Meanwhile the aspirations of Greece had excited great sympathy throughout Europe; a Greek Committee was formed in London; the Philhellenes became very powerful in most countries on the continent, as well as in America, and many volunteers, of whom Lord Byron was a notable example, enlisted in the cause of Greek liberty.
The Greek fleet, led by Miaoulis from 1823 onward, was exceedingly active; the Greek seamen inspired the Turks with great terror, and did immense damage to their fleets. The Turks retaliated by taking vengeance on the unprotected islands of the archipelago, and committed unspeakable atrocities on the inhabitants of Chios in 1822, and two years later upon those of Kasos and Psara. In 1824 the Sultan invoked the aid of Mehemet Ali, Pacha of Egypt, whose stepson, Ibrahim, landed in the Peloponnesus and with his Arab troops carried all before him, when the Greeks lost most of what they had acquired. The war, however, was continued for many years; Lord Cochrane became admiral of the Greek fleet and Sir Robert Church took command of the land forces. The action of Navarino, which occurred in 1827 almost by accident, had a great effect upon the fortunes of the struggle. The fleets of England, France, and Russia were cruising about the coasts of the Peloponnesus to prevent the ravages of the Turkish fleet on the islands and mainland, and selected a winter anchorage at Navarino, where the Turkish and Egyptian fleets lay. The Turks thinking they were menaced opened fire upon the combined fleets, and were annihilated in the engagement which followed. In the following year the Greeks had the aid of the French, who cleared the Morea of Turkish troops, and by the end of the year Greece was practically independent. Some anarchy followed the assassination of the President Capodostrias in 1831, but at length Otho of Bavaria was crowned king, and in 1832 a convention was signed by which the protecting Powers of Europe recognised the new kingdom and assigned its limits; and Greece attained an independence which she has since maintained.
Among the results of this long period of anarchy and insurrection was an outbreak of piracy among both Greeks and Turks. Individual chieftains called their followers together, established their head-quarters in out-of-the-way creeks, and preyed upon the commerce of the Levant without any interference from their Government. As in the case of the Barbary Powers, the depredations of these pirates became at length so intolerable that the Governments of Europe were obliged to interfere for the protection of their subjects.
Commander Yorke's part as representing his country in the mission he undertook, to put down this state of things, appears fully in the letters written to his father at intervals, which follow, and we there see the important position he had to fill. He was, as he says, in those eastern waters in the double capacity of warrior and diplomatist, or in other words to command a neutral armed vessel, act impartially between Greek and Turk, and protect trade from the piracies of both nations. This was no easy task, and it appears that though his sympathies were with the Greek cause, of the two he preferred the Turk as by far the best to deal with.
It will be seen that he had to go round visiting the chief islands, Corfu, Cephalonia and Zante, and ascertain from the governors if they had any grievances to be remedied. He had no positive orders for his guidance, but only 'act as you think most fit.' Often he found himself in difficulties without even an interpreter, and so obliged to make himself understood, if he could, in French. His short but graphic description of Lord Byron at Missolonghi and his rencontre with Colonel Leicester Stanhope will interest many readers.
From a journal kept by Commander Yorke during this service, which he heads 'A few Miscellaneous Remarks. H.M. Sloop Alacrity,' beginning in 1823, and now with the Hardwicke MSS. at the British Museum, I find a few facts which supplement those of the letters. He records receiving much civility from Lord Chatham at Gibraltar, and sailed from that port on December 2 in company with the Sybella for Malta, a passage which occupied about fourteen days. After ten days at Malta refitting, he was ordered to proceed to the Ionian station. He describes with great admiration the beauty of the scene at sunrise on New Year's Day of 1824 as the Alacrity made the coast of Epirus, the snow-covered mountains of Albania contrasting with the green and fertile shore of Corfu with its olive gardens reaching down to the water's edge. At Corfu he dined with commissioners, generals, and at messes; and records meeting Lord Byron's 'Maid of Athens,' 'who is now rather passée, but certainly has remains of a fine face and a bad figure; large feet, of course, that all the Greeks have,' he writes. There are accounts of other diversions, including a week's shooting with a Mr. P. Steven and the officers of the 90th Regiment, which he describes as 'a marvellous slaughter of woodcocks,' after which he sailed to Missolonghi, where he arrived on January 23. The letters describe his further experiences.
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H.M.S. 'Alacrity,' Gibraltar:
Nov. 29, 1823.
'My dearest Father,