3 September 1843 Revolution The 3 September 1843 Revolution ( , NS 13 September ) , was an uprising by the Greek Army in Athens , supported by large sections of the people , against the autocratic rule of King Otto . The rebels , led by veterans of the Greek War of Independence , demanded the granting of a constitution and the departure of the Bavarian officials that dominated the government . The revolution succeeded , ushering the period of constitutional monarchy in Greece . Background . During the War of Independence , the Greek rebels had passed a series of liberal and progressive constitutions on which the war ' s provisional governments were based . With the establishment of the monarchy in 1832 and the arrival of the Bavarian prince Otto as king , however , these liberal institutions were discarded . For the next 10 years , Otto and his mainly Bavarian officials would rule in an autocratic manner , causing large - scale resentment amongst a people that had just been liberated from foreign rule . The " Bavarocracy " ( Βαυαροκρατία ) , as it was called , intentionally recalling the periods of " Francocracy " and " Turcocracy " , even extended to the use of German alongside Greek in the state administration . Greek politicians constantly demanded an end to this state of affairs . They wished for the Bavarians , above all the much - despised Major Hess , to be sent back to their country and for a constitution to be granted . However , they did not question the monarchy itself or the power of the king . Indeed , they did not wish to impose a constitution , but demanded that the king grant them one . These demands grew ever stronger as time passed , and cut across the political spectrum : all political parties , the French , the English , and the Russian , expressed them . The conspiracy . The king ’ s repeated refusals to yield to these demands led to a radicalisation . Therefore , the politicians resorted to conspiracy , which was not a new form of political action in Greece – indeed it had preceded and occurred during the War of Independence . The first Greek governments , such as that of John Capodistria , had had to confront it , and conspiracies had never really disappeared . However , this movement was much more important and came out into the open on 3 September 1843 . The principal conspirators were Yannis Makriyannis , Andreas Metaxas , Andreas Londos , , Michael Soutzos and . They had managed to convince certain officers to join their side , chief among these being Colonel Dimitrios Kallergis ( Commander of the Athens cavalry ) , Colonel Skarvelis ( Commander of the Athens infantry ) and Colonel Spyromilios ( Commander of the Military Academy ) . Thus , the conspirators were certain to have army support . Their idea was to act quickly so as to present the Palace with a " fait accompli " . A first date was chosen : 25 March 1844 , anniversary of the uprising against the Ottomans . The constitution would then appear as the logical and necessary consequence of independence . However , the secret was not well kept . Yannis Makriyannis , for example , spent his time trying to recruit new conspirators and in the process exposed the conspiracy . It was decided to pass more quickly to action , at the beginning of September 1843 . The revolution . On the night of 2 September 1843 , it was learned that the names of the conspirators were known to the police services . Moreover , incidents took place around Makriyannis ’ home . Therefore , Kallergis acted on his own initiative . He went looking for his men in their barracks and headed toward the royal palace . At the same time , he ordered that the gates of Medrese Prison be opened . Captain Schinas , who commanded the Athens artillery , received an order to suppress the nascent insurrection , but he preferred to join the movement . The soldiers arrived at the royal palace and shouted “ Long live the Constitution ! ” beneath the king ’ s windows . Otto could not but yield to the demands and granted the 1844 Constitution . In fact , the Council of State had already drawn up the constitution in anticipation of the coup . The king then asked Metaxas to form a new government and to summon a new national assembly , which met on 10 November ( OS ) / 20 November ( NS ) . The troops returned to their barracks , acclaiming the king as a “ constitutional ” one . The coup was bloodless . France and the United Kingdom accepted these changes without difficulty . For the French of the July Monarchy era , 3 September 1843 could only bring to mind their own Revolution of 1830 . As for the British , their Glorious Revolution of 1688 was a liberal model " par excellence " in the 19th century . Only Russia condemned the movement , for she was autocratic , authoritarian , and consequently anti - liberal . The assembly designated a constitutional commission and a constitution was proclaimed in March 1844 . Since then , the square in front of the royal palace has been renamed Constitution Square , or Syntagma Square in Greek .