The Greek War of Independence in a global era

This is the third in a series of three lectures being given on 'The Making and Breaking of States'.

The War of Greek Independence was a turning point in modern history as it marked the emergence of the first nation-state in Europe and was of course hailed by the champions of liberty and by philhellenes all over the world. This lecture asks how this event was interpreted by three other sets of contemporaries. First, new research casts a fresh light on the Ottoman response to the Greek rebellion, a response characterised both by violence – as in the massacres on Chios – and by a perhaps surprising equanimity. Second, how it was interpreted by the members of the Concert of Europe and what implications it seemed to carry for this new effort at managing international relations. And thirdly, how it was interpreted more widely, by commentators and statesmen, at a time when affairs in Europe reverberated in Asia and the Americas, and helped to produce a new consciousness of the global character of international politics.

Speaker:
Professor Mark Mazower
Ira D Wallach Professor of History, Columbia University

About the Speaker:
Mark Mazower is Ira D Wallach Professor of History at Columbia University and Director of the Heyman Center for the Humanities. He studied classics, philosophy and modern history at Oxford University and is the author of numerous books on modern Greek, European and international history. His most recent book, Governing the World: the History of an Idea will be published by Penguin in the US and the UK in September.