ABSTRACT
The Napoleonic wars had left in British hands important strategic positions, particularly Malta and the Ionian Isles, which, with Gibraltar, appeared to secure a passage through the Mediterranean. The Greek Revolution seriously disturbed the calm of the Mediterranean and gave rise to a long period of heated rivalry both within the Mediterranean area and beyond. The Russians desired an outlet on the Mediterranean and they coveted the riches of India. The French hoped to dominate the Mediterranean and to secure their own means of access to the East by controlling Egypt and maintaining their traditional interests in Syria. While events of the greatest significance to British interests were transpiring in the eastern Mediterranean area, another situation arose in the loosely-knit Turkish Empire which tended to focus the attention and concern of Great Britain on the future of the Mediterranean itself.
