peace put forward
by Turkey included a war indemnity of L10,000,000 and the retention of
Thessaly; the latter demand, however, was resolutely opposed by Great
Britain, and the indemnity was subsequently reduced to L4,000,000. The
terms agreed to by the powers were rejected by Rhalles; the chamber,
however, refused him a vote of confidence and King George summoned
Zaimes to power (October 3). The definitive treaty of peace, which was
signed at Constantinople on the 6th of December, contained a provision
for a slight modification of the frontier, designed to afford Turkey
certain strategical advantages; the delimitation was carried out by a
commission composed of military delegates of the powers and
representatives of the interested parties. The evacuation of Thessaly by
the Turkish troops was completed in June 1898. An immediate result of
the war was the institution of an international financial commission at
Athens, charged with the control of certain revenues assigned to the
service of the national debt. The state of the country after the
conclusion of hostilities was deplorable; the towns of northern Greece
and the islands were crowded with destitute refugees from Thessaly;
violent recriminations prevailed at Athens, and the position of the
dynasty seemed endangered. A reaction, however, set in, in consequence
of an attempt to assassinate King George (28th February 1898), whose
great services to the nation in obtaining favourable terms from the
powers began to receive general recognition. In the following summer the
king made a tour through the country, and was everywhere received with
enthusiasm. In the autumn the powers, on the initiative of Russia,
decided to entrust Prince George of Greece with the government of Crete;
on 26th November an intimation that the prince had been appointed high
commissioner in the island was formally conveyed to the court of Athens,
and on 21st December he landed in Crete amid enthusiastic demonstrations
(see CRETE).
Macedonian troubles.
In April 1899 Zaimes gave way to Theotokes, the chief of the Trikoupist
party, who introduced various improvements in the administration of
justice and other reforms including a measure transferring the
administration of the army from the minister of war to the crown prince.
In May 1901 a meeting took place at Abbazia, under the auspices of the
Austro-Hungarian government, between King George and King Charles of
Rumania with a view to the conclusion of a Graeco-Rumanian understanding
directed against the growth of Slavonic, and especially Bulgarian,
influence in Macedonia. The compact, however, was destined to be
short-lived owing to the prosecution of a Rumanian propaganda among the
semi-Hellenized Vlachs of Macedonia. In November riots took place at
Athens, the patriotic indignation of the university students and the
populace being excited by the issue of a translation of the Gospels into
modern Greek at the suggestion of the queen. The publication was
attributed to Panslavist intrigues against Greek supremacy over the
Orthodox populations of the East, and the archbishop of Athens was
compelled to resign. Theotokes, whose life was attempted, retired from
power, and Zaimes formed a cabinet. In 1902 the progress of the
Bulgarian movement in Macedonia once more caused great irritation in
Greece. Zaimes, having been defeated at the elections in December,
resigned, and was succeeded by Delyannes, whose popularity had not been
permanently impaired by the misfortunes of the war. Delyannes now
undertook to carry out extensive economic reforms, and introduced a
measure restoring the control of the army to the ministry of war. He
failed, however, to carry out his programme, and, being deserted by a
section of his followers, resigned in June 1903, when Theotokes again
became prime minister. The new cabinet resigned within a month owing to
the outbreak of disturbances in the currant-growing districts, and
Rhalles took office for the second time (July 8). The Bulgarian
insurrection in Macedonia during the autumn caused great excitement in
Athens, and Rhalles adopted a policy of friendship with Turkey (see
MACEDONIA). The co-operation of the Greek party in Macedonia with the
Turkish authorities exposed it to the vengeance of the insurgents, and
in the following year a number of Greek bands were sent into that
country. The campaign of retaliation was continued in subsequent years.
Murder of Delyannes.
In December Rhalles, who had lost the support of the Delyannist party,
was replaced by Theotokes, who promulgated a scheme of army
reorganization, introduced various economies and imposed fresh taxation.
In December the government was defeated on a vote of confidence and
Delyannes once more became prime minister, obtaining a considerable
majority in the elections which followed (March 1905), but on the 13th
of June he was assassinated. He was succeeded by Rhalles, who effected a
settlement of the currant question and cultivated friendly relations
with Turkey in regard to Macedonia.
