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).