Реферат: A War Of Independence Essay Research Paper

hostilities in the area (Isambert, 142).

In any case, it would be naive to accept that this diplomatic step of Russia was taken to relieve

the Greeks per se. Additionally, it is needless to say that what the Tsar did was appreciated by

Great Britain and Austria who thought that a Russo-Turkish war had been avoided, at least for

the moment.

Prince Metternich

However, after the Congress of Verona, on 14 February 1823, Canning sent a letter to Stradford,

the British ambassador in Constantinople, ordering him to inform the Porte that England would

not maintain the earlier friendly relations with Turkey unless the Porte changed its attitude

toward her Christian subjects. In March 1823 he also formally recognized the Greek blockades

against the Turks. Of course it is plausible that this recognition was aiming at the protection of

the British vessels from the Greek pirates and Anderson further claims that “it meant no

weakening of Britain’s neutral attitude in the struggle.” (Andersan, 58). Nevertheless, no matter

what was the real reason behind Canning’s recognition of the blockades of the Greeks, it still

was important for the Greeks since the outcome was the same. Canning took further actions: he

replaced +. Maitland, the British High Commissioner in the Ionian Islands who was against the

new policy of Canning, with Fr. Adam. These we could say are the very first actions denoting

the shift of the British policy concerning the Greek cause.

Nevertheless, before I refer to Canning’s policy as this was shaped in the year 1824, I shall try

to figure out what events or thoughts triggered Canning to alter it. Because even if we accept as

true that Canning’s sympathy for the plight of the Greeks was genuine, it is not a reason, strong

enough, for statesman to base his policy on. Accordingly, some of us would ask: what were

those facts that brought Canning’s philhellenism on the surface? First, it is true that even before

G. Canning held his post at Foreign Office, there was a rather strong philhellenic tendency

among the British people and some were actively involved in the Greek War of Independence:

Lord Byron, General Thomas Gordon, and Abney Hastings. The sympathy that the British people

felt for the Greeks could not let Canning unaffected. Actually, Finley writes: “the British

government consequently opposed to the revolution; but it had not, like that of Russia, the power

to coerce the sympathies of the Britons.” (Finley, 2).