What if the Greek nation-state, being recognized as such in the early half of the 19th century by the Ottomans and the great powers, remained confined to the Peloponnese peninsula (perhaps through less military success or through less favorable diplomacy by its sponsors) instead of extending into Attica and central Greece as IOTL? What could have been the consequences of this? Might Greece become no less a British protectorate than the Ionian islands, for example?
WI: 19th century Greece confined to the Peloponnese
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What if the Greek nation-state, being recognized as such in the early half of the 19th century by the Ottomans and the great powers, remained confined to the Peloponnese peninsula (perhaps through less military success or through less favorable diplomacy by its sponsors) instead of extending into Attica and central Greece as IOTL? What could have been the consequences of this? Might Greece become no less a British protectorate than the Ionian islands, for example?
I don't know, early on greek identity was mostly based around orthdox christianity and the world of ancient greece was just being rediscovered. This could set the precedent for a national mythology linking the hostility between the nascent greece and the ottoman empire with the war between Sparta and the Persian Empire, with thermopilas serving as analogy of the trenches in ttl WW1 scenario. But honestly is not like greek national mythos excludes either sparta or athens from the pantheon, altho athens gets a lot more of coverage because they had a lot more of influence in what we know and understand about ancient greece and a far more lasting legacy. Sparta was just a slavery based society with a warrior nobility, not unlike may others in the mediterranean and near east.
Honestly the Eastern Roman Empire was far more relevant to who the greeks were in the early 19th century then ancient greece but the later was far more popular for the romatic nationalism of the era.
Also what if while they fail to take north of the peloponnese the brits/greeks take Crete, the Cycledes and the Dodecanese instead?
This would leave Greece as practically and island country. The land border in the Peloponesse being so small it's practically an island.
This would leave Greece as practically and island country. The land border in the Peloponesse being so small it's practically an island.
Except for Crete the other small island had a higher % of greek and orthodox population then a lot of parts of northern greece.
So the rest would still be Rumelia with the ottomans? that is another interesting butterfly too
I could see the Ottomans supporting non-Greek minorities in these areas such as the Arvanite Albanians and Aromanians in order to forestall any Greek designs beyond the Isthmus of Corinth.