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Part 19: The Governor of Greece


The Assembly Hall was in an uproar. As with the two prior Assemblies, the Third National Assembly had been called to remedy the many maladies plaguing Greece. Yet as was the case in the previous two attempts, this one quickly degenerated into a shouting match between the 178 delegates in attendance. Voting over the new Executive had gone nowhere, the plans on the creation of a new office ranking above the Executive had also stalled, and while there was some movement on the revisions to the constitution many of the finer details had met with staunch opposition. Just as Alexandros Mavrokordatos took to the floor to deliver the latest update on the constitution’s amendments, a messenger arrived from Missolonghi. The Assembly had received a plethora of dispatches from Missolonghi over the past month, most requesting aid and as a result most of the delegates paid the man little interest as he approached the front of the crowd. Believing this one to be no different Mavrokordatos took the parchment from the messenger and began to read it aloud. Surprisingly, there were only three words written upon the paper and the moment he read them, the color faded from his face. “Missolonghi has fallen.”

The Assembly Hall immediately fell silent, a silence that would last for minutes, maybe even hours. Men fell to their knees and wept quietly, others simply walked away in a daze not to be seen again for hours, and according to one account of the event the Missolongiot Spiridhon Trikoupis even attempted to drown himself in the Argolic only to be saved by some onlookers. Their despondence was shared by all the people of Greece for the sacred city had fallen, and they had done little to save it. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity some men roused from their stupor only to replace it with fear.

Panic slowly began to grip the assembly hall, as members grew fearful as to where the next hammer strike might fall now that their shield had been broken. Nafpaktos seemed likely as it was only some twenty miles away to the East of Missolonghi. Salona was itself already under siege by the Ottomans and it would surely fall soon as well leaving Athens exposed to attacks from the north. Tripolitsa was clearly the next target for Ibrahim Pasha now that he was free to return to the Morea, he could even strike at Nafplion once again and capture the whole government of Greece if he chose to. No longer wanting to play their petty political games, many men began running for the doors as most simply sought to save themselves and their kin before it was too late, but as they did they found the door blocked by a single man. In the doorway was the Souliot Markos Botsaris who had made the 240-mile journey to Nafplion from Missolonghi in the span of 6 days.

Though he was not an eloquent speaker, and the journey had surely fatigued him, Botsaris gave an impassioned speech calling on those assembled to return to their work, to put aside their petty quarrels, and to continue working for the good of all Greece. For if they did not then they would dishonor those who had fallen to protect and they would surely see the failures of Missolonghi repeat themselves across the rest of Greece. Whether they were emboldened by the Souliot’s words or they simply wished to preserve their own pride, most delegates quietly returned to their seats and set about finishing their work for the Assembly.

After a quick prayer for those lost in the defense of their homeland, the delegates returned to the task at hand, the amending of the Constitution and the replacement of the 5-member Executive with a single officer, the Governor of Greece. Despite the stiff opposition only hours before the measures all passed with relatively little debate in the following days. The New Constitution of Greece, or the Nafplion Constitution dissolved the old Executive branch, with its powers and responsibilities transferred to the new office of the Governor of Greece. The Governor would serve a seven-year term and he could not legally be removed from office once appointed. He had authority over all matters related to the war effort, but his ability to finance and supply the military was dependent upon the Senate’s dispensing of funds. The Governor had the power of a suspending veto, but not an absolute veto, and he could not dissolve the Senate under any circumstances. The Governor was empowered to appoint ministers and deputies, but only with the consent of the Senate. The Governor’s Ministers were themselves made inviolable and entrusted with all powers necessary to the fulfillment of their respective duties.

The Senate also experienced some minor changes to stabilize the branch. Elections were now scheduled to be held for only a third of the 70 Senators every year, as opposed to the previous model where every senator needed to seek reelection every year. Additionally, the Senate would appoint a Government Commission to conduct the war, run the country, and negotiate with foreign powers until the Governor took office. Most importantly, the Constitution of Nafplion established the premise of Popular Sovereignty in Greece as the power of government was derived primarily from the people of Greece themselves.

