History of Cyprus. Turkey will capture Cyprus or a war will start between northern and southern Cyprus. New rise of Cyprus

Beginning in 1860, British interest in the Middle East increased. This was primarily due to the fact that the Ottoman Empire, whose possessions were of great strategic and economic value, was in crisis, and the neighboring countries, like hungry predators, had already begun to divide the booty. Britain did not want to miss its chance in this division.

THE COLLAPSE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Serious financial problems began with the Ottoman Empire in the XVI century. In subsequent centuries, they worsened, and by the end of the 19th century they led to the collapse of the entire state. At first, the Ottoman rulers hoped to solve the problem with internal loans, but their interest was high, which in the end only increased the problem.
It was then decided to seek help from neighboring countries. Between 1854 and 1876, the Ottoman Empire signed 15 foreign loan agreements. With the help of borrowed money, Turkey hoped to carry out political and economic reforms in the country. This period in the history of the empire was called the Tanzimat. The reforms were supposed to give the country a new political and administrative organization. The main protagonist of the Tanzimat was Reshid Pasha. Tanzimat did not justify the hopes placed on him Western Europe, - the revival of Turkey did not happen.
In 1853 the Crimean War began. It was fought between the Russian Empire and a coalition of the British, French, Ottoman empires and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The aim of the war was to prevent Russian control of the Mediterranean. Against the backdrop of the weakening of the Turks, Russia's geographical interests began to expand - and this worried Britain.
To cover the expenses caused by the war, in 1854 the Ottoman Empire signed the first foreign loan agreement in history. France and Britain helpfully offered to borrow money. And in 1875, the Ottomans officially declared themselves bankrupt. This news shocked London.

THE STRUGGLE OF BRITAIN FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN
Benjamin Disraeli immediately rushed to protect the interests of Britain. The fight was not easy, France and Egypt took part in it. But Disraeli managed to buy a 44% stake in the Suez Canal, as a result of which he became the only owner in his country of the keys to the gates to India. Now Britain had only to consolidate its position in the Mediterranean.
On April 24, 1877, Russia declared war on Turkey. Britain, even in a nightmare, could not imagine that Constantinople would be in the hands of the Russians. Immediately began to discuss the question of a military base in the Mediterranean. The list of contenders included Rhodes, Crete, Cyprus... And on January 9, 1878, the Ottoman Empire admitted defeat in the war with Russia. The question of the division of the Mediterranean territories arose very sharply, the threat of an Anglo-Russian war even loomed on the horizon.

CYPRUS - MILITARY BASE OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
On May 2, 1878, the final decision of the British was announced - it was Cyprus that would become their base to protect the interests of the empire. The next day, Queen Victoria received a letter from the government, which stated in part: “... If Cyprus belongs to Her Majesty ... the power of the British in this region will be greatly increased, and as a result of this, the Indian part of the empire, belonging to Her Majesty, will be strengthened... Cyprus is the key to Western Asia.”
This decision was immediately put into practice. The British chose Famagusta as the strategic port of the island. And although from the point of view of military strategy in Cyprus there was not a single port that met the requirements of the military, including the port of Famagusta, the decision was made.

William Ewart Gladstone, an English statesman and writer, Prime Minister of Great Britain, actively opposed the "Eastern policy" of the government. He took an active part in organizing a social movement against the policies of Benjamin Disraeli in the East. But his skirmishes with Disraeli were too personal.
Nevertheless, Cyprus has become the main topic of conversation in Britain. Newspapers called it "the new gem of the empire", front-page sketches of the port of Famagusta were published, which was solemnly called "the ancient Venetian port of Cyprus." The British press vied with each other to prove to each other that there was no best place for the location of the British naval forces! What a wonderful strategic point for defending the Suez Canal! What is the second and most convenient way to India! But the biggest emphasis of politics and reporters was on "historical continuity", again emphasizing the "historical right" of the British to Cyprus.

UNSUITABILITY OF THE CYPRUS CLIMATE
The Cypriot climate and unhealthy conditions have also been attacked by the liberals. But the British government refused to take these facts into account, claiming that the sanitary and climatic conditions on the island were ideal, contrary to the reports of the Daily News newspaper about the real climatic situation in Cyprus.
However, when the English soldiers who landed on the island - 5,000 soldiers from India and 3,000 soldiers from Britain - fell ill with a fever, the harmfulness of the Cypriot climate no longer needed to be proved. The British, not accustomed to high temperatures and the merciless sun, also suffered from sun and heat stroke.
Humidity and swampiness of many parts of the island caused the reproduction of malarial mosquitoes here, and therefore a huge number of British soldiers died in Cyprus due to malaria.

One of the British governors of Cyprus wrote to his wife: “I am looking forward to leaving Nicosia, because I am sure that if we have to stay here, we will all suffer very much. This is a cesspool where all the waste has been dumped for centuries.”
When the reality became clear, the mood of the English newspapers about Cyprus changed. Until recently, being the "gem of the empire", the island turned into a "heavy burden imposed on Britain." Liberals again went on the attack on the government.

