Welfare and Legitimacy in Revolutionary Greece: Europe’s Social Legacy in State Formation

This article examines the emergence of social welfare mechanisms in Greece from the outbreak of the War of Independence (1821) to the early years of the Bavarian Regency (1833–1835), situating them within the broader context of European state formation. Drawing on legislative texts, administrative correspondence, and constitutional documents, it argues that the revolutionary and early post-revolutionary efforts to provide for widows, orphans, and the sick were not random acts of charity but deliberate steps toward institutional organization and political legitimacy. The establishment of hospitals, orphanages, and health regulations under Ioannis Kapodistrias, followed by the Regency’s legal frameworks for public health and municipal welfare, reflected the gradual evolution from community-based solidarity to state-administered social care. The study highlights how these initiatives were inspired by Enlightenment ideals and Western European administrative models, demonstrating that social policy functioned as a key component of the emerging Greek state’s legitimacy. Ultimately, early welfare measures contributed to the consolidation of state authority, the internalization of accountability, and the integration of Greece into the European political and institutional order.