The greeks, between the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, fought for independence from the Ottoman empire until 1828.During their struggle for independence, there was a variety of views coming from people throughout Europe. Many European countries supported this act, while others felt it was very important for the Greeks to stay under rule of the Ottoman empire. The point of views varied from liberal minded people who had negative feelings towards the turks, therefore pitied the Greeks for wanting to self-rule, a christian perspective, and lastly, others who would do anything in their power to keep the Greek's from gaining independence. Sneyd Davis wrote a poem titled "To His Friend and Neighbor Dr. Thomas …show more content…
He shares how they think they know everything just because they are enlightened, and don't go to church or obey the commandments of God. Alexander Mavrocordato, said, "For the last thirteen months, God has aided the work of the righteous....The Greeks aim at peace combined with independence and civilization. In a word, humanity, religion, interest all plead in their favor."(doc 10) In this document, it is almost as though he is thanking God for helping Greece gain independence. For many of the Greeks, religion had a large influence on their choice to declare independence from the Ottoman Empire. This document shares that God helped them achieve their goal of peace and independence. A third document concerning religious matters is (document 11), by A. Regnier, called Greece Sacrificed. It shows the Muslims shooting the poor Greeks. It is clearly a Christian point of view. Religion, overall, played a large role in the Greek movement to obtain freedom, peace, and independence. It was a motivator for the Greek people to restore their religion of …show more content…
Unlike the rest of Europe, the Turks strongly felt that Greece should remain a part of the Ottoman Empire. Mustapha III, states that "Most excellent general and governor of Thessaloniki: With the arrival of my imperial decree be it known that robbers continually incite the district of Larissa to rebellion...arrest and imprison these brigands and take back the stolen goods and animals...." (doc 2) This document expresses that he is clearly upset about all raids that have been occurring by the Greeks. Considering the fact that he is a Turkish sultan, this is incredibly biased. Another document that presents a Turkish point of view is written by Vahid Pasha, who said that, "...this revolution was none other than drunkards shamelessly roaming about and cheering" (doc 9) Here, it is basically said that the Greeks were run by drunkards. Clearly, this letter is expressing the negative feelings he has towards the Greeks. This is biased, for a very similar reason. It would be expected that any Turkish provincial governor would use scornful words to express the Greeks during this