The only question remaining was who to name as Governor. They needed a strong leader to fill the position, a man that could effectively administer Greece and provide it with a credible face to the international community, a man that was well respected in the courts of Europe and who would unite the disparate Greeks behind him. There was only one choice, and the vote to elect him was unanimous. On the 10th of May 1826, the Third National Assembly elected Ioannis Kapodistrias as Governor of Greece.[1]

Count Ioannis Kapodistrias was a renowned figure throughout Europe for his diplomatic prowess. The man was a nobleman in every sense of the word, he carried himself with grace and he lived a magnificent lifestyle at the Imperial Court in St. Petersburg, Russia. Yet despite his grandiosity, he was a thoroughly philanthropic man who cared very much for the plight of the common man. Kapodistrias was born on the island of Corfu during the last days of the Venetian Republic, where he lived free of the rule of the Ottomans. Kapodistrias as the son of a powerful Corfiot nobleman had the means to choose his future profession and so the young Kapodistrias elected to study medicine at the University of Padua so that he could best serve his fellow man as a physician.[2] Upon the completion of his studies in 1797, Ioannis returned to Corfu where he soon witnessed the collapse of Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands and the arrival of the French Revolution. Upon their ouster by the Ottomans and Russians in 1799, the Russians appointed Kapodistrias as manager of the Military hospital on Corfu and then later appointed him General Secretary of the Septinsular Republic in 1802.


When France returned to the Ionian islands in 1807 with the Treaty of Tilsit, Kapodistrias remained loyal to the Russians and chose to travel to the Court of Tsar Alexander I where he would remain for the next fifteen years of his life. During his time in Russia, he quickly rose through the ranks earning himself the prestigious office of Foreign Minister in 1816.
Even with his powerful standing in Russia, the Count remained loyal only to Greece and beseeched the Tsar to assist their Orthodox brothers during their time of struggle. Despite his strong veneration for the Tsar, the tentative aid offered by Alexander to the Greeks was not enough for Kapodistrias and ultimately, he resigned as Foreign Minister in 1822 when it became clear he could do no more in St. Petersburg.

Though he technically remained a subject of the Tsar, for the next four years Ioannis Kapodistrias lived in Geneva, Switzerland where he used his fame, wealth, and reputation to garner support for the Greek cause from the shadows. While he retained a public persona of a withdrawn retired figure, it was in fact a ploy meant to gain greater concessions from the Greek government. So, it was when word reached him in the Fall of 1826, that he had been elected Governor of Greece, the Count cast off his shroud of reluctance and redoubled his efforts to aid the Greeks.

Before leaving for Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias, planned a grand tour of any state in Europe that would have him, to generate support and good will for the Greeks and to ascertain their support for his office. Traveling first to Paris, Kapodistrias, met with Joseph de Villele and the Baron de Damas from whom he received their tentative support for his Governorship of Greece. From June to August, he was in St. Petersburg, where he finally received a release from his service to the Russian Empire with the full blessing of Tsar Nicolas I. From Russia, Ioannis Kapodistrias traveled to Berlin and then onto London where he met with George Canning the British Foreign Secretary and then traveled once again to Paris. While in London, Kapodistrias was hosted by Lord Byron who introduced him to the leading Philhellenes of Britain and together they raised a sum surmounting £24,000 for the Corfiot and the Greeks. His last stop before departing for Greece was Switzerland where he bid farewell to his friends and associates of the past four years, sold his manor and all his worldly possessions before heading to the port of Marseille. Unfortunately, his grand tour had been rather unsuccessful in ginning up any tangible support for Greece, there would be no soldiers, no subsidies, no loans, no firm commitments, not yet anyway. His business settled, Kapodistrias departed from Marseille for Greece on the 1st of January 1827.

Arriving on the 27th of January after some delays due to the weather and roundabout pathing to avoid the patrols of the Ottoman Navy, Ioannis Kapodistrias was met with wild applause and jubilation from the large crowd that had gathered to meet him as he landed at Nafplion. The Greece he witnessed was very troubled indeed; the state was on the verge of bankruptcy, the armies had been pushed to their breaking points, and the Government remained divided despite the best efforts of some men to bring about order and unity to it. But it was the people of Greece who had truly suffered, many had been forced from their homes and left to fend for themselves. Refugees from the North living on the streets were a common sight in Nafplion and all the cities of Greece for that matter and the sight of it deeply saddened the Count. Ioannis Kapodistrias immediately put himself to work to save his country in any way that he could. He devoted himself fully to aiding his people, working from the crack of dawn until the dead of night every day from his first day in Greece until his last.

