Protectorate of Cyprus (1878−1914) In 1878, as a result of the
Cyprus Convention, the
United Kingdom received as a protectorate the
island of Cyprus from the
Ottoman Empire in exchange for United Kingdom's military support to the Ottoman Empire should Russia attempt to take possession of territories of the Ottomans in the Middle East. The first British administrator was given the title of "
High Commissioner", and was Lieutenant-General
Garnet Joseph Wolseley. The British faced a major political problem on the island. The indigenous Cypriots believed it their natural right to unite the island with Greece following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The British authorities carried out the first census in 1881, the total population of Cyprus was 186,173, of whom 137,631 (73.9%) were Greeks, 45,438 (24.4%) were Turks and 3,084 (1.7%) were
Maronites, Latins and
Armenians. Bishop of Kitium Kyprianos addressed Wolseley upon his arrival in
Larnaca in a speech on 22 July 1878 saying "We (Greeks) accept the change of the government, because we believe that
Great Britain will eventually help
Cyprus, just like with the
Ionian islands, unite Cyprus with mother Greece". While the Cypriots at first welcomed British rule hoping that they would gradually achieve prosperity, democracy and national liberation, they became disillusioned. The British imposed heavy
taxes to cover the compensation which they were paying to the Sultan for having conceded Cyprus to them. Moreover, the people were not given the right to participate in the administration of the island, since all powers were reserved to the High Commissioner and to London.
British Cyprus (1914–1960) Cyprus was part of the British Empire under military occupation from 1914 to 1925 and a Crown colony from 1925 to 1960. Cyprus's status as a
protectorate of the
British Empire ended in 1914 when the Ottoman Empire declared war against the
Triple Entente powers, which included Great Britain. Cyprus was then
annexed by the British Empire on 5 November 1914. During the course of the
First World War Britain offered to cede Cyprus to Greece if they would fulfill treaty obligations to attack
Bulgaria, but Greece declined. Britain proclaimed Cyprus the
Crown colony of
British Cyprus in 1925, under an
undemocratic constitution. International recognition of the new
Republic of Turkey resulted from the
Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 in which the new Turkish government formally recognised Britain's sovereignty over Cyprus (article 20). The administration was reformed in the latter 1920s, and some members of the Legislative Council (established 1926) were elected by the Cypriots, but their participation was very marginal. The Legislative Council was abolished in 1931. Greek Cypriots believed the circumstances were right to demand the union of the island with Greece (
enosis), as many of the Aegean and Ionian islands had done following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. In the years that followed, Greek Cypriots' demands for
enosis (union with Greece), which the British opposed, developed rapidly during the 1930s, leading to the destruction of the Government House in
Nicosia, which was burnt down in the
1931 Cyprus Revolt.
Palmerokratia The period between October 1931 and October 1940 was difficult for the Cypriots. The Governor at the time, Sir
Richmond Palmer, took a number of suppressive measures including limitations on the administration and functioning of Greek schools, and prohibition of trade unions and associations of any kind and form. This regime became known as "Palmerokratia", named after the Governor. Its aim was to prevent local public interest in politics. There were strong protests against the regime but the suppressive measures were not lifted until the beginning of the
Second World War, during which more than thirty thousand Cypriots joined the British armed forces. Endeavours by the British to introduce
constitutional government designed to develop some participation without leading to
enosis failed, despite determined efforts to achieve some semblance of liberal and democratic government, notably by the
post-war Labour government in Britain.
Proposed union with Greece In 1948, King
Paul of Greece declared that Cyprus desired union with Greece. In 1950 the
Orthodox Church of Cyprus presented
a referendum according to which around 97% of the Greek Cypriot population wanted the union. In 1952 both Greece and Turkey became members of
NATO. After the war, a delegation from Cyprus submitted a demand for enosis to London. The demand was rejected but the British proposed a more liberal constitution and a 10-year programme of social and economic development. Led by Archbishop
Makarios, the Greek Cypriot demand for enosis emerged with new force in the 1950s, when Greece began to accord it support on the international scene. This attempt to win world support alerted
Turkey and alarmed the Turkish Cypriots. The British withdrawal from Egypt led to Cyprus becoming the new location for their Middle East Headquarters.
