The Greek Revolution took place in imperial spaces, and somehow the empires produced a nation-state. This paradox requires us to consider what exactly the future Greeks learned in the empires — Ottoman, French, Russian, and British. The short answer is that the Ottoman experience raised subjects to understand their status as a religion, though one of many; whereas the European empires gave examples of strong centralized states, order, and security. They were also regimes of Christian supremacy. At the same time, the many people from the Balkan region who served the empires learned about the nation as total and exclusive, with implications for mass mobilization (levée en masse of new citizens) as well as total violence (Vendée and Haiti).

CONTACTSSophia Zoumboulaki
Assistante administrative pour la Direction des Études
sophia.zoumboulaki@efa.gr
+ 30 210 36 79 904

 

Nolwenn Grémillet
Communication
nolwenn.gremillet@efa.gr
+ 30 210 36 79 943