HPP 7

Motivated by the heavy resource and labor demands of the Industrial Revolution, European powers looked beyond their resource-poor continent in the 18^th and 19^th centuries to find colonies abroad. These colonies were primarily established to provide Europe with the raw materials it needs to prosper economically, but overtime, oversea territories evolved into status symbols that factored into the “greatness” of European nations. The drive to colonize more territory and control more of the world led to fierce competitions in the continent, and many nations such as Great Britain would even go to war to curb the power projection abilities of a European rival (That was a reference to the British invasion of Afghanistan in 1838 to drive out the Russians).

In order to conquer quickly, European powers utilized ruthless techniques in their quest of expansion. Often, European agents would attempt to radically change the order of an existing society, stripping those in power of their prestige and influence and instituting new leaders. These practices severely crippled the abilities of an indigenous community to act in unison since it is often too preoccupied dealing with the social upheaval caused by the Europeans. This phenomenon could be demonstrated well in Nigeria, where the British seriously altered the social order to create leaders that profited from a British colonial presence.

Since the primary goal of establishing oversea colonies was to benefit the colonizing power economically, European nations rarely took in account of tribal or ethnical relations when drawing colonial boundaries. For example, when the Berlin conference drew boundaries for the colony of Rwanda, European leaders didn’t care that they were putting two rival groups, the Hutus and Tutsis, in the same nation. Instead, the Europeans drew Rwandan borders to include most of the region’s raw and labor resources. This would have a serious impact on Rwanda post-independence, as cultural and ethnical tension in the nation sparked civil conflicts and resulted in a genocide that killed and displaced millions.

Incentivized by the wealth that came with satisfying the economic demands of European factories and consumers, European powers exploited the natural and labor resources of their colonies for decades, or even centuries. Local workers were often forced to grow cash crops or extract mineral resources instead of committing to economic practices of substance that benefited those being colonized. That resulted in rapid resource depletions in many parts of the world and contributes today to the epidemic of national poverty. For example, in India, the majority of the population grew cotton to satisfy the British demand. In that process, Indians delayed economic developments of value in their nation for close to 300 years and severely eroded the quality of their soil.

Due to the results of European imperialism, such as local instability, racial tensions, and resource depletion, former colonies rarely fare well after independence. Most of the time, post-independence colonies struggle with economic development, a sustainable socio-political structure, and the distribution of land and other natural resources. Some, such as, South Africa, have done relatively well, but many nations of the world are still dealing with the lasting legacies of European colonization. Those legacies, in part, are responsible for many modern political conflicts, such as those fought in the Middle East (especially Iraq and Palestine) and Africa (D.R. Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Angola, Zimbabwe, etc.)

Independence

Due to centuries of economic activity in the Aegean Sea and Bosporus Strait, Greek merchants in charge of shipping companies that transported goods through these important waterways became incredibly wealthy. Their newfound wealth allowed them to send their children to various universities and educational instuttions on the European mainland where they were exposed to Enlightenment and Romantic Nationalism ideals (A).

The Renaissance and the subsequent revival of European culture in the 15^th to the 19^th centuries prompted Europeans to desire the liberation the birthplace of Classical Culture- Greece. Before any planned revolution actually occurred in Greece, there was already a strong European sentiment that backed Greek independence (A).

In 1814, three young Greek merchants, Nikoloas Skoufas, Emmanuil Xanthos, and Athanasios Tsakatov founded the Filiki Eteria in 1814 in Odessa. The Filiki Eteria was a secret society that served as the logistical and organizational center for the Greek revolution and a gathering place of Greeks abroad. Alexander Ypsilatnis, a Russian general and adjutant to Tsar Alexander I, accepted an offer from the organization to became its leader. In 1821, when the Ottoman Empire was waging war against both the Persian Empire and Egyptian rebels, the Greeks decided that the time was perfect for them to start their own revolution (D).

