Greece History

After the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, Otto of Bavaria was installed as king (helped by European powers), followed by George I of Denmark in 1862.

During WW1 Greece sided with the Entente powers against Turkey and the other Central Powers which led to the victorious powers awarding parts of Asia Minor to Greece after the war. Several conflicts between Turkey and Greece boiled over in the years after with territorial battles between them spilling over into the Greco-Turkish War of 1919 - 1922 (also known as the War in Asia Minor). The outcome of this was to establish a Turkish state and return Greece to it's pre-WW1 borders.

During WW2, despite heavy resistance the country fell to Germany in 1941 after which many people fled for Australia, Canada and the United States. Even after liberation, Greece and its people suffered further with the outbreak of a bitter civil war between communist insurgents and the right-wing government forces which continued until 1949.

The Greek economy recovered rapidly after the war with the aide of the US's Marshall Plan loans and later through the emergence of the tourist industry.

An army coup d’etat in 1967 was followed by a time of brutality and repression. The occupation of Cyprus by the Turkish became a big issue in Greek politics, and it still is.

In 1981 Greece entered the European Community (EC, now EU); in 2001 the euro became the new currency.

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