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History of the war of independence in Greece
History of the war of independence in Greece Author:Thomas Keightley Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. Designs of Russia on Greece—Papas-ogloo proceeds to the Morea—Meets little success in Mani—Benakhi—Arrival of a Russian fleet in the Mediterranean... more »—Russians land in the Morea—Siege of Coron, and Capture of Mistra—Capture of Navarino, and Siege of Modon— Arrival of the Albanians in the Morea— Greeks and Russians defeated at Tripolitza—Russians driven out of the Morea—Excesses of the Albanians— They are destroyed by Hassan Pasha—Mani reduced—Adventures ofAndrootzos—Account of Rhigas. Such as we have described it in the foregoing chapter, was the state of Greece under the Turkish yoke, about the middle of the eighteenth century. Independence had fixed her seat in the various mountain-ranges, the people of the plains were galled by oppression, but advancing in knowledge, the Ottoman empire was becoming every day more feeble, and all men of sagacity were aware that it was verging to its fall. The most formidable foe of the Ottoman power is, beyond question, Russia, before whose might it must, sooner or later, succumb; and the idea of the Russian cabinet seeking to take advantage of the oppressed condition of the Greeks, and their community of religious faith, is so obvious a one, that the conception of it is very generally, though without perhaps much reason, ascribed to Peter the Great. This monarch, however, took no steps to excite disaffection among the Greek subjects of the Porte; but in the reigu of the Empress Elizabeth, a20 DESIGNS OF RUSSIA. Russian emissary appeared among the mountains of Taygetum, to ascertain the strength and the sentiments of the Maniotes who inhabit them, and to hold out a prospect of the aid of Russia when a favourable opportunity should present itself. When Catherine II., great in talent and great in crime, had seated herself on...« less