I have learned several languages on my own
Interestingly,
neither the Greeks nor the Turks call ‘Greek Independence’ with a term
that means ‘independence’, and the terms they choose reflects the
understanding of each side. The Greeks call it ‘επανάσταση’,
which actually means ‘revolution’ and the Turks call it ‘isyan’, which
means rebellion. From the Greek point of view (or perhaps Kapodistrias’s
view), this was more of a revolutionary than a nationalist movement
aimed against an oppressive and absolutist regime. From the Ottoman
point of view, this was an unnecessarily bloody rebellion, fomented by
foreign powers. Whatever the initial points of view may be, Greek
Independence was the spark for many revolutions and rebellions that
troubled the Ottoman Empire to its dying day. Greek Independence led the
way to constitutional reforms within the Ottoman Empire including the
Tanzimat declaration, parliamentary monarchy, and finally declaration of
the Turkish Republic. Ironically, Mustafa Kemal and his comrades were
the last of the rebels against the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, Greek
Independence can be viewed as the spark for a set of events that finally
led to Turkish Independence!
