leaders in those mad enterprises settled; but it was not at all probable, that the semi-barbarous customs of the feudal system, which they brought with them, would confer any real benefit upon the people, or re-kindle the torch of science, which was nearly extinguished. The same remarks will hold good with regard to the knights templars, and the knights of St. John, who about the same time exercised an influence over some parts of this country; the blind devotees themselves of a senseless and degrading superstition, they were not likely to improve the manners, or advance the real prosperity of those whom they governed; and these falsely called Christian heroes of the middle ages only prepared the way for the more desolating and despotic sway of the Turks.

Under the barbarous yoke of the Mussulman power, Greece has continued with very short intermissions, until in modern times it has begun to assert its claims to independence, and to commence that struggle for liberty which, whatever may be its termination, entitles it to the sympathy of every real friend of man. Towards the end of the seventeenth century the Venetians invaded the country, took Athens, and extended their power over a great part of the continent and some of the islands; but, republicans as they were, they treated in the most despotic manner the serfs of the Morea: still, as they wished to realise some advantage from their conquest, they encouraged the people to cultivate agriculture. It is to them that they owe the numerous plantations of olives, the remains of which are still found in the woods: some historians assure us, they contived to manage this country so well, that they realised a revenue of 300,000 crowns; they rebuilt several ancient fortresses, and were very anxious to keep a conquest which they judged necessary to secure their dominion in the Archipelago. But Venice experienced changes in her turn; she lost one possession after another, and at last, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Morea was wrested from her after the loss of Candia.

Again the Turks became masters of the peninsula, made the inhabitants feel the weight of their iron sceptre, and imposed the karatch, or capitation tax, as a price at which they consented to spare the lives of the vanquished. The interference of Christian powers, however, especially of Russia in the year 1770, only tended to increase the miseries and aggravate the bondage of the unhappy Greeks. Peter the Great had, there is no doubt, laid the foundation of a plan for as sisting them, and driving their oppressors out of Europe; and the empress Catherine, following up the views of her great predecessor, sent a fleet of twenty sail of the line, towards the close of the year 1769, which took possession of seve ral islands, attacked the Turkish fleet, and finally succeeded in destroying it. The call to the Greeks on this occasion to arm themselves, and shake off the yoke, was instantly obeyed, and an insurrection took place throughout the Morea, and in many of the islands of the Archipelago. The Russian fleet, however, was re-called, and the poor Greeks abandoned to their fate. The Albanians ravaged the country in conjunction with VOL. X.

the Turks, who carried off a great multitude of the inhabitants into slavery. It is confidently stated by Eton, in his Survey, that a deliberate proposal was made in the divan, to exterminate all the Christians in the Morea, innocent or guilty, of whatever sex or age, and that this blood-thirsty design was only stopped by the observation, that in case of a general massacre the Ottoman Porte would lose the benefit of the karatch or capitation tax, which they paid. The Albanians conducted themselves with so much cruelty, that at length the Turks were obliged to reduce them to a state of peace by force of arms. The brave Lambro, a native of Thebes, who had the courage to keep the sea against the power of the Turkish fleet, was proscribed, and compelled to wander from one country to another, as a miserable exile. Notwithstanding the diminution of the population, and the increased distress which prevailed in the Morea, the karatch was estimated in 1780 at 56,670 notes from three to eleven piastres each for the whole peninsula, with the exception of the Magne; and this large sum did not exempt them from the payment of the tenths, the customs, the taxes on wine, as well as the dues attached to the ancient feudal lands. The rise of Ali Pacha,' says Mr. Blaquiere, not long after the peace of Kaimardgi, rendered the situation of the Greeks more hopeless than ever; the enterprising and ferocious spirit of this chief had enabled him to extinguish the last remains of Christian freedom in Epirus, and his vicinity to the Morea gave him the power at all times of pouring in any number of those barbarous hordes, to whom it had recently been given up: and, in order to render such an operation still more easy, all the approaches and passes were occupied by Albanians devoted to his interests.'

Notwithstanding the persecutions which followed the fruitless struggle of the Greeks, in 1770, the spirit of the people was not yet broken, nor their anxiety to shake off the insupportable yoke, under which they groaned, at all diminished. For a while, however, they applied themselves to trade, and to the acquisition of useful knowledge, judging this the best mode of ultimately securing the object of their wishes. The French revolution, which took place in 1789, was very favorable to their interests in this respect, by bringing them into relation with the more civilised western nations, and opening a wider field for their commercial speculations. No people ever manifested so much enthusiasm in the pursuit of knowledge as the Greeks have done for thirty years past, and a wonderful change has been the consequence. It is worthy of record,' adds Mr. Blaquiere, that not more than half a century has elapsed since there was but one possessor of a map among the Fanariot Greeks, who from their residence in the capital, and admission to the highest political employments, might have been considered much more enlightened than the rest of their countrymen. Yet, before the recent explosion, there was scarcely an individual in this class, who had not experienced the benefit of a liberal education, while many were distinguished for their varied and extensive erudition; even the young ladies

