New Greece ... With maps, etc

Front matter

NEW GREECE. BY LEWIS SERGEANT. WITH MAPS SPECIALLY PREPARED FOR THIS WORK. " • They are ungrateful ; notoriously, abominably ungrateful 1'— this is the general cry. Now, in the name of Nemesis ! for what are they to he grateful? . . . They are to he grateful to the Turks for their fetters, and to the Franks for their broken promises and lying counsels ! They are to he grateful to the artist who engraves their ruins, and to the antiquary who carries them away ! to the traveller whose janissary flogs them, and to the scribbler whose journal abuses them ! This is the amount of their obligations to foreigners. "— Loed Byeok (1811). Cassell Pettee e_ GALPIN: LONDON, PARIS $ NEW YORK. [all rights reserved.] I

Preface

. After half a century of existence, the New Greece created hy England, France, and Russia, reckoning up her achievements and acquisitions, can find little further cause for gratitude to her earlier patrons. She may boast of a considerable development, political as wrell as material ; but, save the annexation of the Ionian Islands, she has received no extension, and no great encouragement, from any of the European Powers. She has been left very much to her own devices ; but she has been speedily snubbed whenever these devices tended towards the completion of the work of 1830. Europe has borne hardly upon New Greece; and England most hardly of all. We know the reason, and it is one which we ought not lightly to under rate. "We should have helped Greece long ago, if we had not been afraid of weakening Turkey ; and the events of the past few years have shown that the policy of defending the Porte against its enemies is still approved by a large portion of the nation. So long as this policy is observed by England, Greece °?

PREFACE.

. IV will never attain the rank to which she aspires. There are, however, many Englishmen who believe that the claims of Greece are above the claims of Turkey, and that a strong Greek Kingdom would be more ser viceable to England and to Europe than a strong Ottoman Empire. There are many, again, who think that the one State might be largely extended without seriously impairing the strength of the other. It is probable that these two classes together constitute a majority of the English people ; but, whether it be so or not, there is apparently plenty of inducement for the well-wishers of Greece to argue her cause. My object in the following pages is to bring together and pass under review the many reasons which have been, or may be, urged on behalf of the Hellenic claims. The Greek Question is one of the most important of those which now agitate the public mind.

Instead of settling it, the Congress of Berlin has given it increased urgency ; and the occasion seems to justify a , re-statement of the problem. The cause of peace and good government in Europe appears to require the establishment of Greece as a Great Power on the shores of the Ægean. The interests of Greece and of Europe more particularly of Greece and of England — are involved together in the accomplishment of this idea. It is

PREFACE.

. V certainly impossible to dwell on the advantages to Europe of a strong Greece without simultaneously proving the justice of the Hellenic claims ; nor could we show that Greece has, a right to promotion without at the same time showing that England is bound and pledged to take a prominent part in the work. Two main lines of argument suggest themselves. We may begin by reviewing the actual condition of the Greek Kingdom, noting the progress which it has effected since its foundation, and the position which it occupies, politically, financially, commercially, and other wise, at the present time. In this way we shall be able to assure ourselves, first, whether Greece has made the most of her opportunities, whether she has fairly justified the hopes of her earlier friends, and proved her capacity for a higher mission ; and, secondly, whether her failure or limited success is accounted for by circumstances independent of her own endeavours, and whether she could not have done more for herself and for Europe if she had not been fettered by the obligations imposed upon her.

And, again, we may proceed from a knowledge of the existence of these impediments to inquire into their nature and magni tude. We may ask how they originally came into existence, and for what purpose they have been main tained ; and thus, after a brief review of the last six decades of Greek history, we may find ourselves in a

PREFACE.

. VI position to judge more dispassionately of the events and the duties of to-day. I have followed this course of description and narrative, going nowhere into greater detail than seemed necessary, and drawing only what appear to be the simplest inferences from recorded facts. Of the two parts into which the present volume is divided the first assembles a handful of sketches and statements on the material and intellectual progress of the country during the past few years ; and, whilst indi cating the general condition of the Greeks of to-day, it arrives at the inevitable conclusion that their advance has been hindered and arrested in a large measure by obstacles for which they were not them selves responsible. The second part, after a preliminary inquiry into the theory of intervention, and the rights of nationality in general, proceeds to search the pages of history for the mistakes which appear to have been made in the establishment of New Greece.

When I began to write, the Berlin Congress had not met, and it was impossible to anticipate how far England or any other Great Power would maintain the claim of Greece to a rectification of her frontiers, or even to a hearing. Now that the Congress has completed its work, and separated without doing anything of a practical character for the Hellenic cause, I have cast what was intended to be a short

PREFACE.

