19th century Greek insurrectionary movements in Macedonia

1821-1822

The year 1821 saw the outbreak of the Greek revolution against the Ottomans that led to the founding of an independent modern Greece. Along with the other regions inhabited by Greeks, the Macedonians took part of what has been known as the “Greek War of Independence”. Risings broke out in Mount Athos and Halkidiki, Mount Vermio, Naoussa and districts of central Macedonia, the Mount Olympus district and the Pieria mountains. Nevertheless, the risings were not properly prepared and ended in defeat. Naoussa and the other towns were captured by the Ottoman troops and its heroic defenders were put to the sword. Rebels who escaped went to southern Greece to continue to fight. When the Hellenic state came into being 91830), Macedonia, as well as other Ottoman Greek regions like Thessaly, Epirus, Grete the Aegean islands etc were left outside i.gts. narrow borders. Nevertheless the Macedonians, along with the Cretans, the Thessalians and the Epirotes continued their efforts to liberate their own native homelands.

1854-1856

During the Crimean War new Greek risings broke out in the Greek provinces of Turkey. In Macedonia, such uprising occurred on three fronts: Western Macedonia, Halkidiki, and Mount Olympos. They had only limited success. The European Powers were not much interested in the revolts, as their own interests were bound up with maintaining the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire.

1878

The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 caused the Greek Macedonians to revolt once more. The upraising broke out a few days before the Ottomans came to terms with the Russians at San Stefano, a suburb of Constantinople. Here Russia tried to create a “Greater Bulgaria” that would swallow up almost the whole of Macedonia except for Thessaloniki and Halkidiki. Meanwhile the Greek revolt was spreading to Pieria, to Kozani, and as far afield as Monastir (present Bitola), in protest against the san Stefano agreements. A few months later, at the Congress of Berlin, the Great Powers decided to create two autonomous Principalities –Bulgaria and ‘Eastern Rumelia’ –respectively north and south of the Balkan mountain range, but Macedonia remained in the fold of the Ottoman Empire. A few years later Bulgaria acted upon its aspirations in Macedonia through the organized action of armed bands (the ‘komitadjis’), which mainly targeted the Greek communities therein.

1896-1897

In the summer of 1896 more Greek uprisings broke out in Macedonia. These were repeated in the spring of 1897, at virtually the same time as the Greco-Turkish war. The Greek defeat in that war, brought the Greek revolts in Macedonia to an end.