In the London Protocol, the three protecting powers (United Kingdom, France and Russia) establish the borders of Greece.
The borders drawn in London didn't include Athens. When Britain, France, and Russia sat down to carve out an independent Greece in 1829, they created a tiny state south of a line from Arta to Volos—excluding the ancient capital, Thessaly, and most islands Greeks actually lived on. Just 800,000 people. The diplomats weren't being generous; they were terrified a larger Greece would destabilize the Ottoman Empire they still needed for trade. It took another century and four more wars before Greece absorbed Athens, Crete, and Macedonia. The protecting powers weren't protecting Greece—they were protecting themselves from it.
March 22, 1829
197 years ago
Key Figures & Places
United Kingdom
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Greece
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Russian empire
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London Protocol (1829)
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France
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London Protocol (1829)
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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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France
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Russian Empire
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First Hellenic Republic
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British
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Auguste and Louis Lumière
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