Unlike many other revolutions, the Greek fight for independence was well financed from the beginning. Many wealthy Greek communities abroad contributed a substantial amount of money to the cause. European aristocrats and American social elites either donated money or used their prestige to bring support to the Greek movement. The London Philhellenic Committee went as far as finance two loans in 1824 and 1825 of 2.8 million pounds (billions in 2012 US dollars) (C).

Rebellion sprang out in various parts of Greece at the same time: Constantinople, the Balkans, Cyprus, Crete, etc. However, without a strong national authority to organize the revolts, the independence movement lacked the amount of coordination necessary for successful rebellion. Fortunately fo the Greeks, conflicts in Persia and Egypt distracted the Ottomans militarily and

the few Ottoman forces sent to put down the Greek rebellion lacked the necessary equipment to fight in the narrow mountain passes of the Greek peninsula. It would not be until Egyptian intervention, under the son-in-laws of Muhammad Ali, that would re-establish an Ottoman presence in Crete, Cyprus, and a few parts of the Greek mainland. European navies, consisted of Russian, British, and French ships, prevented a total disaster on the part of the Greeks and kept the fledging Republic alive (B).

The Treaty of London effectively ended the revolution and forced the Ottoman Empire to recognize the Kingdom of Greece. Subsequently, Russia, Britain, and France sent ambassadors to Greece, giving the new state de facto recognition. The Greek war of independence lasted 11 years and Greek independence became official in 1832 (B). Later, after World War II, the Greeks would join the European Union as a full member.

Colonial Experience

The rule of the Ottomans radically altered the structure of Greek society and brought new groups, such as the clergy of the Greek Orthodox Church, to prominence and power (B). As per Muslim tradition, the Ottoman Empire did not force Greeks to convert into Islam but rather simply established an additional poll-tax for Christians. Heavy taxation on trade and agriculture marked a decline in Greek economic prosperity under Ottoman rule and many were forced to escape to the rural countryside to avoid total economic ruin. This led to a direct decrease in the population of the peninsula and the effective economic collapse of a region that has been developed and urbanized for almost 2000 years (C).

As a whole, the Ottomans allowed the Greeks to rule themselves as long as they obeyed the authority of the Sultan. Many Greek children forcibly converted and abducted as tributes to the Imperial Court would rise to prominence within the Empire. Many of these “tribute children” served in the elite janissaries corps and eventually rose to the ranks of general or statesman. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, when the Ottoman Empire realized its increasing backwardness in relation to Christian European powers, the Imperial Court relied more and more on Greek administrators who possessed the technical and financial skills that many Ottoman officials lacked to rule the Empire. This period saw a general increase in the economic and political positions of the Greeks within the Empire (B).

In the long run, the Greeks retained much of their cultural heritage and their political and socio-economic institutions. However, Greek art during that period became heavily influenced by Turkish rule, as many plays and songs documented the difficulties of existing in the Ottoman Empire and used Greek subjugation as the background to their plots. To this day, many Greek folk tales and songs document Greek life under Ottoman rule (C).

Initial Conquest

Ancient Greece consisted of a collection of independent city states until the Macedonians conquered the peninsula in 300 BC and established a homogenized Hellenic civilization. Greece would be under Macedonian rule until 146 BC when the Roman Empire gained control over the territory and annexed it into its expanding empire. When the Roman State split under the rule of Emperor Constantine, Greece became part of the Byzantine Roman Empire. Under the rule of the Byzantines, the peninsula projected itself to the cultural and political forefronts of the Empire and the Byzantine State gradually shifted its identity from a Roman successor state to an independent Greek Empire with Greek as the de facto language and Greek Orthodox Christianity as the official religion (C).

The Ottoman Empire colonized the Greek peninsula after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the subsequent collapse of the Byzantine Empire. The Ottomans advanced into Greece Proper in 1454 and captured Athens in 1458. The Greeks held on to the Peloponnese until 1460 with the support of Venetian and Genoese merchants, but by 1500, the Ottomans established their rule over almost the entire Greek mainland (D). Interesting to note, the Ottoman campaign to subdue the Greeks consisted of only military campaigns and the Ottomans rarely used methods such as purposely creating local instability to aid their expansion.