Navarino, battle of, 1827

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Navarino, battle of, 1827. An accidental encounter fought on 20 October between a Turco-Egyptian fleet of 70 vessels, and a British, French, and Russian fleet of 28 ships, heavier than most of their adversaries. Navarino Bay is a commodious anchorage in the Morea (Greece), sheltered to the west by the island of Sphacteria and with only one navigable entrance. The Turkish government had prevaricated in acceding to an armistice with its insurgent Greek subjects negotiated by the tripartite powers. The allied fleet under Sir Edward Codrington put into Navarino with the formal intention of escorting the Egyptian ships to Alexandria and the Turkish to Constantinople. However, a distrustful Turkish commander opened fire, and in the ensuing engagement, in which the quality of allied gunnery much exceeded that of the Turks, the fleet of the latter was virtually destroyed. In 1830 Britain endorsed the Greek proclamation of independence of 1822.

David Denis Aldridge