Cyprus on loan from the British

After the end of the Russian-Turkish war in 1878, Turkey, having been defeated, was on the verge of complete collapse. At the Berlin Congress, a convention was signed under which the rights to Cyprus were transferred to Great Britain. In return, the Turks received 100 thousand pounds sterling annually. So the British rented the island.
There were two main reasons why the British economic policy towards Cyprus was controversial. First, Cyprus was acquired in order to protect and enhance the interests of the British Empire. However, the British government did not spend a single pound from the imperial treasury to achieve this goal. Some funds were invested a little later, but this did not lead to the originally set goal.
Secondly, Cyprus was perceived as a "land of abundance" when the government took on the obligation to pay rent for the island to the Turks. And the news that Cyprus turned out to be economically unviable and that a significant amount from the imperial treasury would still be needed in order to pay the annual quitrent came as a shock to the British.
A significant part of the debt was paid by the British through higher taxes on the island. The Cypriot peasants repeatedly complained to Archbishop Sofronios about the exorbitant burden. In the end, Sofronios personally went to London on a visit, where he spoke about the mutual obligations of the state and the Church in relation to the people of the country. Sofronios also did a lot to develop good neighborly relations between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot peasants.
At the same time, Turkey had to pay the debt of Britain and France, which financed its participation in the Crimean War. The Sultan even offered to increase the amount of annual payments to the treasury of the British Empire in order to make it easier for them to pay the debt for renting Cyprus.
Despite the financial difficulties, the British have invested a lot of money in the development of the social infrastructure of the island.

Joseph Chamberlain, British Secretary of State for the Colonies (the head of government responsible for the imperial colonies), repeatedly approached the British government with plans for the development of Cyprus. He actively supported the development of mass education on the island, communal amenities, he was worried about the backward way of farming.

It was he who proposed to build a railway in Cyprus and carry out significant irrigation work in the Messaoria valley. Under his leadership, the reconstruction of the Famagusta fort began.
Behind the daily chores, the British did not notice how the idea of ​​\u200b\u200benosis, the national association of the Greeks, began to actively spread in Cyprus. Hellenic-centrist consciousness came to Cyprus from across the sea. The main goal of this movement was to cleanse the Cypriot orthodox from the influence of "foreigners".

The Cyprus Railway, built by the British, operated from 1905 to 1951. For 76 miles it had 39 stations. Starting in Famagusta, it passed through Nicosia and Morpha, and ended in the village of Evrychou. Its construction lasted from 1904 to 1915 and cost Britain almost £200,000. The railway had 12 locomotives, 17 passenger and 100 freight cars. About two hundred people were employed in its service. A variety of goods were transported along this road, including timber, ore, and mail. The stations were used for unloading wagons and as the island's telephone and postal centers. During the history of its existence, approximately 3,199,934 tons of cargo and 7,348,643 passengers have been transported by the Cypriot railway. However, the use of the railway was considered unprofitable: in December 1951 it was closed, and by March 1952 it was dismantled.

DOES A "NATION" EXIST?
In 1983, Benedict Anderson's book "Imagined Communities" was released - this is a concept within the theory of the nation, where Anderson considers the nation as an artificially constructed society - that is, invented by people who perceive themselves as part of it. He believes that an imaginary community differs from a real community in that it cannot be based on the daily communication of its members. Instead, participants hold in their minds a mental image of their likeness. He is convinced that any nation is imaginary, "because the members of even the smallest nation will never know the majority of their brothers in the nation, meet with them or even hear about them, while in the minds of each of them lives the image of their community."
A nation always implies the existence of other nations, and the specificity of its phenomenon is precisely in opposition to other nations. Nations always strive for autonomy, separation from "others", the guarantee of which is a sovereign state.
“But regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may exist in every nation, the nation is always understood as a deep, horizontal fellowship. Ultimately, it is this brotherhood that, over the past two centuries, has given many millions of people the opportunity not so much to kill as to voluntarily die for such limited products of the imagination,” writes Anderson.
Stasis Gourguris in his book Dream Nation ("Imaginary Nation") says that the nation is just a socially imaginary institution. He writes about the "fundamental non-existence of the nation" in general. The book examines in detail the different periods of development of Greece, but Special attention is given to the period when Hellenism became a kind of cult, the revival of the ideas of Hellenism became a dream, "nostalgia for utopia", "a great idea".

HISTORY ORIGIN OF THE IDEA OF "ENOSIS"
The history of modern Greece is usually counted from the proclamation and final recognition of the independence of the Kingdom of Greece in 1832, when the "national script" of the country was written. However, only about a sixth of the Greeks of the Mediterranean lived on the territory of independent Greece at that time. And then, among other lands, Cyprus was included in the "topological dream", which extended to the entire Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey).
The "Cyprus Association" was formed by the nationalists in Athens, and in 1880 600 Greeks from Greece were sent to the island to carry out agitation work in favor of "enosis" - a national association. It was from that time that the notion began to be invested in the consciousness of people that Greeks and Cypriots are one and the same, part of one nation. Such associations began to finance first the study of the Greek language on the island (the Cypriots spoke a dialect), and subsequently the teaching in schools exclusively in Greek. Gradually, many Cypriot schools, including the Pan-Cypriot Gymnasium in Nicosia, began to teach according to the curriculum brought from Greece. At the same time, English was taught at the school, it was studied by children of both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

Cyprian - at that time the archbishop of the island - was a supporter of the idea of ​​Hellenism, therefore it can be assumed that this idea was actively inspired by the parishioners of the Cypriot Church.

