On the 25th of March 1821, the Greeks’ fight for independence from the Turks began. After about 8 long years of numerous battles, Greece was able to gain their independence in 1829. Their independence would not have been achievable without the help of their allies, who were mainly the French, Russia, and Great Britain. The philhellenes, or Greece-loving people, in those countries would rally support for Greece, and their revolution was a success because of their support. Greece would not have been able to attain their independence if not for the help of the various influential philhellenes in Great Britain.
One of the biggest philhellenes was Lord Byron, an English poet in the 1800s. His book the Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, originally published in around 1813, was immensely popular among the British people. It was a collection of poems about of his journeys around the world especially when he was in Greece. He wrote about basically everything that had occurred during his stay, and he even included events from his nightlife. The Britons at the time were in love with the mythical and ancient times of Greece, where the gods would overlook all of Greece. Lord Byron had also first fallen in love with the ancient mythical Greece, but he later fell for the modern Greeks too. As stated in The Freedom’s Battle by Gary J. Bass, “Greece would be Byron’s fatal political cause, and the muse for some of his best-and worst-poetry.” His poetry had many indications of political calls for Greek liberation from the Turks. He was trying to make both the British and Greeks take action. “For foreign arms and aid they fondly sigh, Nor solely dare encounter hostile rage, Or tear their name defiled from Slavery's mournful page.”
Englishman George Canni...
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... and their efforts paid off because the Greeks were able to win their independence.
Works Cited
Bass, Gary J. Freedom’s Battle: The Origins of Humanitarian Intervention. New York: Alfred
A. Knopf, 2008.
Dakin, Douglas. The Greek Struggle for Independence, 1821-1833. Berkeley and Los Angeles,
CA: University of California Press, 1973.
Finlay, George. vol. 2 of History of the Greek Revolution. Edinburgh and London:
William Blackwood and Sons, 1861.
Spyropulos, Diana. Greece: A Spirited Independence. Minneapolis, MN: Dillon Press Inc., 1990.
Woodhouse, The Hon.C.M. The Greek War of Independence: Its Historical Setting. Great
Britain: William Brendon and Son, Ltd., 1952.
PRIMARY SOURCE
Byron, George Gordon. Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.1812-8.
George Canning’s reply to the letter sent by the Greek government. 1824.
Proclamation of The King of Great Britain. 1825.
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