Page 263 - Beholding Liberty!

circumstances imposed the salus patriae suprema lex, while his opponents accused him for authoritarianism. Thanks to the strong pressures that I. Kapodistrias exerted through his international acquaintances,
the time came for sealing the fortunate outcome of the Greek cause, by the Protocol of London of 1830 (22 January/3 February). This Protocol, known also as «Protocol of Independence», constitutes the founding act of the independent neo-Greek state. Into its territory were included the areas extending between the rivers Acheloos to the west and Spercheios to the east, avoiding deliberately any proximity to the under English dominance Seven Islands. Apart from the Peloponnese and the Cyclades, ceded
to the new state were the Sporades and Euboea. Finally, the three Great Powers agreed upon the proclamation of Leopold Saxe-Coburg as ruler of the newly-founded state. However, as much the choice of
the monarch, as the borderline demarcation were meant to be revised.
This important diplomatic success was followed by the tragic incident of Ioannis Kapodistrias’ assassination, on
27 September 1831 in Nafplio. The conflict with established interests did not allow Kapodistrias to complete his work.
In the next scene of the Frieze, history continues in search of a ruler: Ludwig introduces Otto to the Greek delegates
in Munich, A. Miaoulis, K. Botsaris and
D. Plapoutas. On 27 July 1832, by a Decree
of the Second subsequently Fourth National Assembly of the Greeks, the plenipotentiaries of the Greek nation confirm the election
of the second-born royal child of Bavaria
as king of Greece. There follows the triumphal entry of the mounted young king in Nafplio
(6 February 1833).
The nation of the Greeks welcomes Otto
as guarantor of its freedoms. Greece was
the first independent national state in East Mediterranean, which was created by seceding from the Ottoman Empire, offering to the remaining people of the Balkans a prototype for their own national course.
At this point the narrative of the Frieze
in the Hall of the Trophies comes
to an end. The life of the Modern Greek
state was just beginning.
IΙ.6
The Liberation
«Greece shall form an independent State» Article 1 of the Protocol of London (3 February 1830)
Η ΑΦΥΠΝΙΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Από την αρχαιολατρία στον Φιλελληνισμό 263