The cultural activity of the Greek merchants from Transylvania in the context of the Greek Revolution of 1821

Proceedings of ‏The 5th International Conference on New Findings On Humanities and Social Sciences

Year: 2020

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/5th.hsconf.2020.11.116

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The cultural activity of the Greek merchants from Transylvania in the context of the Greek Revolution of 1821

Bogdan E. Anagnastopol

ABSTRACT: 

The Greek Revolution of 1821, which was based on the hope of the Greek nation to free itself from the Ottoman occupation, received the help of the well-rooted Greek diaspora communities in Moldova, Wallachia, and Transylvania. The attempts for liberation caused the Greeks to turn to themselves and rely on their forces and as a result of these attitudes, a secret revolutionary society was founded under the named Filiki Eteria, appeared in Odessa (1814) along with a cultural society founded earlier in Athens (1813), known as the “Society of Friends of the Muses The two Hellenistic centers in Transylvania from Sibiu and Brasov were organized, since the 17th century, in the form of Oriental trading companies who enjoyed privileges in the exercise of their commercial and cultural activities in Transylvania, part of the Austrian Empire at that time. This study aims to present the cultural activities related to the Enlightenment education of the merchants, their spirituality activities, but also the involvement in the revolutionary movement and the effects over the Austrian authorities who, in response to the large number of refugees arriving in the Austrian Empire, they have placed the Greek refugees under the supervision of local authorities who informed their superiors in Vienna.

Keywords: Austrian Empire, Greek Enlightenment, Greek Ethnics, Filiki Eteria, Oriental Companies.