It can be said that the British, absorbed in achieving their goals on the island, did not particularly strive to understand the internal ideological changes taking place in Cyprus. And besides, they had two mutually exclusive points of view on local residents.

On the one hand, the Cypriots were for them just simple villagers who could be used as labor. At the same time, they saw them as Asians who aspired to be modern Western Europeans and who would be happy to take part in the modernization of their native country. At the same time, it was assumed that this modernization would proceed according to the ideas of the British themselves and strictly according to their own plans. For example, it was strongly recommended to include the study of English in the compulsory Cypriot school curriculum.
At the same time, British politicians criticized the movement for the national unification of Greece, accusing the ideological leaders of the latter of being too associated with their ancient ancestors and their ideas, instead of creating a "modern Greece" that meets modern conditions and requirements.
The rapidity with which this movement developed began to worry the British, especially in the context of the influence of this movement on the Cypriot Church, and therefore on the mood of the Cypriots. Therefore, gradually the relationship between the Cypriot Church and the Cypriot British administration began to change.
Among the British politicians were those who supported the Greek idea of ​​national unification. But still, these politicians (in particular Churchill) emphasized, the British also respect the rights of the Ottoman Empire, and the rights of those Muslims who have been living in the lands of the Levant for several centuries. In particular, at that time, 74% of the population of Cyprus were Orthodox Christians, and 24.5% were Muslims.
Henry Thurstan Holland, British politician and Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs 1887-92 more than once, in conversations with the then Archbishop of Cyprus, Sofronios, he emphasized that relations between the Church and the state should be built exclusively on legal basis. With the consent of the archbishop, it was decided to give the Cypriot Church some freedom as long as no opposition to British interests was met on her part.
But time passed, the head representatives of the Cypriot Church changed, and those who more and more supported the idea of ​​Hellenism came to power. As a result, the orthodox Christians of Cyprus gradually became involved in the national-political dispute. The first serious clash on the basis of the national question on the island between Orthodox and Muslims occurred in 1912 during the war between the Ottoman Empire and Italy. This war kindled nationalism in the neighboring countries as well. Seeing how easily the Italians had defeated the disorganized masses of the Ottoman army, the members of the Balkan Union (the political-military bloc of Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria) attacked Turkey before the Italo-Turkish War was over. Cyprus supported its "big sister" Greece on the scale of its territory.

Troodos, British base. Old Antique Print. 1879

The debate about the need to maintain the British army in Cyprus continued for several years. In the end, after the situation in Egypt was settled (recall that Britain bombed Alexandria, using Limassol as a naval base), it was decided to withdraw British troops from the island.

The first part of the British military left the island in 1895. This frightened the supporters of Hellenism in Cyprus: they understood that when the British left the island, the Turks would return here, with whom it was much more difficult to negotiate.
In 1898, William Smith, the fifth Commissioner for British Colonial Affairs, proposed the formation of an army in Cyprus, consisting of local residents, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. This issue was discussed at the highest level in London, and as a result, the decision was taken in the negative. After several years of dealing with the Greek Cypriots, the British recognized them as a "non-military race", while the Turkish Cypriots were unanimously recognized as "as if specially created for the war." The idea of ​​creating a common army did not receive support.
The British lost their last hope of turning Cyprus into their military outpost. This means that further material investments in the infrastructure of the island also did not make sense. The British Ministry of Defense decided to transfer the construction of military buildings and roads to the hands of the local administration - the construction sites were abandoned. The military department also insisted on the withdrawal of the British military units remaining in Cyprus. But then the departments for colonial and foreign affairs intervened: the ever-increasing agitation for the ideas of Hellenism began to cause serious concerns among the British. In addition, on the basis of Hellenism, relations between the Christian and Muslim communities of the island heated up. And so it was decided not to withdraw all troops from the island.

A PAW IN THE INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE
In 1908, France and Russia started pushing for Cyprus to be returned to the Ottoman Empire. The reason for this was the "Cretan Question". At the end of 1897, the fleets of Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy captured Crete, knocking out the Turks from there. Crete fell under European protectorate. Cretan autonomy was created on the island under the name "Cretan State". Soon in Crete, 90% of the population of which were Greeks, an enosis movement arose (for joining Greece).
Instead of Crete taken from the Turks, France and Russia offered to return Cyprus to them. The UK refused. The German ambassador in Constantinople suggested that the latter was secretly hatching plans to transfer Cyprus and Crete to Greece in exchange for the deployment of British military bases in Crete.
But the British had their own plans. At that time, the German navy competed with the British fleet, and therefore Britain dreamed of blocking the Austro-Hungarian fleet in the Adriatic by placing its bases in the Ionian Islands. And because the British government discussed the issue of surrendering Cyprus to Greece in exchange for the right to locate its naval base in the seaside city of Argostoli (Kefalonia). This plan was called Argostoli Proposal.