2 T

of the Fanar joined the study of Homer and Thucydides to that of modern languages and music. There have been numerous examples, both at Constantinople and in other places, of youths denying themselves the necessaries of life, that they might be able to attend the schools.' In general the Turks did not oppose any impediments to this ardor, or to the progress of knowledge that was making such rapid advances; though individual instances of arbitrary conduct were sometimes too frequent. It is said, for instance, that the Turkish commandant of Dara, a village in the Morea, happening to pass the school, while pupils were taking their lessons, had the didascalos or master dragged out and bastinadoed, and it was then dangerous to complain. The most flourishing Greek academy, was that at Scio, attended by several hundreds of students, and furnished with books, chemical apparatus, and astronomical instruments. The colleges of Joannina, Athens, Bucharest, Aivali, and Cydonia, were also eminent; but they have been destroyed in the political struggle.

Close to the eastern shore of the Peloponnesus lie the islands or rather barren rocks of Hydra and Spezzia, and near Scio is situated that of Ipsara. Furnished by nature with commodious havens, these islands afforded a refuge to some Albanian families, who were driven out of their own country by tyranny and want, and who, settling on them, built villages, and applied themselves to fishing. By degrees a coasting trade was opened to them, and their commerce extended, till they were at length able to purchase the right of governing themselves, paying a tribute, and annually furnishing the Porte with a number of sailors. Thus, at liberty to purchase the dictates of their own active minds, they became some of the most hardy and skilful seamen of Europe, the number and size of their vessels increased, and they were soon the carriers of the productions of Russia and Asia to different ports in the Mediterranean. As they were much exposed on these voyages, especially to the attacks of the Barbary pirates, it was necessary to have their vessels armed, and the transition was easy to the formation of a fleet for warlike purposes. Their wealth increased, and these islanders soon had little to wish for; but they felt the political debasement of their countrymen, and in the recent struggle they have more than once boldly attacked and put to flight the Turkish squadrons.

At the time of the expedition of the French into Egypt, the Greeks, strongly excited by the events of the war, which was thus approaching them, waited for them as liberators, with the firm resolution of going to meet them and conquering their liberty; but again their hopes were disappointed, and the succours they expected from France were removed to a distance. The brave Rhigas, at once a poet and a warrior, and the author of the famous national air in imitation of the Marseillois, which is to this day the war song of the Greek troops, perished at Belgrade by the hands of the oppressors of his country; but his blood, and that of other less celebrated chiefs, have only served to inflame the nation instead of discouraging it. Having

waited in vain, in the midst of the great event«, which in several respects have changed the whole face of Europe in this century, the Greeks, taking counsel only of their despair, and indignant at living always as Helots on the ruins of Sparta and of Athens, when nations but of yesterday were recovering their rights and recognising their social relations, rose against their despotic and cruel masters, perhaps with greater boldness than prudence.

The first decided movement in these later times took place in the year 1800, when the Servians, provoked by the cruelty of their oppressors the Turks, made a general insurrection, which was headed by their famous chief Czerni George, who had served as a serjeant in the Austrian service, and afterwards became a bandit chief. He was possessed of much energy of character and bravery; but he was extremely despotic, and is said to have murdered his father, and caused one of his brothers to be hanged. Under him the Servians obtained several victories. He blockaded Belgrade; and, one of the gates being surrendered to him, he made his entry into the city and slaughtered all the Turks that were found in it. At this time the affairs of the Porte were in great disorder; it had but just terminated its war with France, and the efforts, by which it had been endeavouring to reduce Passavend Oglou, pacha of Widden, had failed and ended in disgrace. At home the Janissaries were ever dissatisfied, and Roumelia was in a state of disturbance. The divan, however, exerted themselves to quell the Servians, and they were aided by the Bosnians, in consequence of which many sanguinary combats took place. Relying, however, on the promises of the Russians, and receiving pecuniary succors from Ipsilanti, the hospodar of Walachia, the insurgents continued the contest, taking refuge in the heights when their enemies were too powerfu. for them, and, when these were obliged to retire into winter-quarters, issuing from their fastnesses and marking their progress through the surrounding country, by spreading devastation in every direction. In the mean time Russia openly declared against the Porte in 1807, and carried on the war until the year 1812, when the treaty of Bucharest was negociated; and thongh some efforts were made to obtain a concession in favor of their Servian allies, yet one difficulty after another being stated by the Porte, a peace was at length concluded, as before, upon such terms as left the insurgents to their fate. The Turks in the summer of 1813 sent Chourshid Pacha with nearly 100,000 men, who over-ran the country, meeting with scarcely any resistance, and signalised his triumphs by treacherously executing many, and among the rest a number of persons who had returned to their homes, under a false promise of an amnesty. It was not long, however, before the Servians took up arms again, and obtained some advantages over their enemies, and the Porte, at length wearied out, sent a Greek bishop to conduct the negociation. By the treaty then made, it was agreed, that Milosh, brother-in-law to Czerni George, a native, should be their prince, that the sum of £100,000 should be paid yearly to the Turks, whose garri

sons in the fortresses of the Danube were to be limited, and that the prince should maintain a few national forces, for the regulation of the internal policy; stipulations decidedly evincing the real weakness of the Porte.

