3 September 1843 Revolution
3 September 1843 Revolution | |||||||
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Otto and Amalia at the windows of the Old Royal Palace. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Hellenic Army France United Kingdom |
Greek Monarchy Bavarian Officials Supported by: Bavaria Russia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Spyros Milios |
King Otto |
The 3 September 1843 Revolution (
Background
During the
Greek politicians constantly demanded an end to this state of affairs. They wished for the Bavarians, above all the much-despised Major Hess, to be sent back to their country and for a constitution to be granted. However, they did not question the monarchy itself or the power of the king. Indeed, they did not wish to impose a constitution, but demanded that the king grant them one. These demands grew ever stronger as time passed, and cut across the political spectrum: all political parties, the French, the English, and the Russian, expressed them.
The conspiracy
The king's repeated refusals to yield to these demands led to a radicalisation. Therefore, the politicians resorted to
The principal conspirators were Yannis Makriyannis, Andreas Metaxas, Andreas Londos, Constantine Zografos , Michael Soutzos and Rigas Palamidis . They had managed to convince certain officers to join their side, chief among these being Colonel Dimitrios Kallergis (Commander of the Athens cavalry), Colonel Nikolaos Skarvelis[1][2] (Commander of the Athens infantry) and Colonel Spyromilios (Commander of the Military Academy). Thus, the conspirators were certain to have army support.
Their idea was to act quickly so as to present the Palace with a fait accompli. A first date was chosen: 25 March 1844, anniversary of the uprising against the Ottomans. The constitution would then appear as the logical and necessary consequence of independence. However, the secret was not well kept. Yannis Makriyannis, for example, spent his time trying to recruit new conspirators and in the process exposed the conspiracy. It was decided to pass more quickly to action, at the beginning of September 1843.
The revolution
On the night of 2 September 1843, it was learned that the names of the conspirators were known to the police. Moreover, incidents took place around Makriyannis' home. Therefore, Kallergis acted on his own initiative. He went looking for his men in their barracks and headed toward the Old Royal Palace. At the same time, he ordered that the gates of Medrese Prison be opened.
Captain Schinas, who commanded the Athens artillery, received an order to suppress the nascent insurrection, but preferred to join the movement. The soldiers arrived at the Old Royal Palace and shouted "Long live the Constitution!" beneath the king's windows.
Otto could not but yield to the demands and granted the
The coup was bloodless. France and the United Kingdom accepted these changes without difficulty. For the French of the July Monarchy era, 3 September 1843 could only bring to mind their own Revolution of 1830. As for the British, their Glorious Revolution of 1688 was a liberal model par excellence in the 19th century. Only Russia condemned the movement, due to its autocratic, authoritarian, and consequently anti-liberal nature. The assembly designated a constitutional commission and a constitution was proclaimed in March 1844.
Since then, the square in front of the Old Royal Palace has been renamed Constitution Square, or Syntagma Square in Greek.
See also
- 23 October 1862 Revolution
References
- ^ Dakin, Douglas (1972). The Unification of Greece, 1770–1923. pp. 76, 340.
- ISBN 978-0-19-105351-1.
Bibliography
- Brunet de Presle and A. Blanchet, La Grèce depuis la conquête romaine jusqu'à nos jours., Firmin Didot, Paris, 1860.