Let's digress a little from big politics and see how they lived in Cyprus ordinary English- soldiers, doctors, engineers, their wives and children who came to the island after its colonization by the British Empire; how relations developed between the two nations - the colonial British and local residents.
On a hot July day in 1878, soldiers from the Royal Highlanders (the Black Watch) battalion landed off the coast of Larnaca. They wade from ship to shore. Thus began the occupation of the island by the British, in whose ambitious imperial visions the island had long played a controversial role. At that moment, no one could even imagine that the always successful English administration of the colonies here would suddenly end in complete collapse. The rarely mistaken British politicians failed to foresee that the division along national lines, the confusion with the national identity of the Cypriots, too much conservativeness and the lack of breadth of views among their own administrators would lead to a bloody tragedy that played out on the island ...
For more than a hundred years, the British and Cypriots have had political, economic, and strategic relations. Until now, the largest number of tourists who annually come to rest in Cyprus are the British. The largest number of properties on the island (after, of course, the Cypriots) belongs to the British. For more than a hundred years now, English schools have been successfully operating in Cyprus, where education is conducted according to the English educational system. At the very least, every inhabitant of this island knows English. Many foreigners who come to the island mistakenly believe that English is the official language of the Republic of Cyprus.
Until now, the British live on the island, who came here as colonizers - they are grown-up children of English engineers, military men, doctors, teachers ... They love this island and consider it their historical homeland. Let's see how it all began...
Exploration of the mountain peaks of Cyprus
It was common practice for British colonizers to choose their residence and base their camps in the coolest places in their colonies. In Cyprus, this was supported by a real need - too high waterlogging and humidity of coastal areas, malaria, too high air temperatures in the summer months ... Therefore, in Cyprus, the relocation of the British to the Troodos was hasty.
Covered with pines and firs Mountain peaks, reaching a height of almost 2000 m, were not chosen by chance. In those days, the Troodos areas were practically uninhabited. By the summer of 1879, British sapper troops (Royal Engineers) with their families moved here, they were joined by a number of local residents with their wives and children - the Cypriots were hired by the British for construction and to work as servants. Soon the first road Limassol - Troodos was built with a length of 35 kilometers. She passed, by the way, through the economically important wine-growing regions of the island.
Upon arrival in the mountains, the pioneers faced a certain discomfort: they had to live in tent tents, which they placed between pine trees. The tents were connected by stone paths marked with white paint. Wooden signs with direction indicators were nailed to the trees: "Post Office", "Church", "Shop", "Hospital" ... And if at first the camp life seemed harsh to the settlers, they soon found it charming. In this camp, under canvas roofs, life went on as usual: issues of national importance were resolved here, children were born, picnics and parties were held. The inhabitants of this makeshift camp even had their own theater! The actors in it were English soldiers and members of their families. Surrounded by high mountain pines under a canvas awning, comedies and dramas were played out in which the pioneers laughed and cried over their difficulties.
One of the main advantages of living in the mountains was solitude. Before the British built roads, there were no villages on the tops of the Troodos. And because there were no local residents with whom it would be necessary to negotiate, adapt to their lifestyle or solve emerging problems. On literally bare stones, a self-sufficient, closed colonial experience was created, which was based only on the idea, the fantasy of exactly how Cyprus should be.
From the heights of the Troodos, the colonial government could stretch its arms wide, relying only on abstract experience, avoiding uncomfortable compromises. But they would be inevitable in direct contact with the inhabitants of the cities, whose real demands would only complicate "effective colonial administration."
While the year-long pilgrimage to the Troodos mountains served its purpose and achieved its goals, it was in fact a sad experience in enforcing laws based only on fantasies about what colonial life should be like. This, however, did not prevent the colonists from experiencing a sense of their own importance and from realizing the great imperial project. The Illustrated London News added fuel to the fire by romanticizing the British summer camp: it compared the Cypriot Mount Olympus, where the colonists settled, with the ancient Olympus, the mythological home of the Greek gods.

Life of the colonialists
Most English women have shifted the responsibility for household chores onto the shoulders of local residents hired as servants. For example, they preferred to send kitchen workers to the market instead of going there themselves. Temporary officials living in Troodos, when leaving, handed over cooks "in inheritance" along with the rest of the servants, as a result of which the life history of the servants was usually known to all the old inhabitants of the island, as well as all their talents and shortcomings. One of the colonialists, Gladys Peto, believed that the transfer of a cook from hand to hand had its advantages, since “when you arrange a dinner for friends you have known for a year, a cook who has known them for ten years can be very useful: “No, the doctor never eats curry... and the lady is very fond of cheese pies... Make a cheese pie today?" A good cook in Nicosia in 1927 earned about five pounds a month, a cook 2 pounds 10 shillings.
Primitive kitchen equipment made the work of servants difficult: for baking or frying, they used an inverted kerosene tank, under which hot coals were placed. This practice was adopted by the British: this is how they baked and fried in British homes in Cyprus until the late 1950s.
British officials in high positions usually had three servants, and sometimes five. For example, Madame Phyllis Ridgeway, whose husband earned £35 a month, had separate servants for the kitchen, garden, housekeeping and shopping. Many of the Cypriots working as servants were related to each other. They lived in separate tents, not far from the camp of their masters.