Accepting the office of Governor of Greece, Kapodistrias set about issuing reforms to enhance the administration of the state, reforms that went well beyond his authority under the law. Still the Senate allowed him some leeway regarding his power owing to his talents and their own personal divisions. Kapodistrias reorganized the military, curtailing the autonomy of the individual commanders and klephts effectively subjugating them to the state. He established a Secretariat of the Army, and a Secretariat of the Navy. He established a military academy for young men in Nafplion. He organized a corps of engineers and incorporated French and Russian structures and tactics into the nascent Greek Military.

Kapodistrias spearheaded the creation of a new Greek currency, the Phoenix, with the loan of 1,500,000 Russian Rubles from the Russian Tsar, freeing the Greeks from the collapsing Ottoman Piastre. He instated quarantines across Greece in an effort to reel in the various pandemics that were ravaging the countryside. Kapodistrias constructed dozens of schools, hospitals, and orphanages across Greece. He promoted the entrance of women into the workforce, albeit mostly charitable work, establishing foundations and universities for Greek women. He established a courier system for private mail and military dispatches. He also introduced potatoes to Greece, and while they were unpopular at first, Kapodistrias goaded the Greeks into eating and growing them by posting guards outside the warehouse where they were stored. Peeking the curiosity of the local Moreots, the potatoes were quickly stolen and effectively incorporated into the Greek diet. These efforts were relatively popular amongst the Greeks, but his attempts to reform the State were not.


Kapodistrias found himself increasingly isolated amongst the Greek leadership, his only allies being a few of the Philhellenes, the peasantry, the diplomat Spiridhon Trikoupis, and the Generals Yannis Makriyannis and Demetrios Ypsilantis, upon whose support he increasingly became reliant upon, yet it was not enough.[3] His desire to abolish the Senate was met with disapproval and opposition by his few remaining supporters, forcing him to withdraw the motion from consideration. When he attempted to appoint regional governors to rein in the more independent provinces of Greece, like the Mani and Hydra, the Primates and Ship lords in the Senate finally had enough with the Count’s reforms. To Kapodistrias, the Primates of the Morea and the Ship lords of the Islands were no better than vultures feasting upon the toils of the common man. The Phanariotes were also scorned by the Count as vessels of Satan and the klephts were no better than brigands in his eyes. By the end of 1827 Ioannis Kapodistrias found himself censured by the Senate for overstepping his authority, leaving him effectively powerless regarding the internal affairs of Greece.

The only avenue still open to him was foreign policy, which had been relatively positive thus far. His grand tour of Europe had initially met with little success but in the following months, the Powers finally began to move towards intervention and mediation in the Greek War of Independence. What’s more, Russia threatened war.

Next Time: Akkerman or War


[1] In OTL, the Third National Assembly originally took place at Piada, as there were riots against the government in Nafplion. Little was accomplished in this Assembly aside from a new commission to conduct the war and negotiate with foreign powers. Due to the fall of Missolonghi, they rescheduled the Assembly for later that Fall. This was then postponed to the following Spring when it took place in March of 1827 at Troezen. Here, the result is a combination of the OTL Assembly in April 1826 and the follow up Assembly in March of 1827, resulting in the election of Ioannis Kapodistrias nearly a year ahead of schedule. I owe these changes to the later conclusion of the Siege of Missolonghi, which ended nearly two weeks after the OTL one did, and the improved situation of the war which has resulted in a change in attendance and situation for the Assembly.

[2] Padua hosted one of the oldest universities in all of Europe, founded in 1222. The University of Padua also boasts the Orto botanico di Padova, which is the world’s oldest academic botanical garden. For anyone in the 18th and 19th centuries who was interested in learning medicine, the University of Padua was the place to be.

[3] Surprisingly, Kapodistrias came to form a strong friendship with Theodoros Kolokotronis despite their very different backgrounds. He grew to rely upon heavily Kolokotronis for support in pushing through his reforms thanks in large part to his support among the military captains. Without the support of Kolokotronis, Kapodistrias is unable to force reforms through with the backing of the military as per OTL. This Kapodistrias is also arriving in a Greece that is somewhat better off than the OTL Greece, so the local magnates are not as desperate or subservient to him initially, and as a result, they are more resistant to his efforts.