Historical story

1821:The epic responses of the Mesolongites to the Turkish proposals of surrender

In April 1825, the Turkish commander-in-chief Mehmet Resit Pasha or Kiutahis appeared before Messolonghi at the head of 20,000 armed men. In previous years, the revolutionary heartland had been besieged by the Turks twice without success. This time Kioutachis was determined to capture the city at all costs. After all, the Sultan's order was clear and without room for misinterpretation:"The Messolonghi or your head". However, all the offensive actions of the Turks were crushed in front of the steadfast defense of the revolutionaries. Kioutachis then attempted to occupy the city with compromise proposals. He therefore sent to Messolonghi Albanian officers, old acquaintances of the Greek military leaders, who presented themselves, allegedly on their own initiative, as mediators to prevent bloodshed and the bitter fate that awaited the besieged in case the city was taken by storm.

The Messolongites accepted the negotiations to buy time. They asked the Turks for a deadline of 40 days and the exchange of hostages. The Turkish envoys, however, refused the Greek terms. At the same time they demanded the departure of all foreign nationals from the city, the surrender of a gate to a Turkish garrison and the payment of taxes that had not been paid since the beginning of the Revolution. The Greek leaders replied that the only compromise between Greeks and Turks was through force of arms.

On July 18, Kioutachis sent new envoys, apparently on his own behalf this time, on very favorable terms. He proposed to the Messolongites to hand over the city to him and, those who wished, to withdraw from it. After all, as he claimed, he already had one foot in Messolonghi. Receiving no reply, he assumed that the rebels had been shaken and would accept his terms. He therefore wrote to them on the night of the same day that his propositions stood on condition that they should deliver up to him, until the treaties were signed, two cannon-houses and a gate. The defenders replied that he should also put his other foot inside the city. As for the cannonades and the gates they would not fall into Turkish hands without much blood being shed. At the same time Lambros Veikos, one of the leaders of the defenders, sent bottles of drink to the Turkish camp so that the Turkish standard-bearers could drink and be more impetuous and stable in their attacks!

On the eve of autumn, Kioutachis, despite his misfortunes, feverishly continued his efforts. However, it was not only on the battlefield that he had difficulties. He had to face the growing needs due to the coming winter, because he had no intention of lifting the siege, as the other pasades had done until then, who suspended operations during the winter season. His supply convoys came at very infrequent intervals from his supply center, Arta, because Greek corps under Karaiskakis attacked them and seized food and munitions. In addition, desertions among officers and soldiers were increasing, as there was not enough money for salaries. Nevertheless, the able Turkish commander-in-chief had not lost his temper and avoided revealing the poor condition of his army. It was expressed, in fact, with irony about the optimism of the Greeks.

The Egyptian envoy in Messolonghi informed the Greek delegation that the pasha agreed to leave the warriors with their weapons after the surrender. Notis Botsaris then gave a particularly characteristic answer:"Stop! Do you know when he can give us our tanks? If he gets it! Idemi, as long as we stick to our junari, we define them. And it is not in his power to give them away to us, but to see how he will also protect his own!".

In a letter to the vice-consul of Austria in Zakynthos, he thanked him for the Greek newspapers and especially for the Mesolongit Greek Chronicles that he had sent him. He also told him that he looked with scorn on the vain hopes of the Greeks. He begged him, in fact, to continue sending him Greek newspapers and, above all, the most recent editions as possible. This letter fell into the hands of the rebels and was published in Philon of the Law of Hydra. It was then republished in the Hellenic Chronicles. The editors of the newspaper, instead of a comment, replied to Kioutachis that in order not to delay the arrival of the newspapers in his hands via Zakynthos, they themselves undertook to send him the new sheet every Saturday directly from a certain bastion of the city walls, it was enough of course that pay a quarterly subscription! The defenders of Messolonghi, despite the hardships and the miserable situation they had fallen into, never lost their vigor and humor.

On September 23 a Turkish messenger delivered to the Messolongite guards of a bastion a letter by which Kiutachis requested the opening of negotiations. The defenders replied that whatever they had to say, they would say it with their weapons.

On December 12, Ibrahim Pasha appeared before the walls of Messolonghi at the head of 14,600 men. The Egyptian marshal wanted, before starting the operations, to strike for the surrender of the city by treaty. He therefore instructed the besieged Messolongites to send linguist representatives to the Egyptian camp to conduct negotiations. The guard of Messolonghi replied laconically:"We are illiterate. We didn't learn any languages. We only learned to fight".

Ibrahim, seeing that the siege was ultimately costing him great losses, proposed, through the British Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, Frederick Adam, the surrender of Messolonghi. The besieged answered him that "the keys to the city are in the muzzles of the cannons" that were lined up on the perimeter.

Three days later the British corvette Rosa sailed to Vasiladi. The captain of the British ship, Abat, summoned the leaders of the Messolonghi garrison to announce something very important, he claimed. When the Greek commanders went to Vasiladi, Abbat addressed a letter to them, asking on Ibrahim's behalf if they were willing to enter into negotiations for the surrender of the city. The Messolongites were annoyed that the British governor was presenting himself as a mediator of the Egyptian proposals. They left immediately and sent a reply letter the same day. In it they declared themselves ready to repel any attack by Ibrahim. They also informed that they were carrying out the orders of the revolutionary government, the only one competent to negotiate for war or for peace.

On February 16, 1826, a fierce Egyptian attack was launched, which was repulsed with vigor by Kitsu Javela's group. Ibrahim, seeing that the siege was ultimately costing him heavy losses, proposed, through the British commissioner of the Ionian Islands, Frederick Adam, the surrender of Messolonghi. The besieged answered him that "the keys of the city are in the muzzles of the cannons" that were lined up on the perimeter.

On March 3, Ibrahim returned with concessions. The Egyptian envoy in Messolonghi informed the Greek delegation that the pasha agreed to leave the warriors with their weapons after the surrender. Notis Botsaris then gave a particularly characteristic answer:"Stop! Do you know when he can give us our tanks? If he gets it! Idemi, as long as we stick to our junari, we define them. And it is not in his power to give them away to us, but to see how he will also protect his own!"

On March 21, the two pasades sent a joint written invitation to the Messolongites to surrender on really favorable terms. They were proposed to surrender their arms with the promise that those who wished would leave, those who did not prefer to remain in the city would retain their movable and immovable property, unmolested. The letter was drafted in such a way as to make it appear that the Ottoman leaders were responding to a request from the Greeks, in order for the latter to find out under what conditions the pasades would accept to grant them amnesty. The reply of the now legendary garrison of Messolongion reached the Turkish-Egyptian camp on the same day.

The Messolongites, among others, pointed out the following:“You are wrong. We didn't ask you to talk first, you asked us for your word [...]. We never hoped that you would have such an imagination where you would ask for eight thousand chariots covered in blood and we would give them to you with our own hands...” The Free Besieged, with their successive and proud refusals to reconcile with the besiegers, would remain true to the end to the slogan "Liberty or Death".

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