The far-reaching plans of the British in relation to Cyprus are also confirmed by the fact that all official employees of the colony were required to learn Greek or Turkish. Until they passed the language exam, they received only a third of their salary! This rule is not rnizatorov, had to learn English. Soon, knowledge of English on the island became a prerequisite for getting a good job.

Cypriots who were given jobs in British homes were expected to adapt and conform to the norms accepted in English society. One of the English maids Gladys Peto, for example, stubbornly continued to shake hands with all the guests who came to the house of the owners, meeting them at the doorstep. This embarrassed everyone, but nevertheless, due to true English breeding, for a long time no one dared to reprimand her. Gladys Peto writes about another funny case: once she had a shocking story with women from a Cypriot village. They had, as Gladys writes, a very strange habit - to pat the interlocutor on the cheek when saying goodbye. Her own maid's obsessive habit of shaking hands with guests no longer seemed so familiar and unceremonious after that, especially since she did it only within the confines of Gladys's house.
Another example of a cultural blunder on the part of the Cypriot servants was their tradition of hanging the master's linen to dry daily directly from the central windows of the house. “Our sheets hung in plain sight like flags at a festival,” Peto wrote in her memoirs, embarrassed. For those who spent at least one August night in Cyprus without air conditioning, it looked like a necessary hygiene procedure. But, as Gladys wrote, despite the fact that this tradition was widespread among the locals, English ideas of decency could not reconcile with putting their bedding on public display, and therefore this tradition did not take root in British-owned houses.

Features of social relations
Being far from home, the British tried in every possible way to maintain the usual traditions of social life: they arranged parties, went to each other for tea, and even organized home theaters and concerts. Those who aspired to a more formal and formalized form of social life, accepted in English society, created clubs. Each city in Cyprus had its own English club. But, perhaps, none of them was so attached to class distinctions and did not have such a rigid hierarchical system as the English club in Nicosia. It was not until 1928 that women were reluctantly admitted to this exclusive social institution. They were allowed to be only in the "small dim living room", while the rest of the club's premises were not to be "desecrated" by the female presence.
Only official members of the club were allowed to enter the establishment. Only high British officials could be among the invitees, but even they were not automatically given membership of the club. For example, Frank Hopkins, who holds the rank of senior police officer of the Nicosia prison (a high and responsible administrative position), could not be a member of the club, since he originally belonged to a lower middle class than the conditions of membership required.
Officials who left their homeland in order to avoid shame could not become members of the clubs. They were usually supported by their families, and the former noble position and belonging to the upper class did not play a role in this case - the entrance to the club was closed for them.
Another reason for denial of membership could be a homosexual orientation or even a suspicion of it. The only exception to the rule was Rupert Gannis, who at that time served as the personal secretary to the English governor of Cyprus. "People whispered behind his back about his 'bi-orientation, you know.
Yes, some of the rules of the English Club of Nicosia today may seem too rigid and even absurd, but the existence and strict observance of these rules demonstrates the extent to which the hierarchy of the colonial administration dictated the conditions of social and even private life for members of their community. Even the seats at the Sunday service at St. Paul's Anglican Church were distributed solely according to rank and official position in the administration.
In relatively informal situations, this was also given the utmost importance and the rules were observed with particular care. In his memoirs, Peto writes that if you invited four close friends to your house for dinner, whom you could easily call by name and in ordinary life see them at least a couple of times a day, you should have taken special care and respect their official position and seated at the table solely according to their seniority in ranks. Otherwise, it could be interpreted as a public insult, and the next day you were sure to point out the oversight.
Misunderstandings between the colonialists and the locals sometimes occurred because of the extremely intricate rules of etiquette. For example, in the official residence of the English governor of the island, mixed "tea parties" (tea parties) were periodically held, where representatives of the administration of the Greek and Turkish communities were invited. These parties, in fact, were entertaining, but also held according to strict rules. During these events, representatives of the British administration sat at one end of the hall, Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots at the other.
The governor's wife organized social receptions for the wives of officials, thus providing the Turkish Cypriot women, who continued to cover their faces in mixed female-male companies (although in Turkey by this time this rule had long been abolished), the opportunity to remove the veil. But it was more of a test for those invited, as the party was held in "eerily formal settings" while being a necessary part of the social responsibilities of colonial life. Obviously, all the invited women felt equally embarrassed and therefore almost did not touch the food. When the party was over, the governor's wife would order the untouched food and cakes to be put into special dishes and given to the servants.
For those unfortunate Cypriots who, by virtue of their official position, were invited to such evenings, the risk of making a "false step" was enormous. Peto writes about how one of the Cypriot families invited to the evening found out that the presence of a black tie for a man is today a necessary condition for participation. Having already reached Nicosia, they returned to Larnaca in order to change their clothes, and all the way they raced at terrifying speed, risking their lives, just so as not to be late for the evening and look there properly.

"Divide and rule"

Divide and rule, from the Latin divide et impera, has often been invoked by the governments of states consisting of heterogeneous parts (multinational and multicultural). According to this principle, incitement of hostility between representatives of different communities is the best method of governing such a state.

This strategy allows you to gain and maintain power by dividing a large group of people into small ones, who individually have less power. Often local authorities prevent small groups from uniting, as this allows them to become more powerful. This technique allows, using small forces, to control those who would have great power if they were allowed to unite. This principle works best in societies where there is fierce competition between groups and social classes.

