Leicester Fitzgerald Charles Stanhope (1784 1862) played a controversial role in the struggle for Greek independence. After a career in the Indian army, he offered his services to the London Greek Committee in 1823, and was sent as its agent to Greece. However, his paternalistic view of the Greeks, as childlike 'natives' in need of guidance, was resented both by the Greeks themselves and by other members of the Committee. His approach, which supported the imposition of a unified constitutional system from above, alienated the Greek factions, especially Alexandros Mavrokordatos, whose...