Ottoman Europe · 1821-1832

Greece breaks free

In 1821 Greeks rise against Ottoman rule. Poets, painters and volunteers across Europe take up their cause, and in 1827 three great powers destroy the Ottoman fleet. Students follow the birth of the first fully independent state carved out of the Ottoman Empire in Europe.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1815 to AD 1830
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 1821 Greeks rise against Ottoman rule. Poets, painters and volunteers across Europe take up their cause, and in 1827 three great powers destroy the Ottoman fleet. Students follow the birth of the first fully independent state carved out of the Ottoman Empire in Europe.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Greeks rose against Ottoman rule in 1821.
  • Describe the role of the great powers, including the Battle of Navarino (1827).
  • Explain why so many Europeans supported the Greek cause.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1815

Ottoman Greece

Open the map in 1815 and zoom in on Greece. Which empire rules it? Find the Peloponnese, the large peninsula in the south.

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1880

A new kingdom

Drag the slider from 1815 to 1880. Greece now appears as its own state. Compare it with Greece today: which northern lands and islands are not yet included?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1830

A small capital

Open the map in 1830, turn on Cities and find Athens. Then find Constantinople. Why might a small town with famous ruins become the capital of the new Greece?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The Greek revolt began only a few years after the Congress of Vienna. Why did the great powers at first not want to help?
  2. Both Greek rebels and Ottoman forces killed civilians during the war. Why do wars of independence often become so violent?
  3. The painter Delacroix showed the massacre on Chios of 1822. How can art change what people think about a war?
  4. Many Europeans admired ancient Greece. Did that help or hurt the Greeks of 1821?
  5. The great powers chose a Bavarian prince as king of Greece. Why might Greeks resent that?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Catherine the Great in Rule History, especially her round on war with the Ottomans. Her wars made Russia the protector of Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire, a role Russia used again in 1827-1829. Discuss: did Russia help Greece for Greece's sake or its own?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.