The divide-and-conquer strategy was used effectively by the administrators of vast empires, including the British and Roman. Forcing one tribe or people to quarrel with another, they maintained control over the occupied territories with minimal effort. The British, for example, "divided and conquered" India when it was part of the British Empire. They easily managed to subdue the local residents, divided by religion, language, castes, etc. By dividing India into small parts, the British successfully established control over them. According to some historians, exactly the same principle was chosen for the successful government of Cyprus.

Application of the principle in practice

In 1881, 74% of the population of Cyprus were orthodox Christians, 24.5% were Muslims. While Cyprus was part of the Ottoman Empire, it was a multicultural island. But by 1912, the policy pursued by the British led to the strengthening of Greek nationalism and the division of the population along national lines.

Before the arrival of the British in Cyprus, the inhabitants of the island successfully coexisted. The governing administrative councils included Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, the peasants of both communities cultivated the fields on equal terms, the inhabitants of the island spoke a mixture of various dialects and languages ​​\u200b\u200b(Greek, Turkish, medieval French, Venetian ...). Close interaction and cohabitation led to mixing, borrowing folk traditions intercommunal marriages often occurred.

The British did not support the structure of relations between the two communities that had developed over the centuries. They also refused to cooperate with the Cypriot Church, which at that time diligently maintained a fragile peace between representatives of different religions. They perceived Cyprus, like all their other possessions, as the periphery of Europe. And therefore they categorically introduced "modern" European rules in the territories of their colonies. They easily accepted the artificially created movement "Kafarevusa" (Greek καθαρεύουσα - purifying) - "Greeks adopt Greek". The logic of their actions was as follows: since Cyprus was mostly inhabited by orthodox Christians, the British decided that the Greek culture and traditions for the Cypriots would become something natural.

The history of the Kafarevusa language

Kafarevousa is an artificial variety of Greek that was the official written language in Greece from 1821 to 1976.

When at the beginning of the 19th century the prospect of building a national Greek state arose as a result of the separation of Greece from the Ottoman Empire, the question arose of which language would become official in this state. The program of "Kafarevus" assumed: 1) deliverance of the Greek language from borrowings; 2) adding archaic features to the Greek language. It was a kind of compromise between the use of the natural, centuries-old form of the Greek language - “dimotics” (Greek δημοτική) - and the gradual full refund to ancient Greek.

Adamantios Korais, one of the main ideologists of this approach, believed that the Greek language was "corrupted" during the Ottoman rule and needed to be corrected according to the ancient model. For example, Korais proposed to gradually return to the language more and more obsolete constructions, which by that time had disappeared from the Greek language.

When the Greek Revolution began (1821), Kafarevusa was approved as the official language of the new Greek state. For almost a hundred years, kafarevusa has been the language of government, education, journalism, social life, academic work, and much of prose. Poetry, however, was more often written in Dimotics. In an effort to use archaic forms, supporters of kafarevus increasingly removed this language from everyday colloquial practice.

At the end of the 19th century, the movement for demotics, the vernacular, began to gain momentum. This movement was greatly supported by the 1888 book by Yiannis Psycharis "My Journey" ("Το ταξίδι μου"). The book was written in Dimotics. And soon Dimotics became the main language of literary prose. And in 1917, the Greek liberal government of Eleftherios Venizelos designated Dimotics as the language and subject of instruction in the Greek primary school.

However, kafarevusa and dimotics existed in parallel, influencing each other. For example, the language of the educated middle class adopted neologisms and elements of morphology from Kafarevus.

With the coming to power of the military junta (1967), the teaching of dimotiki in Greek schools was again canceled, and kafarevus began to be propagated with renewed vigor. When the junta fell in 1974, the Greek government of Karamanlis returned to using Dimotika, which became the sole language of education. Today, the Greeks use the Modern Greek language, which is based on Dimotics, but with elements of Kafarevus. In Cyprus, the majority of local residents in Everyday life continue to use the Cypriot dialect, which has been formed over the centuries.

Consequences of Divide and Conquer

So, with the permission of the British, at the end of the 19th century, the Kafarevus language was declared in Cyprus as the language for official negotiations and solving business issues. Also, the school adopted a curriculum brought from Greece. At the same time, the study of Turkish and English in schools was not mandatory.

The next mistake, which is imputed to the British colonial policy, was the failure to support the structure of relations between the Turks and the Cypriots, which for several centuries was carefully and carefully formed by the most advanced and educated representatives of the administration of the island, including the priests of the Cypriot Christian Church.

The third mistake made by the British (according to some historians): since at first there was little nationalist opposition in Cyprus, the British did not bother to curb even a small but vocal group of Greek agitators.

These social changes have caused anxiety and unrest among the Muslims living on the island. Fear began to creep into their hearts. Relations between the communities became tense. In 1912, the first serious clashes between Cypriots and Turks took place in Nicosia and Limassol. To extinguish the conflict, the British called in a military garrison from Egypt.