Cyprus Emergency When international pressure did not suffice to make Britain respond as required, violence escalated with a campaign against the colonial power organised by
EOKA (
Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston). Its leader, Colonel
George Grivas, created and directed an effective campaign beginning in 1955. The first bombs were set off on April 1, followed by leaflets. Attacks on police stations started on June 19. The British Governor proclaimed a
State of Emergency on 26 November 1955. For the next four years EOKA attacked British or British-connected targets and those Cypriots it accused of collaboration. Archbishop Makarios and other Cypriot clergy and political leaders were forced into exile in the
Seychelles. 371 British servicemen died fighting the independence movement during the Cyprus Emergency, including over 20 in the
Operation Lucky Alphonse. Easily infiltrated by Greek Cypriot sympathisers working for them in various ancillary tasks, the British security forces had to exert great efforts under
Field Marshal Sir
John Harding to suppress the independence movement. They were much more successful than is often recognised, though the attacks on British personnel never quite ceased. Makarios was exiled, suspected of involvement in the EOKA campaign, but was released when EOKA, exhausted but still determined to fight, agreed to cease hostilities on the Archbishop's release and return. From mid-1956 onwards there were constant discussions in
NATO, but all efforts to create an independent Cyprus which would be a member of the
Commonwealth of Nations were futile.
Turkish Cypriots The
Turkish Cypriot response to the challenges posed by the prospect of decolonization and the breakdown of the colonial order was to adopt the call for partition (
taksim). Taksim became the slogan which was used by the increasingly militant Turkish Cypriots in an attempt to mirror the Greek cry of 'enosis'. In 1957 Küçük declared during a visit to Ankara that Turkey would claim the northern half of the island. In April 1957, in the new conditions made obvious by the
Suez Crisis, the British government accepted that
bases on Cyprus were an acceptable alternative to
Cyprus as a base. This produced a much more relaxed British attitude to the problem. It was now to be solved in conjunction with
Greece and
Turkey, the latter thoroughly alerted to the dangers of
enosis for the Turkish Cypriot population. Violence was renewed in Cyprus by EOKA, but it increasingly drew in the Turkish community when a new plan for unitary self-government, of British Governor Sir
Hugh Foot, incited Turkish Cypriot riots and produced a hostile response from the Turkish government. Violence between the two communities developed into a new and deadly feature of the situation. In 1957 the U.N. decided that the issue should be resolved according to its
Statutory Map. The exiles returned, and both sides began a series of violent acts against each other. In the few years that existed before the
Zürich and London Agreements (1959 /1960) Greece tried again to win international recognition and support for the cause of enosis at the U.N. against a background of renewed and continuing EOKA violence directed against the British. It was to no avail. Eventually Greece had to recognise that Turkey was now a vitally interested party in the dispute. Grivas and EOKA also had to accept the changed situation. Makarios could see no way of excluding Turkey from participating in any solutions. It was widely believed by the Greek Cypriots that Britain had promoted the Turkish Cypriot case, thus preventing the achievement of
enosis. In 1958 the British Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan prepared new proposals for Cyprus, but his plan which was a form of partition, was rejected by Archbishop Makarios. The Archbishop declared that he would only accept a proposal which guaranteed independence, excluding both Enosis and partition.
Cypriot constitution On February 19, 1959 the Zürich agreement attempted to end the conflict. Without the presence of either the Greek or the Turkish sides, the UK outlined a Cypriot constitution, which was eventually accepted by both sides. Both Greece and Turkey along with Britain were appointed as guarantors of the island's integrity. Some of the major points of the Zurich agreement are: • Cyprus is to become an independent state. • Both
taksim and
enosis are to be prohibited. • Greek and Turkish military forces, at a ratio of approximately 3:2, are to be present at all time in Cyprus. Both forces are to answer to all three foreign ministers: of Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus. • The President is to be a
Greek Cypriot, elected by the Greek Cypriot population, and the Vice President a
Turkish Cypriot, elected by the Turkish Cypriot population. • The Cabinet is to include seven Greek Cypriots, chosen by the President, and three Turkish Cypriots, chosen by the Vice President. • Decisions will need an absolute majority but both the President and the Vice President have the right of
veto. • The United Kingdom is to remain a guarantor and keep both of its military bases. ==Independence==