The reception of the philhellenic movement on the occasion of the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 by the press-A first approach

The fellowship from the Center for Hellenic Studies at Harvard University offered me an exceptional opportunity to explore a field that, for various reasons, remains largely unknown. This is the philhellenic movement that developed, not as a result of the Greek revolution of 1821, but of the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. The emergence of a new philhellenism (in the sense of a reappearance rather than a different form), which began to emerge with the revolts in Crete, is particularly significant if we take into account that the study of philhellenism has historically focused on the Greek Revolution. Clearly the momentum of the movement during the national liberation struggle was unmatched, but before and during the Greco-Turkish War, the mobilization of foreign volunteers and Greek expatriates on multiple levels deserves further study. Primary research in the daily press of the time, given its growing influence during the period, sheds light on various aspects of the movement. Despite the difficulties in finding Greek and American newspapers, access to digitized documents through Harvard University and the Library of the Hellenic Parliament has been invaluable in compiling a catalog of articles related to the philhellenic movement of the period.

The aim of my research is to answer questions concerning: the scope of the philhellenic movement, the forms it took, the impact it had on the development of the war, and its reception by Greek society and by the societies of the countries in which it developed. To explore those questions, I developed a corpus of Greek and American newspapers, which will be enhanced. Specifically, the scope of research includes articles from the newspapers: Εμπρός (Embros), Ακρόπολις (Akropolis), Το Άστυ (To Asty), as well as the American newspapers the New York Times, New York Journal, and New York World.

The newspapers selected are among the most important of a period in which the press flourished and played a decisive role in shaping developments both at home and abroad. [1] If we dwell a little more on the question of the evolution of the press in the mid-to-late 19th century, we can briefly observe the following: In the populous European commercial cities of the 19th century, the formation of the urban public sphere and civil society provided a foundation for the development of the press, which, in a modern spirit, made use of the advancements in transport (rail), communication (electric telegraph), and printing (rotary press) to generate a new perception of current affairs. New journalistic innovations (the use of advertisements, cartoons, reporting), the speed of circulation, the transformation of the European and American press into large commercial enterprises, and the impact of news on the relationship between citizens and politics would define the concept of professional journalism and increase its cultural authority.

As regards the Greek press after the creation of the independent Greek state, we can observe that, in Othonian Greece, the state regulations on the criminalization of free expression became more and more stringent. They were enshrined in the constitution in 1843, without dampening the militancy of the newspapers, only to be lifted several years later, during the reign of George I, with the Constitution of 1864. The Greek press then began a “golden” era, almost in parallel to the golden era of the French press, from which it was most influenced. Professional journalism would begin in Greece with the first daily newspaper Η Εφημερίς (Efimeris) in 1873, and take hold with the modern newspaper Akropolis in 1883. By outlining the landscape of the daily press, it is easy to confirm the assumption that the war of 1897, despite its short duration, would have made the front page of most, if not all, newspapers of the time, at least in Greece.

Shortly before the outbreak of the war (that is, the first battles in Thessaly on April 6/April 18 [new calendar]), the Greek press systematically followed all developments at the diplomatic and military levels. Later, they expanded to include every aspect of the war. Philhellenism, which, as mentioned above, was once again making a strong appearance, was now a daily headline, as evidenced by the newspapers of the period. The newspaper Embros, although founded only in 1896, was one of the most important of the time. In fact, the outbreak of the war in 1897 contributed not only to the growth of Embros but also made its founder, Dimitrios Kalapothakis, an important factor in the political life of the country, as he had a decisive influence on public opinion. As can be seen from its pages from April 1 to May 10, the newspaper covered the events of philhellenic activity with short relevant articles (some of which were based on foreign telegrams), with particular emphasis on the following three events: 1) the arrival of English nurses; 2) the arrival and reception of Garibaldi and his soldiers; [2] and 3) the philhellenic publications of the foreign press.

