Filiki Eteria

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Filiki Eteria emblem
Nikolaos Skoufas

The Filiki Eteria , also Philiki Etaireia ( Greek Φιλική Εταιρεία ; approximate German name: Freundesgesellschaft ) was a secret society of Greek patriots and philhellenes who wanted to liberate Greece from the Ottomans and establish a modern Greek republic in the 19th century .

It was founded in 1814 by the Greek merchants Emmanuel Xanthos, Athanasios Tsakaloff and Nikolaos Skoufas in Odessa (in today's Ukraine ). The Filiki Eteria was an organization consisting mainly of people from the bourgeoisie, and not a few of its members referred to themselves as merchants. In addition to these, however, many representatives of the petty bourgeoisie were also recruited, such as craftsmen, church staff of lower rank (simple priests) and teachers. Due to its objective of a Greek republic, it won many - also (later) known - members. In contrast to the Ottoman-occupied Greece, the Greek bourgeoisie was politically extremely active in the “foreign colonies” such as Odessa. The civil orientation of the Filiki Eteria is controversial. The historian Pavlos Tzermias has pointed out that the bourgeoisie emphasized by Marxists should be viewed under the auspices of the pre- or early capitalist foundation and program of the Filiki Eteria.

In March 1821, the first Greek uprising against the Ottoman occupying forces broke out in the Peloponnese , which quickly spread to almost all areas of today's Greek state. At the beginning of the uprising, the Filiki Eteria was the "liberation organization" in Greece. The Filiki Eteria and its members repeatedly played an important role in the Greek struggle for independence. After the intervention of troops of the Turkish governor of Egypt, Mehmed Ali , under the command of his son Ibrahim Ali in 1825, the situation of the insurgents deteriorated considerably from a military point of view. The weakening from the outside was also preceded by a weakening from the inside through disputes, some of which were similar to civil wars, among the insurgents. In 1827 the election of the member of the Filiki Eteria, Ioannis Kapodistrias , as governor for Greece and the intervention of the major European powers through the Battle of Navarino in the same year eased the military situation.

Greece's independence was de facto achieved in 1828 (1829 or 1830 according to other views) after long years of struggle and the intervention of the great powers (see Navarino Naval Battle of 1827, Russo-Ottoman War from 1828 to 1829). The London Protocol of 1830 established Greek independence from the great European powers England , France and Russia . In contrast to the original efforts of the Filiki Eteria, Greece became a constitutional monarchy under pressure from the great powers : The Bavarian Prince Otto was installed as king and then ruled Greece according to absolutist principles until a revolution occurred in 1843, as a result of which King Otto made concessions had to. A constitution was then drawn up and passed that transformed the Kingdom of Greece into a constitutional monarchy. In 1862 King Otto was finally bloodlessly forced to abdicate . The republic hoped for by the Filiki Eteria only came about in 1925 through a referendum.

Famous members

Web links

Commons : Filiki Etaireia  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Pavlos Tzermias. Modern Greek history. An introduction. 3. Edition. Francke Verlag, 1999. p. 81. ISBN 3-7720-1792-4
  2. ↑ Pavlos Tzermias. Modern Greek history. An introduction. 3. Edition. Francke Verlag, 1999. p. 87. ISBN 3-7720-1792-4