The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), in Navarino Bay, on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied forces from Britain, France, and Russia decisively defeated Ottoman and Egyptian forces which were trying to suppress the Greeks, thereby making Greek independence much more likely. An Ottoman armada which, in addition to Imperial warships, included squadrons from the eyalets of Egypt and Tunis, was destroyed by an Allied force of British, French and Russian warships. It was the last major naval battle in history to be fought entirely with sailing ships, although most ships fought at anchor. The Allies' victory was achieved through superior firepower and gunnery.
The Naval Battle of Navarino, Ambroise Louis Garneray
Satellite picture of the Peloponnese. Navarino Bay is visible in the inset in the lower left.
Codrington's squadron prevents the Ottoman reinforcements from reaching Patras on 4 October.
Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, Allied commander-in-chief at the Battle of Navarino
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted by the British Empire, Kingdom of France, and the Russian Empire, while the Ottomans were aided by their North African vassals. The war led to the formation of modern Greece, which would be expanded to its modern size in later years. The revolution is celebrated by Greeks around the world as independence day on 25 March.
Top left: The camp at Phaliro. Top right: The burning of an Ottoman frigate by a Greek fire ship. Bottom right: The Battle of Navarino. Bottom left: Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt at the Third Siege of Missolonghi.
Portrait of a Greek armatolos by Richard Parkes Bonington (oil painting, 1825–1826, Benaki Museum)
Adamantios Korais
Cover of "Thourios" by Rigas Feraios; intellectual, revolutionary and forerunner of the Greek Revolution.