Cochrane (50 page)

The title was something of an embarrassment so long as he was, at least nominally, First Admiral of Brazil, and so long as there were no weapons available to him for doing battle on behalf of Greek freedom. For the time being, during the remainder of
1825
and the early months of
1826,
Cochrane was involved in a protracted quarrel with the Brazilian envoy in London over the
Piranga
and his conduct in command of her. The upshot was that he was suspended from the office of First Admiral, later dismissed, and later still reinstated, at least so far as his pension was concerned. There was no absolute inconsistency between his bringing the
Piranga
to England for repairs and his intention to continue in Brazilian service. But there was virtually nothing left for him to do in Brazil, except haggle over prize money owing to him and damages for which he was liable in seizing vessels improperly. While he insisted that he had given no cause for dismissal, it would have taken an act of extreme credulity to suppose that he intended to return to Brazil at this stage. Having been dismissed from Brazilian service, on the grounds that he had abandoned his post, Cochrane speedily drew a bill on the imperial government for his pay up to the date of dismissal. On
10
February
1826
the bill was drawn and refused. With that, the South American adventure was at an end.

The immediate cause of annoyance to the Brazilian government was the rumour that shortly after arriving in England with the
Piranga,
Cochrane had accepted command of the Greek navy in the war of independence against Turkey. On
21
August
1825,
while the
Piranga
was still at Portsmouth, Cochrane received
a letter from the Chevalier
Gameiro, Brazilian envoy in London, demanding to know whether newspaper reports that he had accepted such an offer were true. Cochrane replied deftly that he had been approached by the Greek Committee in London but that it would be impossible for him to accept the invitation while in the service of Brazil. It was in no way improper for him to be approached, and he reminded Gameiro that the Brazilians had offered him a command while he was still in the service of Chile. He had neither accepted nor rejected the Greek proposal. Gameiro suspected, with every justification, that Cochrane was about to leave Brazilian service. While they exchanged letters, a formal invitation was on its way to Cochrane from Prince Alexander Mavrocordatos, secretary to the Greek National Assembly. With the authority of the rebel government, he asked Cochrane to take command of the navy in the war against the Turks.

Despite his evasive reply to Gameiro, Cochrane had virtually accepted the invitation of the Greek Committee in London as early as
16
August. While explaining that he was still in the service of Brazil, he agreed in general terms to accept the command as soon as he was free. It was evident that such freedom would not be long delayed. He was urged to consent by the leaders of the Committee, including Burdett, John Cam Hobhouse, the friend of Byron; Joseph Hume, the Scots radical leader; Edward Ellice, and John Bowring.

The enthusiasm for Greek freedom owed much to England's cultural and educational allegiance to Athenian democracy, but particularly to the idealism expressed in the poetry of Shelley and the example of Byron. In
1822,
Shelley had published
Hellas,
dedicated to Mavrocordatos himself and portraying Greek women as slaves of the Turks. Byron, having died of fever at Missolonghi before he could take part in its defence against the Turks, had none the less served the cause of revolution by raising the first Greek loan of
£300,000
in London, early in
1824.
In the famous "Isles of Greece" verses in the third canto of
Don
Juan
he had also provided English Philhellenes with a battle hymn more memorable than the windy neo-classicism of Shelley's drama.

The mountains look on Marathon,

And Marathon looks on the sea:

And musing there an hour alone,

I dream'd that Greece might still be free;

For, standing on the Persian's grave,

I could not deem myself a slave.

With an arguable lack of scruple, Cochrane transferred his allegiance from the Brazilian empire to the Greek rebellion. He had sufficient experience of new regimes to anticipate that the lyric purity of revolutionary hopes would not be reflected in practice. But while he finally extricated himself from his command of the
Piranga
and the rest of the Emperor's fleet, he turned his attention to the strategy and equipment which would be needed to bring victory to Greece.

Until
1821
there had been no generally organised attempt by the Greeks to free themselves from Turkish occupation. But if they looked to Russia or even to England for their freedom, they were deluding themselves, in Shelley's view.

Russia desires to possess, not to liberate Greece; and is contented to see the Turks, its natural enemies, and the Greeks, its intended slaves, enfeeble each other until one or both fall into its net. The wise and generous policy of England
would have consisted in establ
ishing the independence of Greece, and in maintaining it both against Russia and the Turk; - but when was the oppressor generous or just ?
²³

Writing in November
1821,
Shelley had seen only the earliest developments in the Greek struggle and, indeed, in British policy with the advent
of Canning as Foreign Secretary
. He sensed the nervousness of European governments at the prospect of the Greek rebellion spreading a new revolutionary contagion, endangering "those ringleaders of the privileged gangs of murderers, called Sovereigns". Cert
ainly, Russia disowned her protege, Prince Alexander Hypsi
lantes, who led the initial uprising in March
1821.

The rebels fared badly in the northern mainland provinces but gained control of the Peloponnese. Both sides fought with bloody determination and vindictive fury. At Tripolitza, the Greeks slaughtered
8000
Turks; men, women and children. The Turks replied by the more famous massacre of Chios in April
1822.
Some
25,000
of the island's inhabitants were put to death, apart from the numerous women who were taken as slaves. The incident was grandly commemorated in Delacroix's famous canvas of
1824
and stirred the indignation of European liberals still further.