Cyprus is a pawn in someone else's game

By 1912, the British recognized Cyprus as unviable - economically, politically and strategically - to such an extent that members of the liberal government decided to transfer the island to Greece. Churchill made such an official offer to Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos.
Churchill motivated the proposal to transfer Cyprus to Greece by the fact that the English fleet no longer needed the ports of the island: in connection with tense relations between England and Germany, it was transferred to the Atlantic. In exchange, the British asked Greece for permission to locate their naval base in the Ionian Sea. The proposal to join Cyprus to Greece did not arouse enthusiasm among the Greek government, the negotiations dragged on, and in the end Greece, which for several years actively imposed the idea of ​​enosis (reunification with the motherland) on the Cypriots, refused the offer! The reason for the refusal was probably the desire of the Greek king to remain neutral in the conflict between Germany and Britain.

CYPRUS - A BRITISH COLONY
When the First World War began in 1914, the British decided that Cyprus could be useful as an air base. Soon Turkey entered the war, deciding to support the Germans fighting against the British. The British immediately took advantage of this: they terminated all agreements with Turkey and annexed Cyprus (annexation is a violent act of annexation by a state of the territory of another state). At the end of the war, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, which recognized this annexation as legal. Turkey was forced to give up all rights to the island. In 1925, Cyprus officially became a British colony.

Ronald Storrs was appointed governor of the island in 1926. With his arrival in Cyprus, much has changed. He immediately began to ennoble the possessions of the British Empire. Storrs made a lot of efforts to improve relations between the Turkish and Greek communities. He managed to achieve the abolition of the tribute that the locals were obliged to pay to the British government from the moment the British leased the island from the Ottoman Empire.
Storrs paid great attention to the development of Cypriot ports. Also under him, the construction of an airport began in Cyprus. It was Ronald Storrs who played a huge role in the development of the tourism industry: from the beginning of the 1930s, Cyprus began to turn into a resort area, the construction of hotels and beach equipment began. Soon Cyprus became a favorite holiday destination for the British, and then for many other Europeans.
The active construction and development of the infrastructure of the island, begun under the leadership of Ronald Storrs, provided local residents with a significant number of jobs: men worked on the construction of roads and hotels, women worked in hotels, restaurants and shops.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
The severe global economic crisis that began in 1929 and was called the Great Depression radically changed the lives of many people. And although countries such as the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany and France suffered the most from the depression, other states also felt it. Of course, the hardest hit industrial cities, but construction has practically stopped in many countries. Due to the reduction in the solvency of the population, and therefore the demand for goods, prices for agricultural products fell by 40-60%. The economy of Cyprus at that time was directly dependent on the situation in Britain, so the economic crisis of the 1930s hit hard on small island. The position of farmers, small traders, and representatives of the middle class instantly worsened. Many were below the poverty line. Dissatisfaction with the situation grew among the population.

THE GROWTH OF NATIONALISM
It was during this period that the number of supporters of fascist parties increased. For example, in Germany, the National Socialist German Workers' Party came to power. In Cyprus, extremist-minded Greek Cypriot politicians again took an active position. The Greek Cypriot extremists were particularly annoyed by the fact that relations between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots had improved significantly, which means that all the previous propaganda work had been done in vain.

Demonstration in Nicosia in support reunification with Greece, 1930

PALMEROCRACY
In 1933, Richmond Palmer was appointed governor of the island. The period of his reign entered the history of Cyprus under the name "palmerocracy". Richmond Palmer pursued a tough policy aimed at preventing any development of ideas of nationalism and opposition to the British. During this period, strict censorship of all press was introduced, all gatherings were prohibited, and it was also forbidden by law to fly foreign national flags.
It should be noted that during the reign of Palmer managed to improve the economic situation in Cyprus. But, at the same time, London once again changed its attitude towards the island, recognizing it as useless from a strategic point of view. The British announced this officially, assuring the Italian fascists that they would not strengthen the military positions of Cyprus without the consent of Italy.

Discovery of the oldest storerooms in Cyprus

Every year, not only thousands of tourists come to the island to bask in the sun, but also hundreds of scientists: historians and archaeologists from all over the world. The rich history of the island and its archaeological heritage attracts scientists from the most different countries. Today it seems natural for us that, by paying 1 euro 70 cents, you can walk around the Neolithic village of Choirokitia or admire the mosaics and the amphitheater in the ancient city-state of Kourion, but just over a hundred years ago, everything was different. We will talk about how Cyprus began to discover its ancient values, gradually realizing their significance.

The history of the development of archaeological science on the island

Even before Cyprus became a British colony, English archaeologists came here. And in 1882, the first archaeological museum was opened on the island. This was done after the archbishop of Cyprus, the Turkish governor and chief judge of the island led an official delegation that drafted and sent to the British authorities a petition for the establishment of an archaeological museum in Nicosia. In connection with the archaeological excavations begun by the British, a huge amount of artifacts and antiquities began to be smuggled out of the island. In addition, excavations were often carried out illegally.
At that time in Cyprus there was a law on the protection of antiquities, adopted back in 1874 by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire. After the island passed to the British, this law did not change for another 20 years. According to him, one third of the discovered antiquities belonged to the state, one third to the owner of the land on which the excavations were carried out, and the remaining third to the one who carried out the archaeological work. Nevertheless, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many foreigners, including consuls and other officials, shamelessly took advantage of the poverty and lack of education of the local population. For example, none of them remembered that, according to the law, the free land on which it was planned to carry out excavations had to be bought. Thousands of the most valuable exhibits were taken out of Cyprus during that period. Many of them are still kept in various museums around the world, and in the London Museum, for example, there is a whole department dedicated to Cypriot artifacts.

