The 23 October 1862 Revolution was a popular insurrection which led to the overthrow of King

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Starting on 18 October in

Vonitsa Vonitsa ( el, Βόνιτσα) is a town in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, seat of the municipality of Aktio-Vonitsa. Population 4,916 (2011). The beach town is situated on the south coast of the Ambracian Gulf, and is domina ...

, it soon spread to other cities and reached

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

on 22 October.

Background

On 1 February 1862, the first insurrection broke out in

Nafplio Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

, led by , and Dimitrios Botsaris. Soon, the revolt started to spread to

Santorini Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the ...

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

and

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

. However, the royal authorities quickly managed to restore control and the revolt was suppressed by 20 March.

The revolution

On 16 October, King

and

Queen Amalia Amalia of Oldenburg (; 21 December 181820 May 1875) was a Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavarian princess who became Queen of Greece from 1836 to 1862 as the wife of King Otto of Greece, Otto Friedrich Ludwig. She was loved widely by the Greeks due to ...

left for a royal visit to

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

in order to strengthen the bonds between the Greek people and the crown. However, a new insurrection erupted two days later in

, on the

Ambracian Gulf The Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium, and in some official documents as the Amvrakikos Gulf ( el, Αμβρακικός κόλπος, translit=Amvrakikos kolpos), is a gulf of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Greec ...

, led by

Dimitrios Voulgaris Dimitrios Voulgaris ( el, Δημήτριος Βούλγαρης; 20 December 1802 – 10 January 1877) was a Greek revolutionary fighter during the Greek War of Independence of 1821 who became a politician after independence. He was nickname ...

Konstantinos Kanaris Konstantinos Kanaris ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Κανάρης, ; c. 17901877), also anglicised as Constantine Kanaris or Canaris, was a Greek admiral, Prime Minister, and a hero of the Greek War of Independence.Woodhouse, p. 129. Bio ...

and

Benizelos Roufos Benizelos Roufos (; 1795–1868) was a Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece. Biography Early life Roufos was born in Patras in 1795, a scion of the wealthy Roufos-Kanakaris family. He was the son of Athanasios Kanakaris who fought duri ...

. Soon, the insurrection spread to

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...

and

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

. On 22 October, the insurrection reached the capital

and a provisional government was established, with Rouphos as the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. On the following day, the revolutionaries proclaimed the deposition of the royal couple, and convened an assembly for the election of a new monarch. The royal couple was then brought from

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia reg ...

by the Minister of Police and placed under the protection of a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

warship, HMS ''Scylla''. At the same time, the property of the royal couple which remained in the

Old Royal Palace The Old Royal Palace ( el, Παλαιά Ανάκτορα ''Palaiá Anáktora'') is the first royal palace of modern Greece, completed in 1843. It has housed the Hellenic Parliament since 1934. The Old Palace is situated at the heart of modern ...

was inventoried before being returned to their legitimate possessors. Advised by ambassadors of the

Great Powers A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...

, Otto and his queen left Greece and went into exile. In spite of everything, the king refused to abdicate and did not envision his departure as being definitive.Driault and Lhéritier 1926, p. 487-488

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:1862 10 23 Revolution Conflicts in 1862

1862 Events January–March * January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria. * January 6 – French intervention in Mexico: French, Spanish and British forces arrive in Veracruz, Mexico. * January ...

1862 in Greece Hellenic Parliament History of Greece (1832–1862) 19th century in Athens October 1862 events 1860s coups d'état and coup attempts 1860s in Greek politics

Background

The revolution

See also

References

Bibliography