History - The Rough Guide to Greece - page 773

islands of the Argo-Saronic , the Sporades and the Cyclades . The rich agricultural belt of
Thessaly , Epirus in the west and Macedonia in the north remained in Ottoman hands,
as did the Dodecanese and Crete.

The emerging state: 1832-1939
Modern Greece began as a republic . Ioannis Kapodistrias , its first president,
concentrated his efforts on building a viable central authority. Almost inevitably he was
assassinated, and perhaps equally inevitably the “Great Powers” - Britain, France and
Germany - stepped in. They created a monarchy , setting a Bavarian prince, Otto
(Otho), on the throne, with a new capital at Athens. By 1834, Greece also had its own
national, state-controlled Orthodox Church , independent from the Patriarchate in
Constantinople; at the same time, two-thirds of the monasteries and convents were
closed down.
Despite the granting of a constitution in 1844, King Otto proved autocratic and
insensitive, filling official posts with fellow Germans and ignoring all claims by the
landless peasantry for redistribution of the old estates. When he was forced from the
country by a popular revolt in 1862, the Europeans produced a new prince, this time
from Denmark. The accession of George I (1863-1913) was marked by Britain's decision
to hand over the Ionian islands to Greece. During his reign, Greece's first roads and
railways were built, its borders were extended, and land reform began in the Peloponnese.

The Great Idea and expansionist wars
From the start, Greek foreign policy was motivated by the Megáli Idhéa (Great Idea) of
redeeming ethnically Greek populations outside the country and incorporating the old
territories of Byzantium into the new kingdom. There was encouragement all around,
as Ottoman control was under pressure across the Balkans.
In 1881, revolts broke out among the Greeks of Crete , Thessaly and Epirus , aided by
guerrillas from Greece. Britain forced the Ottoman Empire to cede Thessaly and Arta
to Greece, but Crete remained Ottoman. When Cretan Greeks set up an independent
government in 1897, declaring énosis (union) with Greece, the Ottomans responded by
invading the mainland and came within days of reaching Athens. The Great Powers
came to the rescue by warning off the Turks and placing Crete under an international
protectorate. Only in 1913 did Crete unite with Greece.
It was from Crete, nonetheless, that the most distinguished modern Greek statesman
emerged: Elefthérios Venizélos , having led a civilian campaign for his island's liberation,
was elected as Greek prime minister in 1910. Two years later he organized an alliance of
Balkan powers to fight the Balkan Wars (1912-13), campaigns that saw the Ottomans
virtually driven from Europe, and the Bulgarian competition bested in the culmination of
a bitter, four-decade campaign for the hearts and minds of the Macedonian population.
With Greek borders extended to include the northeast Aegean islands , northern Thessaly ,
central Epirus and parts of Macedonia , the Megáli Idhéa was approaching reality.

World War I
Divisions appeared with the outbreak of World War I . Although Venizélos urged Greek
entry on the Allied side, hoping to liberate Greeks in Thrace and Asia Minor, the new

1832 1834 1881 1896

Independent Greek state
established, with its
capital in Náfplio.

Capital transferred to
Athens.

Following revolts, much
of northern Greece
added to the new
nation.

Inspired by Baron Pierre
de Coubertin, the first
modern Olympics are
held in Athens.