Undoubtedly a landmark in the history of the Greek press, the Acropolis newspaper was first published in 1883. It represented progressive ideas and played a decisive role in the language issue. From January 1, 1897, the newspaper had a column on its front page with the headline: “Kritika”. From March 16, 1897, the paper became more interested in the philhellenic activities taking place not only in European countries but also in America. The headlines of the articles covering the help of the philhellenes show clear similarities with those of the newspaper Embros, demonstrating the importance of events such as the arrivals of Garibaldi, the English nurses, General Berté, and the depiction of philhellenic sentiments in European and American newspapers. There is more systematic coverage of the arrival and subsequent reception of volunteers from many countries, which demonstrates the practical support not only of Greek residents of other countries but also of nationals of foreign countries. The titles are characteristic: “The reception of the Italian volunteers in Lefkada”; “4 Swedish officers as volunteers”; “English volunteers in Corfu”; “The arrival of the Cypriot volunteers”; “30 volunteers, English, French, Italians”; “Arrival of foreign volunteers.” Of course, in this newspaper too, Garibaldi’s arrival seems to be the main news item, with headlines such as: “Garibaldi is coming”; “Garibaldi’s reception programme”; “Arrival of Garibaldi”; “Departure of the Garibaldians”; “The Garibaldians from Arta to Stylida.” The number of articles, however, is clearly smaller than in Embros. It is worth highlighting the article entitled “Philhellenism in Japan,” published on April 1, 1897, first, because there is no previous corresponding reference in the newspaper Embros and, second, because it is a letter from a Japanese newspaper to the Minister of Foreign Affairs that expresses the philhellenic attitude of its editors, reinforcing the view of the dynamics of the press on a global scale.

The global manifestations of philhellenic sentiment is, however, exhibited most thoroughly and systematically in To Asty. The newspaper was founded in 1885 and featured columns by the most important scholars and journalists of their time. Already in March 1897, many headlines appeared on the subject of philhellenism displayed in many countries around the world. As can be expected, Garibaldi’s arrival is of particular journalistic interest. However, the newspaper also covered events concerning the support of the philhellenes that were not reported in Embros or Akropolis. Thus, we learn in an article on March 3 that Pope Leo XIII implicitly supports the struggle of the Cretan people but does not raise his voice because he is primarily interested in the preservation of peace in the world. We also learn that the famous Irish woman, Maud Gonnes, sent a telegram to King George on behalf of the Paris Irish Committee, according to which the Irish patriots residing in France transmit to the King of Greece their sympathies and warm hopes in favor of the sacred cause of the independence of the Cretan people. Finally, of particular value is the systematic presentation of the American philhellenes and events in support of Greeks in America. We learn, thus, about the financial assistance of a group of American clergymen, as well as about the establishment of committees for the purpose of holding fundraisers in support of the Cretan cause.

Based on what is reported in the newspaper To Asty (and in some scattered articles in the other two newspapers), philhellenism in America may not have developed as much as in European countries, but it concerned a considerable part of American society and certainly the Greeks who lived there. [4] Through the American and Greek press we are regularly informed about the departure of Greek volunteers from America to their homeland. Indicative is the headline from a front-page sketch of April 3 in the New York World: “Two hundred Greeks meet and exchange patriotic greetings before sailing for their native land.” Also, an article on April 21 entitled: “large bodies to return from Chicago and the southwest to take part in the war.” The New York Times reports that “οne hundred Greeks will leave Chicago tomorrow for New York and will sail Saturday for their native land to fight the Turk.” [5] On April 22, the same newspaper published a second article on the gathering and decision to send Greeks home. “Greeks leaving this country,” is the title of the article, which states that “a party of 25 Greeks under command of Lieut Epaminondas Nachopoolis will sail from this port next Tuesday to fight for their country.” But besides Greeks, American volunteers rushed to join the Greeks. We learn from the newspaper Embros in an article on April 27 that the Paris newspapers reported 215 American volunteers arriving in Paris with the intention of going to Greece to fight the Turks.

American assistance was not limited, as the press publications show, to the sending of volunteer warriors and nurses (it should be noted that there are references, mainly in New York Times, to the departure of nurses to Crete: see, for example, the article “Nurses to start for Crete”), but it also took on significant dimensions through the direct and indirect support of the press itself. The monitoring of the political situation and of humanitarian and military aid (not only from America but also from Europe) is thus systematic. Indicative are the reports on Garibaldi, namely, his arrival in Greece and the enthusiastic reception by the Greeks. In fact, at a time when the power of newspapers was increasing dramatically and innovations were being introduced one after the other, American newspapers were sending correspondents to Greece, especially to the Thessalian front, to cover the fighting. [6] The articles with which European and American journalists fed the press were overwhelmingly of a philhellenic nature.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Konstantinos Velentzas, founder of the Society for Hellenism and Philhellenism, for the permission to publish the above photographs.