Turkish Rule in Cyprus

With the Turks controlling the whole of the eastern Mediter¬ranean, Cyprus lost its strate¬gic importance and was left to stagnate. Some 20,000 new settlers were brought in from Anatolia. The Turkish admin¬istrators, for the most part Nicosia based tax collectors, proved more idle than oppres¬sive. Roads, fortresses and churches fell into ruin. Just as mosques in Spain had been turned into cathedrals, so Gothic churches here were converted to mosques with an added minaret or two.

But after 250 years of Catholic intolerance, Greek Cypriots appreciated the regained status of the Orthodox Church. By 1660, the Sultan made their archbishop directly responsible for the Cypriot citizenry. He could and did appeal to the Sultan over the heads of local officials. This authority extended gradually from the people's personal needs to the collecting of taxes for the Ottoman treasury so as to counter the corrupt and often rebellious Turkish ad¬ministrators. Peasants found taxes an ever heavier burden but at least they could no shrug off feudal serfdom and acquire their Own land.

For the archbishop's dealing with the Turkish authorities, a Greek-Cypriot interpreter or dragoman was appointed who could acquire great influence and wealth by playing off one side against the other. Archbishop and middleman were often sus¬pected of exploiting their responsibility for the undue enrichment of the church or themselves.

The Greek War of Independence

At the beginning of the 19th century, dragoman Hadjigeorgakis Kornessios was considered the wealthiest and most powerful man on the island. During the Greek War of Independence of 1821, Archbishop Kyprianos let Greek rebel ships pick up supplies on the north coast. Turkey immediately sent in 4,000 Syrian troops. The arch¬bishop and three of his bishops were executed. More troops were brought in from Egypt, resulting in large-scale mas¬sacres and plunder of church property.

Over the next 50 years, the Sultan tried to halt widespread abuses by Turkish tax collec¬tors which were provoking massive emigration of Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Local Turkish officials opposed all reforms, often resorting to armed intimidation of gover¬nors sent in by the Sultan. The disintegration of Ottoman au¬thority in Cyprus was sympto¬matic of the imminent collapse of the empire.

The British in Cyprus and car hire at Larnaca AirportHundreds of years on, the British are still visiting Cyprus in large numbers, although this invasion is of a completely different nature, and if you want to fully explore the island of Cyprus, the best and most economical way to do it, is to pre-book a hire a car from Larnaca Airport.

With 'the sick man of Europe' on his deathbed, the super¬powers of the time hovered around like vultures to pick at the remains, among which Cyprus was a choice little bone. Britain was concerned that the eastern Mediterranean remain safe for its ships to pass through the Suez Canal to India. To keep Russia out, Britain signed the Cyprus Convention with Turkey, whereby the island came under British administration while formally remaining the Sul¬tan's possession.

On 12 July 1878, the deal was sealed with a peaceful little flag-raising ceremony in Nicosia that contrasted sharply with the bloody massacres that had once the Gulf War was to activate the plan in Meso¬potamia (modern Iraq). But by 1882, Cyprus’s strategic significance had been super¬seded by British occupation of Egypt, which provided Alexandria as direct protection for the Suez Canal.

Only the first two British governors of Cyprus were military men. Thereafter, civilians from the Colonial Office did the job. Greek Cypriots were happy about the transfer of power from corrupt Turks to upright Britons. They appreciated the new schools, hospitals, law courts and roads that had become the hallmark of British colonial administration. Popu¬lation rose from 186,000 in 1881 to 310,000 in 192!.

Cyprus union with Greece

But the most important contribu¬tion they expected from the British would be to help Cyprus achieve union with Greece enosis as they had done for Corfu and the other Ionian Islands in 1864. As long as he was in opposition, Gladstone supported the claim, but did nothing about it when he became prime minister. It was of course opposed by the Turkish-Cypriot minor¬ity 46,500 (25%) in 1881. They usually remained calm, confident that Britain would respect its alliance with Turkey and not give in, but violent demonstrations did break out when the Greek-¬Cypriot enosis campaign grew vociferous.

In 1914, Turkey sided with Germany in World War 1 and Britain promptly annexed Cyprus. Turkey relinquished all claim after the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 and the is¬land became a British Crown Colony two years later. More roads were built, but not in the direction of enosis. In 1931, impatient Greek Cypriot members of the Leg¬islative Council resigned, there were riots in Nicosia, a priest brandished the Greek flag crying 'I proclaim the revolution', and Government House was burned down.

Cyprus and World War II

Troops were brought in from Egypt. Insurgent bishops were deported, political parties banned, the Greek flag out¬lawed and press censorship imposed. But in World War II, in response to the British alliance with Greece against Germany and Italy, Cypriots rallied to the British flag and furnished a 30,000 strong reg¬iment.

The island's political parties were duly reinstated. Britain's Labour government of 1945 thought it was doing Cyprus a favour by moving it, like other colonies, towards self-rule. But the slogan of the day was 'Enosis and only eno¬sis'. In 1950, the year that a plebiscite of Greek Cypriots voted 96% in favour of union with Greece, the Church appointed a new leader, Arch¬bishop Makarios III.