The Kingdom of Greece (Greek: Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος, romanised: Vasíleion tis Elládos, pronounced [vaˈsili.on tis eˈlaðos]) was the Greek state established in 1832 by the Treaty of Constantinople, which formally recognised Greece as an independent state and established it as a monarchy, following the Greek War of Independence.
It succeeded the First Hellenic Republic and was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, through which Greece secured full independence from the Ottoman Empire after nearly four centuries. The country remained a kingdom until 1924, when the Second Hellenic Republic was proclaimed. The monarchy was restored in 1935, after a referendum, and continued until its final abolition by the Regime of the Colonels in 1973. The referendum of the colonels, however, was widely regarded as rigged, so a second definitive referendum was held after the regime's fall in 1974 and confirmed the abolition of the monarchy, establishing the Third Hellenic Republic.
For much of its existence, the Kingdom's main ideological goal was the Megali Idea, which sought to annex lands with predominantly Greek populations.
King Otto ruled as an absolute monarch from 1835 until the 3 September 1843 Revolution, which transformed Greece into a constitutional monarchy, with the creation of the Prime Minister as head of government, universal male suffrage and a constitution. A popular insurrection deposed Otto in 1862, precipitating the gradual collapse of the early Greek parties (English, French, Russian), which had dominated Greek politics. The Greek National Assembly's election of George I in 1863 brought the transfer of the Ionian Islands from British rule in 1864. In his fifty–year reign, George presided over long periods of political instability, and wielded considerable power despite his role as a constitutional monarch. Prime Ministers, such as Alexandros Koumoundouros and Charilaos Trikoupis, shaped the politics and identity of the kingdom (including the annexation of Thessaly in 1881) before an economic depression and a catastrophic defeat in the Thirty Days' War weakened the Greek state. The Goudi coup in 1909 brought Eleftherios Venizelos to power and brought sweeping reforms, culminating in the Hellenic Army's victory in the Balkan Wars, led militarily by Crown Prince Constantine, who became King following George I's assassination during the First Balkan War.
The dispute and deep political rift of Monarchist and Venizelist forces regarding Greece's initial neutrality in World War I led to the National Schism, which, with Allied intervention, culminated in Constantine's exile, Venizelos' reinstatement as Prime Minister and Greece's entry into World War I. After victory in the Macedonian Front and success in the Asia Minor Campaign against the Ottomans, King Alexander, Constantine's second son, died in 1920, which triggered a constitutional crisis, culminating in anti-Venizelist candidate Dimitrios Gounaris' victory in the 1920 elections and a plebiscite confirming Constantine's return to the throne. Greece's disastrous defeat in Asia Minor two years later triggered the 11 September 1922 Revolution, which brought the abdication of Constantine in favour of his first son George II and the execution of Monarchist leaders in the Trial of the Six. The Treaty of Lausanne and the population exchange, along with a failed Monarchist coup in 1923, brought the proclamation of the Second Hellenic Republic in 1924.
A failed Venizelist coup in 1935 rapidly accelerated the Second Republic's collapse, with the Monarchy restored following a sham referendum in November 1935. Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas initiated a self-coup with the support of King George on 4 August 1936 and established the 4th of August Regime, a Metaxist and ultranationalist dictatorship with Metaxas wielding absolute power. Following Greece's entry into World War II and the Greco-Italian War, the German invasion of Greece toppled the Monarchy and conquered Greece, resulting in a triple occupation by the Axis powers. After the withdrawal of German forces in late 1944, the Monarchy was reaffirmed by victory in the three-year Greek Civil War. Spearheaded by Prime Ministers Alexandros Papagos and Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greece entered an economic miracle, but a successful coup on 21 April 1967 established the Regime of the Colonels, a military dictatorship. A failed counter-coup by King Constantine II on 13 December 1967 forced him into exile, and the Monarchy was dissolved in 1973, a decision that was reaffirmed by a democratic referendum in 1974.
The Greek-speaking Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, which ruled most of the Eastern Mediterranean region for over 1100 years, had been fatally weakened since the sacking of Constantinople by the Latin Crusaders in 1204.
The Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453 and advanced southwards into the Balkan peninsula capturing Athens in 1458. The Greeks held out in the Peloponnese until 1460, and the Venetians and Genoese clung to some of the islands, but by 1500 most of the plains and islands of Greece were in Ottoman hands; while in contrast, the mountains and highlands of Greece were largely untouched, and were a refuge for Greeks to flee foreign rule and engage in guerrilla warfare.
Preparation of the Greek War of Independence
In the context of an ardent desire for independence from Turkish rule, and with the explicit influence of similar secret societies elsewhere in Europe, three Greeks came together in 1814 in Odesa to decide the constitution for a secret organisation in Freemasonic fashion. Its purpose was to unite all Greeks in an armed organisation to overthrow Turkish rule. The three founders were Nikolaos Skoufas from the Arta province, Emmanuil Xanthos from Patmos, and Athanasios Tsakalov from Ioannina. Soon after they initiated a fourth member, Panagiotis Anagnostopoulos from Andritsaina.
Many revolts were planned across the Greek region and the first of them was launched on 6 March 1821, in the Danubian principalities. It was put down by the Ottomans, but the torch had been lit and by the end of the same month, the Peloponnese was in open revolt.
In 1821, the Greek-speaking populations of Peloponnesus revolted against the Ottoman Empire. Following a region-wide struggle that lasted several months, the Greek War of Independence led to the establishment of the first autonomous Greek state since the mid-15th century.
In January 1822, the First National Assembly of Epidaurus passed the Greek Declaration of Independence (part of the country's First Constitution), which affirmed the sovereignty of Greece. However, the new Greek state was politically unstable and lacked the resources to preserve its territoriality in the long term. Most importantly, the country lacked international recognition and had no robust alliances in the Western world.
Following the recapture of the Greek territories by the Ottoman Empire, the great powers of that time (the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, and the Kingdom of France) saw the Greek counter-offensive as an opportunity to weaken the Ottoman Empire further and in essence increase their influence in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Great Powers supported Greece to regain its independence and following a decisive battle in the Navarino Bay, a ceasefire was agreed in London (see Treaty of London (1827)). The autonomy of Greece was ultimately recognised by the London Protocol of 1828 and its full independence from the Ottoman Empire by the Protocol of London of 1830.
In 1831, the assassination of the first governor of Greece, Count Ioannis Kapodistrias, created political and social instability that endangered the country's relationship with its allies. To avoid escalation and in order to strengthen Greece's ties with the great powers, Greece agreed to become a kingdom in 1832 (see London Conference of 1832). Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was initially the first candidate for the Greek throne; however, he turned down the offer. Otto von Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria was chosen as its first king. Otto arrived at the provisional capital, Nafplion, in 1833 aboard a British warship.