A rebellion of Greeks within the Ottoman Empire in 1821 led to Greek control of the Peloponnese peninsula. Greek independence was declared, but internal rivalries led to a civil war and the Turks were able to invade the Peloponnese with the help of Egyptian sea power.

The Greek cause was saved by the intervention of the European powers. Great Britain, France and Russia sent their naval fleets to Navarino where they destroyed the Egyptian fleet.

A Greco-Turkish settlement at a conference in London (1830) resulted in the establishment of an independent Greek kingdom.