. VII postscript into the form of an Introductory Chapter. A few words would have served to record the fact that Thessaly and Epirus had been treated as well as Bulgaria, or that Crete had received the reward of her long and heroic struggle ; but I confess that I was unequal to the task of dismissing briefly what the Congress actually did in this matter. The latest volume of statistics on the present con dition of Greece having any pretension to thorough ness is one by M. P. A. Mora'itinis, printed in Athens last year. I am indebted to M. Moraitinis for many of the facts and figures reproduced in the first part of my work; and, indeed, apart from his book, the materials even for the incomplete review which I have attempted would have been out of my reach. A record of the social, political, and economic progress of Greece since the year 1830 is promised by the Commission which has represented the country at the Paris Exposition.

I regret that this volume has not yet been published, for its statements will doubt less be of a most interesting character. In the historical chapters of the second part I have leant upon the authority of the narratives of Gervinus and Einlay. In the second and third chapters of the same part I am under a special obligation, which I would here acknowledge, to my friend Mr. P. Grousset, whose knowledge of the diplomatic history of the

PREFACE.

. VIII century is very extensive, and who has supplied me with many of my facts and citations. Of the two Maps which accompany the text, that of " New Greece " is based upon one by H. Lange, in Conrad Bursian's " Geographic von Griechenland," supplemented by the historical map of Lapie which was annexed to the Protocol of February 3rd, 1830. As for the orthography of the proper names, a difficulty of no mean order has presented itself. In the case of many old towns, and even of many natural features of the land, we have two or three, occasionally four, distinct forms in the nomenclature. Thus there is the ancient Greek ; the Venetian, or Frank ; the Turkish, or the Albanian ; and the modern Greek name, often different from all the rest. Probably the majority of the towns and villages have more than one name, or form of the same name ; and it is often impossible to determine which of the different names or forms it is best to retain.

If the Greeks themselves had made up their minds in every case, we might divest ourselves of the perplexity by following their example ; but they have not done so. In the process of time, no doubt, this difficulty will be got rid of. For the present, there is no choice between recording all these alternative names in the Map and selecting the one or two which appear to be in most constant use. FRE FACE. IX The same observation applies, though in a less degree, to the Map of " Greater Greece," which, it is also to be remembered, illustrates a period of nearly twenty centuries. The object of this Map is to show how widely the Greek influence had at one time spread. It has not seemed necessary in every case to restore the original Greek spelling of familiar names ; but there are very few amongst those introduced on the Map which are not clearly and indisputably of Greek origin. PAGE 1 CONTENTS. }_art $. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. GREECE AND THE CONGRESS. The Question— The Protocols— The Future

Chapter I

The General Character and Resources of Greece — The Traces of the Turks — The Process of Restoration — Natural Wealth of the Country — Prospects of the Nation — Its Disappointed Ambitions — Recent Checks — Necessary Inquiries 39

Chapter II. Greek Education And Genius

Education a Drug — Is Greece over-educated ? — Mr. Watson's Report — The Value placed on Education hy the Greeks — The National System — Comparative Statistics — The Eniversity of Athens — Respect for Learning inherent in the Greek Character — The Hellenic Genius — Hellenisation — Its Force not dependent on Numbers — The Greeks the Leading Race in Turkey — M. Lenormant's View — What is Hellenism ? ■ — An Impossible Anti-climax 48

Chapter III. Literature And Folk-lore

The Modern Greek Language — Tendency towards the Ancient Form — Language and Patriotism — Romaic Literature — National Songs — A Klephtic Ballad — Contemporary Greek Literature — Prose Works — Poetry — The Drama in Greece — The Greek Press — Republican Ideas — Folk-lore— Greek Fairy Tales CONTENTS. XII 111

Chapter IV. Constitution And Government

Pidl Recent Progress towards EjeU-Government- Universal Suffrage— Tho Representative Chamber— Abolition of the Senate— Order springs from Self-Government— The Greek Constitution— The Principal Articles— The Administrative System in Greece "!

Chapter V. Greek Finance

New Greece Established as a Bankrupt State— Doubtful Economics — The Present Revenue and Expenditure of Greece — Comparison of the Budgets of 1877, 1876, and 1846— The National Debt of Greece— Tho Deferred Debts of 1824 and 1825— The Guaranteed Loan of 1832— Subsequent Loans — A Point of Honour — Suggestion for the Consolidation of the Greek Debt 103

Chapter VI. Public Order And Justice

Self-Government in Greece — Drawbacks which have prevented the earlier Attainment of Public Order — The Legacy of the War of Independence — Brigandage in Greece — Its Prevalence — Its Comparative Immunity — The Outrage of Marathon — Its Consequences — The Views of M. Emile Burnous — Origin of the Brigands — The Vlaques, or Nomadic Shepherds — Suppression of Brigandage — Its Happy Consequences — Justice — The Legal and Judicial System— Origins of Greek Law — Crime — Its Diminution — The Administration of the Laws

