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a signatory. There was, however, an important addition, as the three contributing Powers agreed that they would undertake all the necessary measures for the application of the provisions of the Treaty of London in the event that the warring Greeks and Ottomans refused to conform to them.13 Under the influence of the hopeless position in which they had found themselves ow- ing to the success of Ibrahim’s campaign, the Greeks accepted the truce that the three Powers had suggested. For the precisely opposite reasons, the Ottoman government not only rejected it categorically but also decided to send reinforcements to Ibrahim. This action very rapidly proved disastrous for the Sublime Porte, as it lit the spark that led to the total disaster of the Turco-Egyptian fleet in the gulf of Navarino (8/20 October 1827) by the naval forces of Great
Émile Rouargue
The naval battle of Navarino
(part), ca. 1830,
engraving
Hellenic Parliament Art Collection [cat. no ΙΙ.5.1]
13. Foreign Office, British and foreign state papers, 1826-1827, vol. 14, pp. 632-639; Skoufos, Collection of Treaties, vol. 1, p. 68-75; Hertslet, The map of Europe,
vol. 1, document no. 136; Recueil des Traités, Actes et Pièces concernans [sic] la fondation de la royauté en Grece, et le tracé
de ses limites, Royal Printing Office, Nafplion 1833; Kostas Daphnis (ed.), Archives of Ioannis Capodistrias, vol. 7, Corfiot Studies Society, Corfu 1986, pp. 255-257; Crawley, The question of Greek independence, pp. 63-78; Christou, The borders of the Greek state,
pp. 107-111.
14. [Foreign Office], Papers relative to the affairs of Greece. 1826-1832, Harrison, London 1835,
pp. 14-17; Foreign Office, British and foreign state papers, 1826-1827, vol. 14, pp. 1048-1052; Chris M. Woodhouse, The battle
of Navarino, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1965.
15. Alexandros Svolos, The Greek constitutions, 1822-1952. The constitutional history of Greece, Stochastis, Athens 31972,
pp. 26-27, 93-110; Pavlos B. Petridis, Political and constitutional institutions in modern Greece, 1821-1843, University Studio Press, Thessaloniki 1990,
pp. 40-49, 106-120; Nikos K. Alivizatos, The Constitution and its enemies in modern Greek history, Polis, Athens 22011, pp. 52-55.
Britain, France and Russia that had in the meantime sailed to the region.
THE FOREIGN POLICY OF IOANNIS CAPODISTRIAS
The news of the naval battle of Navarino was met with enthusiasm by the Greeks. However, the joyous message was not sufficient to change reality of the internal disorganization of the Rev- olution. Exhausted by their internal rivalries, civil wars and the campaign of Ibrahim in the Pelo- ponnese, which nearly led to the complete suppression of their liberation struggle, the Greeks continued to be divided. However, under pressure from the successes of Ibrahim, the members of the Third National Assembly, which was held in the spring of 1827 in Troezen, left – even temporarily – aside their differences. The obstacles encountered by the Revolution obliged the representatives of the Greek nation to seek a drastic solution to the problem of leadership. Thus,
they decided to elect Ioannis Capodistrias as the Governor of Greece for a seven-year term.
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Capodistrias accepted this extremely difficult mission, being fully aware of the colossal difficul- ties he would encounter. He knew that the survival of the Greek state was directly associated with the attitude of the Great Powers towards it. It is definitely not a coincidence that before ar- riving in Greece, Capodistrias made a long journey to the European capitals in order to ensure the
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The Greek Revolution and European diplomacy 247