From the Roman conquest in 146 B. C., Greece was held as a dependency of the BYZANTINES (q. v.), the Franks, and the Turks till 1821, when the war of independence began with a revolt in the Danubian provinces. In January, 1822, the first National Assembly met in Epi darus and framed a provisional consti tution. In the same year occurred the massacre in Scio, by the Turks, re ducing the population from 100,000 to 1,800. The Greek navy was exceedingly successful under the two daring Ad mirals Miaoulis and Canaris, the latter of whom set fire to the Turkish ad miral's flagship in the midst of the night at Tjesme, opposite the island of Chios, and destroyed several other Turkish men-of-war. In 1823 the Greeks cap tured the Turkish camp at Carpenesion, but in 1826 the Turks captured Misso longhi, its starving garrison having cut its way through the Turkish camp, and besieged Athens, receiving its surren der in June, 1827. About this time Eng land, France, and Russia decided to in tervene and sent their fleets, composed of a dozen vessels of each nation, to the port of Navarino, in the W. part of the Morea, to enforce an armistice. The Turkish and Egyptian fleets, composed pf about 120 men-of-war, were anchored in that port. The Turks having fired on a boat with a flag of truce, killing a British officer, Oct. 20, 1826, the allied fleet opened fire on the Turko-Egyptian fleet and destroyed it completely, with a fearful loss of life. After this the Sultan became more pliable, and nego tiations began among the Great Powers about the final status of Greece, which resulted in the establishment of the Greek kingdom by the treaty of London in 1830.
At the close of the war Prince John of Saxony was offered the throne of Greece; on his refusal it was accepted conditionally by Leopold of Saxe-Coburg (later on King of the Belgians), who soon resigned because he insisted on more extended frontiers of the new kingdom. In 1833 Prince Otho, second son of King Ludwig, of Bavaria, was appointed king, and for 10 years the country was under Bavarian rule with out a constitution. On Sept. 15, 1843, an insurrection of the garrison of Athens, under General Kallergis, forced the king to grant a constitution, and a National Assembly was convoked to frame one, which was finally adopted March 16, 1844, enacting the establish ment of a House of Representatives, called Boule, whose members were elected by universal suffrage, and a Sen ate, whose members were selected by the king for life. But this charter, snatched thus by force from the king, was not honestly carried out, and great dissat isfaction ensued. In 1862, while the king and queen were making a tour in the provinces, a rising took place at Athens, a provisional government composed of three members was elected, and the throne was declared vacant. The royal couple returned to Germany.
In December following, Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria, was elected king by universal suffrage. He was ineligible on account of being of the house of one of the protecting pow ers. In 1863 Prince George, second son of King Christian of Denmark, was ap pointed king by the protecting powers, and accepted by the people. He arrived
in Greece in October, 1863. During his reign the development of Greece in every direction has been rapid. In 1897, owing to the massacres by the Turks in the island of Crete, the Greek Govern ment announced its intention to inter vene and landed surreptitiously a regi ment of regulars. A war between Tur key and Greece followed, in which Greece was defeated in Thessaly, and for a whole year that province was occupied by the Turks, but was evacu ated finally by the latter on a payment by Greece of a war indemnity of $19, 000,000. Later Turkey was forced by the Great Powers to evacuate Crete, and Prince George of Greece was installed by them as high commissioner for governing the island. He resigned in 1906 as a result of internal political disputes in the island and M. Zaimis, formerly Greek Premier, was appointed High Commissioner. Greece, in 1908, following the overthrow of Abdul Hamid, Sultan of Turkey, de clared for union with Crete. This was not permitted, however, by the Great Powers. A political crisis was narrowly averted over the Cretan question in Greece, where the people disapproved of the failure of the government to insist on the inclusion of Crete into Greek territory. Following the Balkan War in 1912-1913, Crete was finally ceded to Greece. Greece came into political con flict with Bulgaria and Rumania over the question of Macedonia, and in 1905 diplomatic relations between Greece and Rumania were severed and were not re sumed until 1912.
treaty with Serbia obligated Greece to support the Serbians against any foreign aggression. It was known that Venizelos, the Prime Minister, was in favor of adhering to this treaty when Serbia was attacked by Austria. The King, however, had married a sister of the German Emperor, and his sym pathies were strongly with Germany. The Greek Government, at the beginning of the war, assumed a neutral attitude. Bulgaria was negotiating with both sides and agreed to throw her fortunes with the Allies if the territory taken from her as a result of the Second Bal kan War should be returned. Venize los was willing to consider these terri torial concessions. The pro-German elements in Greece, however, refused to consider such action. They were fur Largely through the effective diplo macy of Venizelos, who for many years was practical political ruler of Greece, the Balkan League was formed in 1912 which successfully prosecuted war Turkey. The Greek armies per formed excellent service in the cam paign of this war, especially in the cap ture of Saloniki. King George, while on a tour of inspection, was assassinated in Saloniki on March 18, 1913, and was succeeded by the Crown Prince Constan tine. Greece received, as a result of this war, all of Thessaly, part of Epirus, and the most valuable portions of Macedonia and Thrace, including Saloniki. She re ceived also Crete, as noted above. These additions to her territory nearly doubled the area and population of Greece.