On March 25th, the people of Greece celebrate Independence day, on this day, they commemorate the start of the War of Greek Independence on March 25, 1821. It is a day that should be celebrated by all who enjoy freedoms and the fruits of Democracy. March 25, 1821 was the beginning of a global campaign to save the World's first democracy from 350+ years of what President James Monroe called "gloomy despotism". The day also coincides with the the Annunciation of Mary in the Greek Orthodox Church (when Mary was visited by the the angel Gabriel an told that she would bear the son of God and Savior of the world). This is by no coincidence. This was a Christian revolt against the Islamic Ottoman Empire, and there is no doubt the rebels chose the Feast of the Annunciation as a message of hope for a new birth of freedom. When the initial rebellion ended in the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. Gregory V being hanged after Easter Sunday services, Christians from around the globe advocated for Greek Independence giving rise to what is known as Philhellenism or "love of Greek culture". Even President Monroe seems to have been moved.
Greece had been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire since 1453, several decades before the fall of Constantinople. After many failed attempts to gain independence during the 350+ years of Turkish rule, a secret organization called the filiki Eteria was founded in 1814 with the the mission to finally liberate Greece. An insurrection was planned for March 25, 1821 on the Feast of the Annunciation, but when the plans were discovered by the Ottoman leaders, the revolution started early. Initial Revolts began as early as February 22 and were quickly put down by the Ottomans. Then on March 25th, the revolution was officially declared and the Greeks in the southern region of Greece known as the Peloponnese were in open revolt against the Turks. Revolutionaries adopted the cry of "Freedom or death" and by June of 1822, captured city of Athens. These early successes, sent hope around the world that the chains of the Ottoman Empire were loosening. Aside from revolts such as this, the Ottoman Empire was facing a growing threat from Russia. During the 18th century, Russia was a large and growing threat to the Ottoman Empire, and from 1768 to 1774, the two empires were embroiled in the Russo-Turkish War.
Behind the planning of the revolution was Alexander Ypsilantis, head of the Filiki Eteria. Ypsilantis intended to raise all the Christians of the Balkans in rebellion against the Islamic Turks with the hope that this would force Russia to intervene on their behalf. Ypsilantis hoped that with the support of Russia, local Romanian Christians would all join in. Ypsilantis planned revolts in three regions, the Danubian principalities, the Peloponnese and Central Greece, and even went as far as to issue a proclamation calling all Greeks and Christians to rise up against the Ottomans. In a show of opposition, Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople excommunicated Ypsilantis and denounced his plans. When Ypsilantis failed to gain Russian support, the Romanian allies left the revolt. Nevertheless the Greek revolts went on and sparked deadly fighting throughout the region. The reaction of the Ottoman empire was fierce. When news that the Greek revolts had led to murderous rebellions all over the Ottoman Empire, the Patriarch of the the Greek Orthodox Church, Gregory V was publicly hanged after Easter Sunday services. The was despite the fact that he had condemned the revolution and preached obedience to the Turks. The execution was the culmination of what became known as the Constantinople Massacre of 1821, with mass executions, destruction of churches, and looting of the property owned by the Greeks.
When news of the these events and the ongoing revolution reached the ordinary people of Europe it was greeted with enthusiasm. Hundreds of young men from all over Europe gathered in the French ports to book a passage to Greece and join the revolution. Besides their men, people from around Europe, Russia and the United States were sending money and supplies to the Greeks. Philhellenism was taking root. President James Monroe expressed the sentiments of so many around the world, when he spoke of the hopes that Greece would one day "recover their independence and resume their equal station among the nations of the earth." This struggle was not just of the Greeks, it was the struggle of the free world. Ancient Greece was the first democracy in the world, and aroused in so many the public and personal pursuit of liberty. It was a great campaign to rescue and restore a country and culture that for so many years had been hidden "under a gloomy despotism". In his 1822, State of the Union Address, Monroe spoke these words:
"Europe is still unsettled, and although the war long menaced between Russia and Turkey has not broken out, there is no certainty that the differences between those powers will be amicably adjusted. It is impossible to look to the oppressions of the country respecting which those differences arose without being deeply affected. The mention of Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is susceptible. Superior skill and refinement in the arts, heroic gallantry in action, disinterested patriotism, enthusiastic zeal and devotion in favor of public and personal liberty are associated with our recollections of ancient Greece. That such a country should have been overwhelmed and so long hidden, as it were, from the world under a gloomy despotism has been a cause of unceasing and deep regret to generous minds for ages past. It was natural, therefore, that the reappearance of those people in their original character, contending in favor of their liberties, should produce that great excitement and sympathy in their favor which have been so signally displayed throughout the United States. A strong hope is entertained that these people will recover their independence and resume their equal station among the nations of the earth."In 1823, President Monroe repeated his sentiments of Greece with similar words:
"A strong hope has been long entertained, founded on the heroic struggle of the Greeks, that they would succeed in their contest and resume their equal station among the nations of the earth. It is believed that the whole civilized world take a deep interest in their welfare. Although no power has declared in their favor, yet none according to our information, has taken part against them. Their cause and their name have protected them from dangers which might ere this have overwhelmed any other people. The ordinary calculations of interest and of acquisition with a view to aggrandizement, which mingles so much in the transactions of nations, seem to have had no effect in regard to them. From the facts which have come to our knowledge there is good cause to believe that their enemy has lost forever all dominion over them; that Greece will become again an independent nation. That she may obtain that rank is the object of our most ardent wishes."And once more in his final State of the Union Address, President Monroe expressed hope that the heroism of Greeks would some day return Greece to her rightful place in history.
"The success of Greece, when the relative population of the contending parties is considered, commands our admiration and applause, and that it has had a similar effect with the neighboring powers is obvious. The feeling of the whole civilized world is excited in a high degree in their favor. May we not hope that these sentiments, winning on the hearts of their respective Governments, may lead to a more decisive result; that they may produce an accord among them to replace Greece on the ground which she formerly held, and to which her heroic exertions at this day so eminently entitle her?"During President John Quincy Adam's first term he connected the need to keep a small naval squadron in the Mediterranean due to the war between the Greeks and the Turks. There were some attacks by pirates or privateers wearing the Grecian flag, but without authority from the Greek government. The squadron was needed for the security of the American merchants, but Adams like Monroe still spoke of the heroism of the Greeks and a sympathy for their cause in his first State of the Union address.
"The constant maintenance of a small squadron in the Mediterranean is a necessary substitute for the humiliating alternative of paying tribute for the security of our commerce in that sea, and for a precarious peace, at the mercy of every caprice of four Barbary States, by whom it was liable to be violated. An additional motive for keeping a respectable force stationed there at this time is found in the maritime war raging between the Greeks and the Turks, and in which the neutral navigation of this Union is always in danger of outrage and depredation. A few instances have occurred of such depredations upon our merchant vessels by privateers or pirates wearing the Grecian flag, but without real authority from the Greek or any other Government. The heroic struggles of the Greeks themselves, in which our warmest sympathies as free men and Christians have been engaged, have continued to be maintained with vicissitudes of success adverse and favorable."http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29464
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29465
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29466
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29467
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire\
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Greek-Independence-Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople_massacre_of_1821
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_V_of_Constantinople
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Hanging_of_Patriarch_Gregory_V.JPG
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/Greek_flag_%28black_cross%29.svg/330px-Greek_flag_%28black_cross%29.svg.png
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