Chapter VII. Trade And Commerce

The Lowest Ebb — Statements of Thiersch and Strong — Imports and Exports in 1833-40 — A Favouiable Contrast — Testimony of M. Mora'itinis — Growth of the Piræus. — The Introduction of Steam Power —Mr. Wyndham's Reports — English Trade with Greece — Imports and Exports in 1873 — The Trade in Wine, Currants, and Minerals — Customs' Duties — International Exhibitions— The New Olympiads— The Maritime Trade of Greece — Deductions . . . . 13f>

Chapter VIII. Agriculture

The Neglected Soil — The First Advance — Area of Cultivation in Greece Ji. Rangabe' s Description— Agricultural Education— Cereals Domestic Animals — The Currant Ciops — Vice Culture — Old and New AVincs CONTENTS. XIII Olives — Hesperidean Fruits — Tobacco and Cotton — The Forests — Forest Laws — Honey — State Encouragement —An Agricultural Bank — Conventual Property 149

Chapter IX. Public Works

Herculean Labours — The Marshes — Subterranean Outlets — Turkish Public Works — First Stops — New Greece on the Ruins of Old Greece- Reconstruction of Cities and Villages — Roads and Telegraphs — Bridges — Seaports — Lighthouses —Conclusions 162 $art H. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW GREECE.

Chapter I. The European Community

The Right of Intervention — Recent Interventions, by Concert and by Single Nations — The Congresses of Laybach and Verona — National Enthusiasms — Intervention in Turkey — The Reconstruction of Turkey — The Claims of Greece 175

Chapter II. Panslavism And Panhellenism

The Greek Question for England — Panslavism, its Origin and History — The Slavs in Europe — Russia's Claims to the Hegemony — The Panslavonian Committee — An Exposition of Types — Panhellenism — A Greco- Slavonian State — Enumeration of the Greeks — Greek Preponderance on the Ægean ... 191

Chapter III. Greek Nationality

The Principle of Nationality ; its Moral Limitations — Rights of Nationality — Distrust of the Principle — Its Application in the Case of Greece — Descent of the Modern Greeks — The Theory of Fallmerayer — Testimonies to the contrary CONTENTS. 292 321 349

Chapter IV. Causes Of The Insurrection Of

1821. PAQK The Eve of the Outbreak— The Preservation of Greek Learning— Powerful effect of this Circumstance upon the National Regeneration— Earlier Efforts— The Revolutionary Spirit— Contributory Causes— The He tairias—Russian Philhellenes— Greece before the War— English Phil hellenes—The Cession of Parga— Greek Commorce— Turkish Tyranny — Primates and Tax Fanners — Klephts and Armatoles . . .230

Chapter V. The War Of Independence

Weakness of Turkey — Ali of Janina — The Danubian Revolt — The Massacre in the Morea — Character of the Struggle — Turkish Reprisals — Sultan Mahmoud — The Murder of the Greek Patriarch — Intervention of the Powers — 1821 and 1876 — English Interests— Rupture between Russia and Turkey — Progress of the Greeks — Declaration of Independence — The Greeks disavow the Foreign Intriguers 261

Chapter VI. The Appeal To Europe

Greek Dissensions — Want of capable Leaders — European Diplomacy — Indecision of the Czar Alexander — The Massacre of Chios — Its Effects — The Congress of Verona — The Appeal of the Greeks — Its Failure — The Responsibility of Europe — Greek Heroism — Byron in Greece — His Good Influence —The First Greek Loan — English Encouragement.

Chapter VII. European Intervention

Plans for Greece — Canning's Views — Successes of the Egyptians in the Morea — English Intrigues in Greece — England and the Holy Alliance — Canning and Metternich— Extremity of the Greeks — Death of the Czar— The Protocol of April, 1826— The Treaty of London (July, 1827) — The Secret Article — The Battle of Navarino ; a Happy Blunder — Destitution of the Greeks — Responsibility of the Philhellenes .

Chapter VIII. Establishment Of The Kingdom

The Death of Canning— England's New Policy — The Views of Wellington - -England Responsible for the Limitation of the Boundaries of New Greece — The French Occupation — Adhesion of Turkey to the Treaty of London — The Protocol of 1832 — Removing the Landmarks The Burdens of the New State — The Hopeless Condition as the Kingdom CONTENTS. XV PAGE

Chapter IX. Greece Under The Bavarians

The Crown offered to Prince Leopold — His wise Stipulations — Tyranny and Death of Capo d'lstria — Another Civil War— Otho of Bavaria — Bavarian Rule — The Council of Regency — European Responsibility — England and her Representatives — The Revolution of 1843 — The New Constitution — The Creditors of Greece — Relations between Greece and Turkey— The Revolution of 1862 .367

Chapter X. English Constraint Of Greece

The Expulsion of Otho — Elevation of the National Sentiment in Greece — Hawking the Greek Crown — Prince Alfred — King George — Mr. Gladstone's Mission— The Cession of the Ionian Islands — Unreasonable Terms of Cession — England's Responsibilities — The Cretan War — Lord Stanley's Despatch — English Constraint in 1877-8 — Pledges of the English Cabinet 392