Greece

=== Venetian possessions and Ottoman rule (15th century – 1821) ===
{{Main|Ottoman Greece|Stato da Màr}}
{{Further|Phanariotes|Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople}}
{{See also|Kingdom of Candia|Ionian Islands under Venetian rule}}

[[File:Angelokastro (Corfu).jpg|thumb|The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] castle of [[Angelokastro (Corfu)|Angelokastro]] successfully repulsed the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] during the [[Siege of Corfu (1537)|first great siege of Corfu in 1537]], the siege of 1571, and the [[Siege of Corfu (1716)|second great siege of Corfu in 1716]], causing them to abandon their plans to conquer [[Corfu]].<ref name="Stamatopoulos1993">{{cite book|author=Nondas Stamatopoulos|title=Old Corfu: history and culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6m0-AQAAIAAJ|access-date=6 April 2013|year=1993|publisher=N. Stamatopoulos|pages=164–165|isbn=9789608403000|quote=Again, during the first great siege of Corfu by the Turks in 1537, Angelocastro ... and After a siege lasting a year the invaders were finally driven away by the defenders of the fortress who were helped by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages. In 1571, when they once more invaded Corfu, the Turks again unsuccessfully attacked, Angelocastro, where 4,000 people had taken refuge. During the second great siege of the city by the Turks in 1716, Angelokastro once again served}}</ref>]]

While most of mainland Greece and the Aegean islands was under Ottoman control by the end of the 15th century, [[Cyprus]] and [[Crete]] remained [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] and did not fall to the Ottomans until 1571 and 1670 respectively.{{sfn|Clogg|1992|p=10}} While some Greeks in the [[Ionian Islands]] and [[Constantinople]] lived in prosperity, and Greeks of Constantinople ([[Phanariotes]]) achieved power within the Ottoman administration,{{sfn|Clogg|1992|p=23}} much of Greece suffered the economic consequences of Ottoman conquest. Heavy taxes were enforced, and in later years the Ottoman Empire enacted a policy of creation of hereditary estates, effectively turning the rural Greek populations into [[serfdom|serfs]].<ref>{{Cite book | last1 = Kourvetaris | first1 = George | last2 = Dobratz | first2 = Betty | title = A profile of modern Greece: in search of identity | page = 33 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ePwcAAAAYAAJ&q=Greece+chiflik+serfs | publisher = Clarendon Press | year = 1987| isbn = 9780198275510 }}</ref>

The [[Greek Orthodox Church]] and the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]] were considered by the Ottoman governments as the ruling authorities of the entire [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian]] population of the Ottoman Empire, whether ethnically Greek or not. Although the Ottoman state did not force non-Muslims to convert to [[Islam]], Christians faced discrimination intended to highlight their inferior status in the Empire. Discrimination, particularly when combined with harsh treatment by local Ottoman authorities, led to conversions to Islam, if only superficially. In the 19th century, many "crypto-Christians" returned to their old religious allegiance.{{sfn|Clogg|1992|p=14}}

[[File:White Tower and Beach front.jpg|thumb|The [[White Tower of Thessaloniki]], one of the best-known Ottoman structures remaining in Greece]]

The nature of Ottoman administration of Greece varied, though it was invariably arbitrary and often harsh.{{Sfn|Clogg|1992|p=14}} Some cities had governors appointed by the [[Ottoman Sultan|Sultan]], while others, like Athens, were self-governed municipalities. Mountainous regions in the interior and many islands remained effectively autonomous from the central Ottoman state for many centuries.{{sfn|Clogg|1992}}{{page needed| date = March 2013}}

Prior to the Greek Revolution of 1821, there had been a number of wars which saw Greeks fight against the Ottomans, such as the Greek participation in the [[Battle of Lepanto]] in 1571, the Epirus peasants' revolts of 1600–1601, the [[Morean War]] of 1684–1699, and the [[Russian Empire|Russian]]-instigated [[Orlov Revolt]] in 1770, which aimed at breaking up the Ottoman Empire in favour of Russian interests.{{sfn|Clogg|1992}}{{page needed| date = March 2013}} These uprisings were put down by the Ottomans with great bloodshed.<ref>{{Cite book | first = Lyn | last = Harrington | title = Greece and the Greeks | page = 124 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=d7BAAAAAIAAJ&q=greece+revolts+ottoman+rule+bloodshed | publisher = T Nelson | year = 1968}}, 221 pp.</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first1 = Jamie | last1 = Stokes | first2 = Anthony | last2 = Gorman | title = Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East | page = 256 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=stl97FdyRswC&q=greece%20ottoman%20rule%20revolts%20orlov&pg=PA256 | publisher = Infobase | year = 2010 | isbn = 978-1-4381-2676-0}}</ref> On the other side, many Greeks were conscripted as Ottoman citizens to serve in the Ottoman army and especially the navy, while also the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]], responsible for the Orthodox, remained in general loyal to the Empire.

The 16th and 17th centuries are regarded as something of a "dark age" in Greek history, with the prospect of overthrowing Ottoman rule appearing remote with only the Ionian islands remaining free of Turkish domination. [[Corfu]] withstood three major sieges all of which resulted in the repulsion of the Ottomans. However, in the 18th century, due to their mastery of shipping and commerce, a wealthy and dispersed Greek merchant class arose. These merchants came to dominate trade within the Ottoman Empire, establishing communities throughout the Mediterranean, the Balkans, and Western Europe. Though the Ottoman conquest had cut Greece off from significant European intellectual movements such as the [[Reformation]] and the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], these ideas together with the ideals of the [[French Revolution]] and [[romantic nationalism]] began to penetrate the Greek world via the mercantile diaspora.{{Sfn | Clogg | 1992|page=27}} In the late 18th century, [[Rigas Feraios]], the first revolutionary to envision an independent Greek state, published documents relating to Greek independence, in [[Vienna]]. Feraios was murdered by Ottoman agents in 1798.{{Sfn | Clogg | 1992|page=31}}<ref>{{Cite book | first = Olga | last = Katsiaridi-Hering | chapter = La famiglia nell'economia europea, secc. XIII-XVIII | title = Atti della "quarantesima Settimana di studi," 6–10 Aprile 2008 | publisher = Istituto internazionale di storia economica F. Datini. Simonetta Cavaciocchi. Firenze University Press | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-88-8453-910-6 | page = 410 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WsyHfHzeP_8C&q=rigas%20feraios%20murdered&pg=PA410}}</ref>