For a Greek version of these (and more) firsts of modern Greece, see here.
1. Greece was the first of the lands of the Ottoman Empire in Europe to not only revolt against the Porte (this first goes to the Serbs) but also, in 1830, to win her independence as a national state (Serbia became an independent kingdom as late as 1878).
2. In 1844, Greece became the first European nation and second worldwide (only to the Kingdom of Hawaii) to grand electoral suffrage to all male Greek citizens with no income or other restrictions. For comparison, France and Switzerland introduced universal male suffrage in 1848, Germany in 1871, Austria in 1896, Spain in 1890, Italy in 1912, and the UK in 1918.
Continue reading “Greece’s major firsts in European and world politics since 1821.”