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The struggle continued despite massacres and other evil deeds carried out by the Turks, which evoked great sympathy throughout Europe. In spite of the prevailing reluctance of the European governments in the "holy alliance", public opinion of their own populations finally forced them to intervene.

In 1827, Greece, in danger of being retaken by the Turks, was rescued in the naval battle of Navarin, in which the English, French and Russian warships destroyed the Ottoman and Egyptian warships and forced the sultan to recognize the new and independent country of Greece.

The Romanian duchies also took advantage of their geographical position and revolted, with Russia occupying these duchies and installing self-ruling governments during its many wars against the Ottoman Empire (1808-1812, 1828-1829, 1853-1854).

With each retreat from the areas which Russia took in these wars, they forced the sultan to agree upon new privileges for the Romanians, eventually resulting in the creation of an independent Romania (1856).



The mountainous province of Montenegro, which had been taken during the Ottoman conquest, but was in principle regarded as an independent country, achieved the status of a sovereign duchy in 1851, under the leadership of Danilo. The sultan sent an army to Montenegro to punish the rebels, but Russia forced him to recall his army (1852).

These events and the continuing resistance against the Ottoman Empire mark the pattern of the Armenian resistance in history, aimed at claiming their own destiny. Paul Rohrbach writes: "The national awakening of the Armenian people and its inner striving is no different from the national movements in Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, masses who during the 19th century, with aid from Europe, managed to establish independent states."

The history of the Balkan people contains numerous defeats and occasions when their allies abandoned them. R. Guttiet thus writes: "How many times do you think that the Serbs have fought for the Habsburg Empire in the hope of receiving independence, and how many times have they been betrayed? Aside from these occasions, they were also victim to the same process in the Sistora peace treaty of 1791." 60 30 years later, in 1821, having used the Serbs in battle against the Turks, the Russians left the Serbs to their fate by signing a separate treaty between Russia and the Turks.

The antagonism in Armenian history and the difficulties of fighting as an organised national force despite not having a national government is echoed in the Greek struggle for independence. In 1827, the day before the European powers made their decisive intervention to the advantage of the Greeks, the French Admiral, De Rigny, wrote the following about the internal conflicts and the antagonism of the Greeks: "On January 13, 1827, I dare to claim that, when it comes to negotiations in the Greece Question, one should almost negotiate in their absence. They will benefit from it." 62

The histories of the Greeks, the Serbs and the Bulgarians, after gaining independence, are full of chaotic periods and parliamentary and internal conflicts. It took one powerful man in each case to get the nation back on track, Stamboulog in Bulgaria, Venizelos in Greece and Pachitch in Serbia. 66