The period that intervened between 1815 and 1820 was apparently tranquil: the Ottoman affairs seemed prosperous; the sultan, Mahmoud, by his vigorous measures, maintained peace with his neighbours, quelled the spirit of the mutinous Janissaries, suppressed several revolts in the eastern part of the empire, drove the Wechabites from Mecca, and gave more weight to the imperial firmans, than they had heretofore possessed. But, under this appearance of tranquillity, all those projects were forming which have produced the recent concussions. The Greeks soon became more open in their plots against their oppressors, and entertained some considerable hopes from the probable arrangements of the congress at Vienna: but that congress closed without effecting any result favorable to the liberties of Greece. This, however, did not damp the ardor of its friends, nor induce them to abandon the plans they had projected. About this time was formed the celebrated association of the Heteria, the true object of which was the emancipation of Greece, though this design was concealed under the show of distributing books and extending the benefits of education. Almost all the Greeks in Europe, and men of great note, repaired to St. Petersburgh where its head-quarters were fixed, under pretence of commerce and other business, but really to obtain by means of count Capodistrias, their countryman, some immediate or early support from Russia; and, though he told them that at present nothing could be attempted openly in their behalf, he displayed much interest in their affairs, and generally dismissed them with a present from the emperor. In the mean time Czerni George, who was then residing at Kiow, and count Galati, a native of Corfu, who was a relation of the Russian secretary, having no hope of immediate aid from abroad, in the year 1817 resolved upon a plan to begin the revolution, relying on their own resources for success. The former was suddenly to make his appearance in Servia, and thus creating a diversion of the Turks to that quarter, to afford Galati, Colotroni, and other patriots an opportunity of making an effort in the south. He set out in disguise on this errand, and had reached his destination in safety, when he was treacherously assassinated by his relative and former friend Milosh, and his head sent to Constantinople. This event stopped, for the present, the progress of their scheme, and Galati retired to Bucharest, where he died soon afterwards, and the completion of his mission devolved upon other agents.

The degree of independence enjoyed by Servia, was a source of disquietude to the sultan and the divan, and they seemed determined, if possible, to violate it. The fortified posts on the Danube were repaired, and well stocked with provisions and ammunition; their garrisons, notwithstanding the treaty of 1815, were increased, and fresh troops called in from all sides, professedly to relieve their comrades; but none return

ed. An attempt was also made to put Milosa out of the way, but he was too wary to be taken in the snare; he sent deputies to Constantinople, and was taking measures for defending himself, when the attention of the Turks was called off from him by the insurrection, which broke out in the south.

It appears that the Hetærists had not intended to commence their operations before 1825, leaving sufficient time for the arrangements they had to make; but the rupture between Ali Pacha and the Porte, and the civil war that ensued, rendered it expedient to proceed to the execution of their design much earlier. The Albanian tyrant had, until this period, kept the Greeks in awe; but, the moment an attack upon himself seemed inevitable, he called upon them to arm in his defence; the Porte did the same, and some of his best troops forsook him on this occasion; he found opponents also in the peasants of Mount Pindus; and the Souliotes, his old enemies, were brought to the continent to act against him. The Porte, however, did not fulfil its promises to those who lent it their assistance, and the Greeks, in the disappointments they experienced, forgot the despotic acts of their former tyrant. Ali learned all these circumstances with great pleasure, and availed himself of them. By means of his money and his intrigue he soon brought over the chiefs who had deserted him, and even gained the Souliotes to his party by surrendering to them their strong holds, with all the treasures and ammunition contained in them; so that Souliotes, mountaineers, and Klephtai were all soon engaged in harassing the Turks, and cutting off their communications. These again drew off the flower of their armed force from Livadia and the Peloponnesus, and left the field open in those quarters for the efforts of the friends of freedom. A subscription immediately commenced, and a commander-in-chief was appointed; the choice of the Hetærists fell on Alexander Ipsilanti, the son of a former governor of Walachia, who retired and died at Kiow; he had been in the Russian service, and was at that time aid-decamp to the emperor. Prince Cantacuzene, another Russian general, of Greek extraction, also volunteered, though of higher rank, to serve under the generalissimo; and Michael Suggo, hospodar of Moldavia, engaged to join them on their reaching Yassy. A conspiracy was organised in the capital, and it was thought that on the news of the revolt the Servians would unite with the Greeks.

Some of the chiefs of the Arnauts or Albanians had been treated with, that they might furnish a body of forces to act under Ipsilanti; but while the latter was making his arrangements, and about to give the signal, another individual appeared, influenced by private and interested motives, to raise the standard in Walachia. This was an adventurer named Theodore Vladimiresco, who had differed with the Boyards or nobles of his country, on account of some claims he pretended to have for money spent in the state service: but the divan would not judge the affair, till the new prince had arrived. He therefore entered the field against them, at the head of 300 well-armed men.

The divan re