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| Context | The first official international diplomatic act that recognizedGreece as a sovereign and independent state. |
|---|---|
| Signed | 3 February 1830 |
| Location | London,United Kingdom |
| Parties | |
TheLondon Protocol of 1830, also known as theProtocol of Independence (Greek:Πρωτόκολλο της Ανεξαρτησίας) in Greek historiography, was a treaty signed betweenFrance,Russia, andGreat Britain on 3 February 1830. It was the first official international diplomatic act that recognizedGreece as a fullysovereign andindependent state, separate from theOttoman Empire. The protocol afforded Greece the political, administrative, and commercial rights of an independent state, and defined the northern border of Greece from the mouth of theAchelous or Aspropotamos river to the mouth of theSpercheios river (Aspropotamos–Spercheios line). As a result of theGreek War of Independence, which had broken out in 1821, the autonomy of Greece in one form or another had been recognized alreadysince 1826, and aprovisional Greek government under GovernorIoannis Kapodistrias existed, but the conditions of the Greek autonomy, its political status, and the borders of the new Greek state, were being debated between the Great Powers, the Greeks, and the Ottoman government.
The London Protocol determined that the Greek state would be a monarchy, ruled by the "Ruler Sovereign of Greece". The signatories to the protocol initially selectedPrince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as monarch. After Leopold declined the offer of the Greek throne,[1] a meeting of the powers at theLondon conference of 1832 named the 17-year-oldPrince Otto of Bavaria as the King of Greece and designated the new state theKingdom of Greece.
TheGreek War of Independence began in 1821, and by January 1822 theprovisional government of Greece had established anassembly, and a formalconstitution.[2] By 1823, the British Foreign SecretaryGeorge Canning was taking a keen interest in the 'Greek issue'. He wished to see the international recognition of Greece, in order to impede Russia's expansion into theAegean Sea.[3][4]
The terms of the St. Petersburg protocol were repeated in theTreaty of London in July 1827. This treaty set out to cease hostilities in Greece, and proposed that Greece become a dependency of the Ottoman Empire, and pay a tribute to reflect that. Later amendments gave Turkey one month to accept. A secret "supplementary" article also provided for military coercion, on both sides, to force acceptance of the terms of the Treaty.[8] This eventually led to theBattle of Navarino (7/20 October 1827). The defeat of the Turkish fleet by the threeGreat Powers (Great Britain, France, Russia) gave hope to the Greeks, although the European powers still only spoke of autonomy, rather than independence.
From 1827 to 1828, there were major personnel changes in the British government.George Canning was promoted from Foreign Secretary to Prime Minister in April 1827; but died in August after just 119 days in post.Viscount Goderich followed as Prime Minister, but only until January 1828, when he was succeeded by theDuke of Wellington. Canning was succeeded as Foreign Secretary first bythe Viscount Dudley and Ward and then in June 1828 byLord Aberdeen.
TheNinth Russo-Turkish War ended with the defeat of Turkey in 1829, Russia forced Turkey to sign theTreaty of Adrianople (14 September 1829).[16][17] The Treaty of Adrianople gave the Ottoman Empire suzerain rule over theDanubian Principalities ofMoldova andWallachia, and permitted Russia to take control of the towns ofAnapa andPoti in theCaucasus, and placed Russian traders in Turkey under the jurisdiction of the Russian Ambassador.
Once Russia emerged victorious from the Russo-Turkish War, Russia sought to resolve Greece's wish to become a sovereign nation. Russia forced the Sultan to agree to grant autonomy to Greece and accept terms overEastern Mediterranean trade that were favourable to Russia. Britain, who was involved in helping the other Powers liberate Greece, had their own terms as well. The purpose of the British policy was to create an independent Greek state that would close routes to Russia in theAegean and reduce Russian influence in the newly formed Greek state. At the same time, however, they sought to limit the borders, especially inWestern Greece, so that there would be a safe distance between the new state and theIonian Islands, which were thenunder British occupation.[18] The Greek government asked the Powers that the northern border be changed to includeMount Ossa but the Powers responded that this was not possible.[19] Thus, a new round of negotiations were commenced, which resulted in the protocol of independence, or the London protocol of 1830, signed on (22 January / 3 February 1830).