In the autumn anti-Greek demonstrations in Rumania led to a rupture of
relations with that country. In December the ministry resigned owing to
an adverse vote of the chamber, and Theotokes formed a cabinet. The new
government, as a preliminary to military and naval reorganization,
introduced a law directed against the candidature of military officers
for parliament. Owing to obstruction practised by the military members
of the chamber a dissolution took place, and at the subsequent elections
(April 1906) Theotokes secured a large majority. In the autumn various
excesses committed against the Greeks in Bulgaria in reprisal for the
depredations of the Greek bands in Macedonia caused great indignation in
Greece, but diplomatic relations between the two countries were not
suspended. On the 26th of September Prince George, who had resigned the
high commissionership of Crete, returned to Athens; the designation of
his successors was accorded by the protecting powers to King George as a
satisfaction to Greek national sentiment (see CRETE). The great increase
in the activity of the Greek bands in Macedonia during the following
spring and summer led to the delivery of a Turkish note at Athens (July
1907), which was supported by representations of the powers.
In October 1908 the proclamation by the Cretan assembly of union with
Greece threatened fresh complications, the cautious attitude of the
Greek government leading to an agitation in the army, which came to a
head in 1909. On the 18th of July a popular demonstration against his
Cretan policy led to the resignation of Theotokes, whose successor,
Rhalles, announced a programme of military and economical reform. The
army, however, took matters into its own hands, and on the 23rd of
August Rhalles was replaced by Mavromichales, the nominee of the
"Military League." For the next six months constitutional government was
practically superseded by that of the League, and for a while the crown
itself seemed to be in danger. The influence of the League, however,
rapidly declined; army and navy quarrelled; and a fresh _coup d'etat_ at
the beginning of 1910 failed of its effect, owing to the firmness of the
king. On the 7th of February Mavromichales resigned, and his successor,
Dragoumis, accepting the Cretan leader Venezelo's suggestion of a
national assembly, succeeded in persuading the League to dissolve (March
29) on receiving the king's assurance that such an assembly would be
convened. On the 31st, accordingly, King George formally proclaimed the
convocation of a national assembly to deal with the questions at issue.
AUTHORITIES.--Finlay, _History of Greece_ (Oxford, 1877); K. N.
Sathas, [Greek: Mesaionike Bibliotheke] (7 vols., Venice, 1872-1894);
and [Greek: Mnemeia Hellenikes historias]. _Documents inedits relatifs
a l'histoire du moyen age_ (9 vols., Paris, 1880-1890); Sp. Trikoupes,
[Greek: Historia tes Hellenikes epanastaseos] (4 vols., 3rd ed.,
Athens, 1888); K. Paparrhegopoulos, [Greek: Historia tou Hellenikou
ethnous] (5 vols., 4th ed., Athens, 1903); J. Philemon, [Greek:
Dokimion historikon peri tes Hellenikes epanastaseos] (Athens,
1859-1861); P. Kontoyannes, [Greek: Oi Hellenes kata ton proton epi
Aikaterines 'Rhossotourkikon polemon] (Athens, 1903); D. G.
Kampouroglos, [Greek: Historia ton Athenaion, Tourkokratia,] 1458-1687
(2 vols., Athens, 1889-1890); and [Greek: Mnemeia tes historias ton
Athenaion], (3 vols., Athens, 1889-1892); G. E. Mavrogiannes, [Greek:
Historia ton Ionion neson,] 1797-1815 (2 vols., Athens, 1889); P.
Karolides, [Greek: Historia tou ith aionos], 1814-1892 (Athens,
1891-1893); E. Kyriakides, [Greek: Historia tou sugchronou
Hellenismou] 1832-1892 (2 vols., Athens, 1892); G. Konstantinides,
[Greek: Historia ton Hathenon apo Xristou genneseos mechri tou] 1821
(2nd ed., Athens, 1894); D. Bikelas, _La Grece byzantine et moderne_
(Paris, 1893). (J. D. B.)