In
1823
and
1824,
the revolution degenerated into an obscure struggle. The independence of Greece had been proclaimed at the beginning of
1822,
though large areas had been left to the Turks and, in any case, there was civil war between the contending Greek leaders.

During this period, however, the Greek navy, led by Miaoulis, had done much to prevent the Turkish ships from ravaging the islands and coastal towns. Sultan Mahmoud, carefully preparing his counterattack, had called on the aid of Mohammed Ali, Pasha of Egypt. The Arab army, led by Ibrahim Pasha, invaded the Peloponnese. One after another, the Greek stronghol
ds fell. By the time that Mavro
cordatos made his appeal to Cochrane, the rebellion was in danger of collapsing. Many of the islands remained loyal to the cause but on the mainland Missolonghi, in the west, was besieged by Ibrahim's army and Athens, in the east, was under threat.

The main hope for Greek independence seemed to he with its sympathisers in Europe as a whole. As Cochrane accepted the command of the navy, Sir Richard Church was approached to lead the army. As a British army captain he had seen considerable Mediterranean service during the Napoleonic wars and then entered the Neapolitan army. More important still, the growth of Philhellenism throughout Europe and the United States was reflected in the enlightened policy of Canning as Foreign Secretary. In place of mere suspicion of revolution, he had instigated a policy guaranteeing an agreed recognition of the right of Greece to independence on the part of England, France, and Russia. His object was to restore peace between the Greeks and Turks without involving England in war or allowing Russia to intervene militarily. To this end, he had despatched his cousin, Stratford Canning, as British ambassador in Constantinople, with instructions to undertake negotiations.

Cochrane's first concern was to equip a fleet which would win a decisive victory over the Turks and their Egyptian allies, cutting off Ibrahim's supply route to Alexandria. In
1825,
a second Greek loan of
£200,000
had been raised in London, of which
£150,000
had been set aside for new warships. Cochrane decided on six steamships to be built in England and two frigates to be built in the United States. Though it would have been more convenient to have all the ships built in Europe, the pattern of American "heavy" frigates with sixty guns each, as opposed to thirty-two or forty-four in Europe, would give him an invaluable advantage over the Turks. Moreover, his experiences in Chile and Brazil convinced him that all these ships must be manned by English or American crews. Despite Admiral Miaoulis's efforts, it was evident that Greek seamen were quite undisciplined in battle. Nor could he rely on much support ashore. "With respect to the Greek army," General Ponsonby advised

Wellington, "it is, generally speaking, a mob; and a chief can only calculate upon keeping it together as long as he has provisions to give it or the prospect of plunder without danger." Ponsonby had no doubt of their courage, yet he saw no portent of victory so long as there was "nothing to oppose the Egyptian army but a mob".
²⁴

In practical terms, Cochrane suffered from interminable delays on the part of the engineer who was to supply boilers for the steamships. There were accusations and counter-accusations over alleged sharp practice by the New York builders of the two heavy frigates. Finally, as a means of preventing him ever taking up his command, he heard that he was about to be prosecuted under the Foreign Enlistment Act for his service in Chile and Brazil. Brougham warned him that "if he stayed many days longer in England, he would be arrested". On
9
November
1825,
with Kitty and his children, he crossed the Channel and took up residence at Boulogne. While he waited impatiently for news of his steamships, he received another warning. He was about to be arrested by the French for having illegally detained a French brig, the
Gazelle,
during his blockade of Spanish ports on the Chilean coast. In the case of the Foreign Enlistment Act, the threat to him had not been a specific gesture of support for the Turkish cause. In France, however, he was given to understand that matters were otherwise and that there had been an understanding with Mohammed Ali of Egypt. He packed his possessions once more, and took the road from Boulogne to the sanctuary of Brussels.
²⁵

Then followed more sinister delays over the completion of the first steamship at Greenwich, she was the
Perseverance
of
42
horse-power. It was hinted that the contractor had been bribed by Turkish representatives in London to frustrate Cochrane's plans for naval victory. In New York, the first of the two frigates was completed but the builder, who had agreed to build both ships for
£150,000,
now demanded payment of
£200,000
for the first one alone.
²⁶

Yet Cochrane's intention of commanding the Greek navy, whatever the obstacles, had a salutary effect on British diplomacy. In March
1826,
the Duke of Wellington passed through Brussels on his way from London to St Petersburg. In December
1825,
Czar Alexander had died and Wellington was to begin the difficult task of negotiating a satisfactory conclusion to the Greek war with his successor, Nicholas I. Britain would mediate between the Turks and the Russians to prevent war between them. She would also mediate between the Turks and Greeks to bring about a degree of independence which would satisfy Mavrocordatos and his colleagues while not being unacceptable to Sultan Mahmoud. Neither act of mediation would be made more credible if a powerful fleet under a British mercenary admiral were to enter Greek waters on the side of the rebels. An interview with Cochrane was something which Wellington could not bring himself to ask for. Instead, he left a carefully phrased message with the keeper of his hotel to the effect that he was not available to see anyone,
"except
Lord
Cochrane
^’
.
The hotelier, having no idea of what the message signified, took no action. Wellington travelled on to St Petersburg and Cochrane was spared the trouble of refusing to abandon the Greek cause.
²⁷