РЕАКЦИЈЕ БРИТАНСКИХ ЗВАНИЧНИКА И ШТАМПЕ НА ПОЧЕТАК ГРЧКЕ РЕВОЛУЦИЈЕ (1821)
REACTIONS OF BRITISH OFFICIALS AND THE PRESS TO THE OUTBREAK OF THE GREEKREVOLUTION (1821)

Summary/Abstract: The Greek Revolution was one of the most important events in Europe during the first half of the 19th century. In 1821, Greek rebels led a fight against the Ottoman Empire, with the aim of liberating the entire area of Europe and the eastern Mediterranean from the rule of the Sultan. The significance of this historic moment is that it called into question the entire European order based on the defeat of Napoleon’s France and the decisions of the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Prominent and notable Greeks began to gather in conspiratorial and revolutionary groups, with the intention of launching an armed rebellion against Ottoman rule. The secret society Eteria was founded in Odessa, Russia, in 1814, with the intention of bringing together prominent figures from Russia and other European countries and persuading them to join the national movement for the liberation of the Greeks. The most prominent member of Eteria was Alexander Ypsilantis, a general in the Russian army and a member of the famous Greek-Phanariot family. The conspirators gathered around Alexander Ypsilantis crossed the Prut River and entered the territory of the Ottoman Empire on March 6, 1821. Thus began the Greek uprising in the Ottoman Empire, which captured the attention of the entire European continent for the next decade. Alexander Ypsilantis issued a proclamation in the city of Iasi the capital of Bessarabia (Moldavia), calling on all Greeks to a general uprising against the sultan. With the launch of armed revolts in Wallachia and Moldavia, the unrest that broke out in the Peloponnese, and the public proclamation of Alexander Ypsilanti against the sultan, Islam and Ottoman rule, the animosity of the Muslim population against the Christian population in the cities of the Ottoman Empire grew. Thus, Patriarch Gregory V found himself in disfavor with Sultan Mahmud II, as well as with the ordinary Muslim world. On Easter Sunday, April 22, 1821, Patriarch Gregory was hanged in front of the gates of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Patriarch Gregory was eighty-four years old at the time of his death. The Patriarch is not the only dignitary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate who met a tragic end due to the harsh reaction of the Sultan and the Ottoman authorities. Seven bishops were also arrested, held hostage, and eventually executed. British Ambassador Strаngford was in Constantinople at the time of these He built up a good intelligence network and reported in detail to the British Foreign Secretary about events in Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire, as well as conversations with ambassadors of other countries. In his reports, he concluded that the political leadership of the Ottoman state was guided by a “spirit of ruthless fanaticismˮ and that only “terrible consequencesˮ could be expected as a result. British newspapers such as The Times and The Morning Chronicle informed the public in Great Britain about the events taking place in the Ottoman Empire in a timely manner. Depending on how ideologically colored a British newspaper was, whether it supported the current government or not, certain issues were more or less emphasized in accordance with state policy. Certainly, readers were not deprived of essential information.

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