Americans, Greeks, and Ottomans before 1821

Abstract

This chapter provides context for the years leading up to the Greek War of Independence, tracing how early Americans came to know Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Early American interest in Greece was varied, inspiring merchants, Christian missionaries, politicians, intellectuals, and adventure seekers alike to take notice of the evolving situation within the Ottoman Empire. With Greece perceived as the intellectual and political ancestor of the American Republic, each of these groups at times disagreed but also worked together toward advancing an American presence in Greece and Western Asia. American perceptions of Greece were at first molded by European and American prejudices against the Ottoman Turks. While early Americans saw themselves as having a unique and particular interest in Greece and the Ottoman Empire as a result of their own revolution, the origins of American philhellenism should be understood as being part of a global conversation concerning commerce, diplomacy, and humanitarianism. Existing conflict within the Ottoman Empire combined with European and American interest in the region played an important role in the outbreak of the Greek Revolution and influenced how an American audience came to perceive the war.