Greece is the Word....

 

Another gem from the pen of David Howarth of Waterloo: A Near Run Thing fame 9and some other great titles as well!)

 

As part of my research into the Western Balkans pre and post Greek independence I was reminded of the above book in my collection by David Howarth. One of his other works has the dubious accolade of being one of my favourite books – A Near Run Thing, his account of the Battle of Waterloo constructed from the reminiscences of various participants. I picked The Greek Adventure up from a boot sale a couple of years ago and there it has sat on the shelf waiting for me to read it. 

Much like the author’s work on Waterloo this is by no means the most detailed account of the Greek War of Independence but what it lacks in detail it makes up for in respect of being a rattling good read. As a primer attempting to make sense of what was happening it would be hard to beat and it has certainly given me much to think about for my Balkan project.

 

The War of Independence was disorganised, chaotic, anarchic even as initially there was little thought by the local populace beyond removing the Turks and resuming the almost clannish/tribal way of life that had persisted for centuries. The idea of a Greek nation was firmly in the hands of exiles and westernised merchants living abroad and hoping to bring the benefits of the modern post American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary world. These groups (including the inevitable secret society committed to freeing Greece from the Turks found a willing audience in the aspiration of the Philhellenes of a united Greece along the classical model - despite the fact that classical Greece was always a collection of states rather than a unified entity.

 

In many ways Greece was rather like Scotland with its clans or even the North West Frontier with its tribes. The biggest difference though is the naval dimension as both the maritime and island Greeks were (and still are) very good sailors, certainly better than the Turks.

 

Reading Howarth's book has given me much food for thought about what I shall be gaming and how I will be doing it. Certainly the earlier period (by that I mean the period of the War of Independence) has much to commend it in an anarchic sort of way rather than the later 1875 to 1885 when things were a little more settled.

 

Much to ponder methinks!