The plenipotentiaries ofBritain,France andRussia (Lord Aberdeen,Montmorency-Laval,Lieven) participated in the London negotiations and signed the protocol of independence, while representatives of the Greeks and Turks were absent. All three countries aimed to increase their influence in the newly formed state while limiting the influence of their opponents. Kapodistrias was excluded from the negotiations due to British suspicions that he was inciting a revolution in the Ionian Islands.[20] In response, he warned that he would not accept unfavorable terms forGreece and insisted on his country's right to express itself at the Conference.[21] The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire had agreed to sign everything that would be decided at the London conference, in order to end the war.[22][23]
The11 articles of the protocol,[24][25] recognised an independent Greek state with a border along on theAspropotamos–Spercheios line. Initially,Euboea theCyclades and theSporades were adjudged as part of Greece, whileCrete andSamos were not. In a second protocol on the same dayLeopold was elected as the "Ruler Sovereign of Greece”[26] and a loan was granted for the maintenance of the army that he would bring with him.[27]The Great Powers demanded that Greece respect the life and property of Muslims in Greek territory and withdraw Greek troops from the areas outside its borders. With the protocol of 3 February, the war ended, and the Greek state was formally recognized internationally. The recognition of Greece by the three powers and Turkey is a critical turning point in Modern Greek history. However, these decisions were not final in terms of either the borders, or the sovereign. These aspects were settled later, with the international acts of 1832.
On 27 March / 8 April 1830, ambassadors from Russia, Britain and France notified Greece and the Ottoman Empire of the protocol.[19] TheSultan accepted the independence of Greece.Ioannis Kapodistrias, who had once been theForeign Minister of Russia and was now the first governor of Greece[28] agreed with the condition that Turks evacuateAttica and the island ofEuboea.[29] He also requested support to help with the expected influx of Greek refugees from outside the borders. He also informedLeopold, who was made king of Greece, about his claims,[30] and asked Leopold to embraceEastern Orthodoxy, grant political rights to theGreeks, and work to expand the borders in order to includeAcarnania,Crete,Samos, andPsara.[31] WhenLeopold's request for funds to put the Greek finances onto a stable footing was refused by theBritish government, and seeing the scale of the challenge ahead, he resigned.[32] Leopold argued that he did not want to impose the unfavourable decisions of foreigners on the Greek people;[30][33] but he also resigned for personal reasons.[30]
Inside Greece, opposition politicians were relatively satisfied with the terms of the protocol, but accused Kapodistrias of failing to get a border solution that suited Greece, rather than Britain and Russia.[34] As governor, Kapodistrias attempted to establish central governance over Greece. He also organised tax authorities, sorted out the judiciary, and introduced a quarantine system to deal with typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery. However, his government became increasingly unpopular.[28]
Leopold’s resignation, and Kapodistrias’ postponement policy led to a new conference in July 1831, with a proposal to extend the border to theAmbracian Gulf -Pagasetic Gulf line. Turkey was forced to accept these terms and a new protocol was finally signed on 14/26 September 1831. However just days later on 27 September / 9 October 1831 Kapodistrias was assassinated.[35] He was killed byKonstantis andGeorgios Mavromichalis after Kapodistrias had ordered the imprisonment of senatorPetrobey Mavromichalis.
After Kapodistrias' assassination,[36] Russia, Britain and France met in theLondon conference, and confirmed in theTreaty of Constantinople that Prince Otto of Bavaria would be made King of Greece.[37][28] This treaty finally provided for the independence of Greece, and the enlarged Pagasetic Gulf – Ambracian Gulf border.[38] Prince Otto, newly crowned, arrived with a Regency Council in Greece in 1833.[28]