Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 11.djvu/134

Rh siege to it. But in the ISth century the policy of Russia attracted the attention of the rest of Europe, and caused a considerable change of attitude. Early in that century Peter the Great had declared his resolution to force his way into Constantinople, and though he was completely baulked in his aim, and had to sign an inglorious peace (1711), the desire to have the city on the Bosphorus continued to animate the Russians. It is to Count Miinnich, field- marshal and counsellor of the Russian empress Anna, that historians attribute the suggestion that Russia should systematically stir up the Greek Christians against their Turkish masters, and from his time (173G) onward we find Russia continually scheming to rouse the Greeks to insur rection. Most famous amongst these efforts were those of the empress Catharine IE. who, influenced partly by the Philhellenism of Voltaire, partly by a desire to withdraw the attention of her subjects from domestic affairs, but principally by a wish to gratify her favourite Orloff, formed the project of emancipating the Greeks from the yoke of the Turks (1769). But all the efforts made to effect this object wore exceedingly inadequate. The Greeks were soon taught also that Russia, while willing to free them from the Ottoman yoke, was determined to assist none but those who would readily become Russian sub jects. And the expedition to the Peloponnesus undertaken by Orloff was followed by most disastrous consequences to the Greeks. The Russians were more successful in their contests with the Turks in the north, and in 1774 compelled the sultan to accept a peace, called the peace of Kainardji, which contained several provisions bearing upon the Greeks, In some of these the sultan promised to protect the Christian religion and Christian churches, and though no special mention was made of Russia, her statesmen saw in this stipulation an opening for endless opportunities to interfere. And from this time forward Russia has claimed to be the champion of the Christians against the Turks. But the other states of Europe, especially France and England, became suspicious of the designs of Russia, and holding to the balance of power as an essential principle of European statesmanship, they determined to maintain the integrity of the Turkish empire. Austria had frequently joined with Russia in opposing the Turks and had again and again hoped to come in for a share of the spoil when Turkey should be partitioned. But towards the end of the 18th century the increasing power and influence of Russia began to alarm her, and when the Greeks rose to assert their independence, no power more tenaciously adhered to the doctrine that the integrity of the Turkish empire was demanded by the balance of power in Europe. Thus up to the time of the establishment of the Greek kingdom the affairs of the Greeks have been mixed up with those of foreigners, Ottomans, Venetians, Austrians, Russians, and the other European powers. The notable fact in Greek history during these ages is the disappearance and the apparent destruction of the nation. Whoever might hold the supreme power in Greece, the Greeks were sure to be the sufferers. When the Turks spread their conquests from Constantinople on to the rest of the empire, every capture of a city was followed by the slaughter of the able-bodied men and the carrying off of the women and children to the harem or slave market. And the Western Christians were not a whit more tender than the Ottomans. The Venetians were wroth with the Greeks, because they did not acknowledge the pope, and in the island of Crete perpetrated the most abominable barbarities on the innocent population. The Tucks punished the Greeks because they submitted to the Venetians, and the Venetians punished them because they submitted to the Turks. Moreover, in these times the JEgean was infested by pirates who, whether Turks or Italians or Greeks, had no mercy on the peaceful inhabitants of the mainland. Human life was disregarded, and men and women were of value only in so far as they were saleable articles in the slave market, If one were to enumerate all the instances in which historians tell us of the utter destruction or trans ference of the Greek population, a vivid idea might be presented of how terribly hard were the sufferings of the Greek people. We have to add to this record of destruction that vast masses of the people removed to Italy or Sicily or some other place of refuge. Almost all the famous families that ruled the islands of the ^Sgean escaped from them when they were attacked by the Turks. The knights of St John, for instance, left Rhodes to find a final settlement in Malta. Among the number who thus left their native land were nearly all the learned men, who sought in the West a refuge from Turkish rule, and opportunities for the pur suit of learning.

Yet notwithstanding these destructive forces the Greek people survived. To understand this phenomenon we have to examine into the mode of civil administration adopted by the Ottomans. The Ottomans were pre-eminently a warlike people. Their profession was that of arms. Their two great objects in life were to conquer and enjoy their conquests. They were brave and always ready to fight, but after battle was over they wished to enjoy the luxury and repose which they had earned by arms. They were therefore utterly disinclined to meddle with civil matters. If they got their revenues, and could enjoy their harems and slaves, it was a matter of no consequence to them how the subject races procured the means of paying the taxes, or in what way they governed themselves. The same spirit showed itself in the sultans. To them all Turks as well as Greeks were practically slaves. The sultans saw in the Turks the right hand that could bring them success in war, and in the Greeks or other subject nations the means of ministering to their wealth and enjoyment. Provided they had a sufficiently numerous and brave army and ample supplies of money, they were comparatively indifferent how or by whom local affairs were managed. This freedom from bias and this singleness of purpose en abled them to continue their power for a much longer time than they could possibly have done had they been swayed by national aims or particular ambitions. They had no hesitation in selecting for their purposes the best men they could get, and consequently many of the subject races rose to places of high eminence in the Turkish army and administration. A large proportion of the viziers of the Sublime Porte have been Greeks. Many of the generals that subdued Greece were Greeks. There was thus a constant accession to the ranks of the Turks from the subject nations. Those who thus entered the Turkish service could not do so without adopting Mahometanism. It was the essential condition. But many Greeks found no difficulty in changing their faith. They saw that it was their one hope of rising to eminence. And these men reached such high positions as to arouse the jealousy of the Turks ; for the sultans preferred the converts to the original Mahometans. They felt more confidence in them as instruments of their own domination. Indeed at one time there seemed a likelihood that large portions of Greece would become entirely Mahometan. They were urged to it by two opposite influences by the high position which Mahometan converts from Greece could attain, and by the utterly wretched condition of those who remained attached to the Christian religion. We have a curious instance of the effect of the latter motive in the conduct of the Caramuratades who occupied about thirty-six villages in the valley of the Aous in Albania. The inhabitants of these villages had long been oppressed by the Mahometans, but had remained Christian until 1 700. In that year matters came to a crisis. 