In August 1822, George Canning was appointed by the British government as Foreig

n Secretary succeeding Castlereagh. Canning was influenced by the mounting popul

ar agitation against the Ottomans and believed that a settlement could no longer
be postponed. He also feared that Russia might undertake unilateral action agai
nst the Ottoman Empire.[113]
In March 1823, Canning declared that "when a whole nation revolts against its co
nqueror, the nation cannot be considered as piratical but as a nation in a state
of war". In February 1823 he notified the Ottoman Empire that Britain would mai
ntain friendly relations with the Turks only under the condition that the latter
respected the Christian subjects of the Empire. The Commissioner of the Ionian
Islands, which belonged to Britain, was ordered to consider the Greeks in a stat
e of war and give them the right to cut off certain areas from which the Turks c
ould get provisions.[42]
These measures led to the increase of British influence. This influence was rein
forced by the issuing of two loans that the Greeks managed to conclude with Brit
ish fund-holders in 1824 and 1825. These loans, which, in effect, made the City
of London the financier of the revolution,[42] inspired the creation of the "Bri
tish" political party in Greece, whose opinion was that the revolution could onl
y end in success with the help of Britain. At the same time, parties affiliated
to Russia and France made their appearance. These parties would later strive for
power during king Otto's reign.[114]
When Tsar Nicholas I succeeded Alexander in December 1825, Canning decided to ac
t immediately: he sent the Duke of Wellington to Russia, and the outcome was the
St. Petersburg Protocol of 4 April 1826. According to the protocol, the two pow
ers agreed to mediate between the Ottomans and the Greeks on the basis of comple
te autonomy of Greece under Turkish sovereignty. Before he met with Wellington,
the Tsar had already sent an ultimatum to the Porte, demanding that the principa
lities be evacuated immediately and that plenipotentiaries be sent to Russia to
settle outstanding issues. The Sultan agreed to send the plenipotentiaries, and
on 7 October 1826 signed the Akkerman Convention, in which Russian demands conce
rning Serbia and the principalities were accepted.[115]
The Greeks formally applied for the mediation provided in the Petersburg Protoco
l, while the Turks and the Egyptians showed no willingness to stop fighting. Can
ning therefore prepared for action by negotiating the Treaty of London (6 July 1
827) with France and Russia. This provided that the Allies should again offer ne
gotiations, and if the Sultan rejected it they would exert all the means which c
ircumstances would allow to force the cessation of hostilities. Meanwhile, news
reached Greece in late July 1827 that Mehmet Ali's new fleet was completed in Al
exandria and sailing towards Navarino to join the rest of the Egyptian-Turkish f
leet. The aim of this fleet was to attack Hydra and knock the island's fleet out
of the war. On 29 August, the Porte formally rejected the Treaty of London's st
ipulations, and, subsequently, the commanders-in-chief of the British and French
Mediterranean fleets, Admiral Edward Codrington and Admiral Henri de Rigny sail
ed into the Gulf of Argos and requested to meet with Greek representatives on bo
ard the HMS Asia.[116]
Battle of Navarino (1827)