Adventurer from America

An American military officer of Italian origin, Luigi Palma di Cesnola, was appointed American consul in Cyprus in 1865. Being an enterprising person, he engaged in archaeological research and excavations in Kourion, Idalion and many other areas of Cyprus. The research has been a resounding success! He found a huge number of statues, vases, lamps, gold items, inscriptions and other highly valuable artifacts.
Almost all the antiquities discovered under his leadership were taken to America and sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and since 1872 this collection has been the basis of the collection of the special Chesnola Museum. Luigi Palma set forth his findings in Cyprus, its ancient cities, tombs and temples (London, 1877; German ed. Jena, 1879) and History, treasures and antiquities of Salamis (London, 1882; 2nd ed., 1884). ).
In addition to the fact that the export of ancient valuables was carried out contrary to existing laws, a huge part of the most valuable exhibits suffered during unprofessional transportation! In America, the legitimacy of Chesnola's activities was questioned (article in the New York Herald, August 1880). The case initiated on the charges was referred to a special committee, which ruled in favor of Chesnola. In Cyprus, his activities are still regarded as a robbery.

Laws guarding artifacts

The first law for the protection of antique values ​​was passed by the British in 1905. This law, however, failed to prevent illegal archaeological excavations and the removal of ancient valuables from the island.
In 1927, an amendment was passed to the law regarding the export of valuable artifacts. In the same year, archaeologists from Sweden arrived in Cyprus, who were the first to begin systematic excavations. The result of their work was the creation of a scientific base for the development of archeology in Cyprus. According to the aforementioned amendment to the law, the Swedish expedition received the right to export half of the valuables they discovered.
In 1935, a special department was founded, which was directly involved in the organization of archaeological work and the protection of ancient values. Until that time, the Cyprus Museum was subordinate to the museum's existing committee, the work of which was directly controlled by a special commissioner from the British government. The Archbishop of the island, the Turkish Viceroy and the Chief Justice of Cyprus served as vice-presidents of this committee, representing the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. According to the adopted law, the museum committee was abolished, and the museum was completely subordinated to the newly created department.
The law of 1935 for the first time established strict rules for the organization and conduct of archaeological work in Cyprus. Former British diplomat J. Hilton was appointed director of the department. A few years later, his post was taken by the 26-year-old British architect A. Megao, who held this position until Cyprus gained independence in 1960.
Since the creation of the department and until 1960, archaeological research and excavations were actively carried out in Cyprus. Egkomi, Salamis and Kourion were the most significant archaeological discoveries made during that period. At the same time, a new name appeared in the scientific circles of Cyprus, which among specialists is still associated with the prehistoric period of the island and, especially, with the Neolithic period. This name is Porfirios Dikeos. He was the curator of the department, and after the liberation of the island became its director.
The independence of the island was the impetus for even more active archaeological work. Excavations began at Kiti, Paphos and many other places. In 1964 it was adopted new amendment to the law regarding the export of exhibits found during archaeological work. Now foreign archaeological expeditions working on the island do not have the right to export ancient valuables.

Magnanimous autocracy 1931-1945

From 1931 until the outbreak of World War II, Cyprus was ruled by Richmond Palmer, a British-appointed governor. This time was marked by a sharp transition from a liberal policy towards the local population to an almost dictatorship.
The reason for this was the October events of 1931: in connection with the economic difficulties caused by the Great Depression, taxes were raised; incited by extremists, local residents began to set fire to warehouses, mills and other farm buildings; and in Nicosia there was a demonstration that ended with the burning of the official residence of the island's governor.

And although the events of 1931 cannot be regarded as pre-planned or prepared, it was obvious that they were the result of a long-term impact of a number of negative factors. For example, Ronald Storrs, the island's previous governor, blamed the fifty-year-old agitation for "enosis," joining Greece, for the riots. In his book, he wrote that the campaign was actively carried out by members of the movement who came to Cyprus from Greece, but almost all the demonstrations that they managed to provoke ended in violence: this movement did not have a decent organization and could not keep the situation under control. He wrote that the crowd that destroyed everything in its path consisted of young people, and the bulk of the local residents tried to stay away from these revelry and did not take part in the demonstrations. He said that it was during this period that there was a split between the Cypriots between those who supported the British government and sincerely cooperated with it in order to develop their own country, and those who openly opposed the existing government, being the instigators of unrest (Ronald Storrs, "Orientations ", London, 1939). Of course, the agitation of the local population for joining Greece, although not having significant success, brought a lot of unrest into the life of the islanders.

At the same time, as a result of the Great Depression, exports decreased by 25%. First of all, this affected Cypriot farmers, and, for example, the income of a Cypriot company mining asbestos was more than halved. Food prices have dropped significantly, while the purchasing power of the population has also fallen. Many shops were closed, people who lost their jobs could not pay loans to banks. Cyprus shared the fate of many countries during the Great Depression: mass unemployment and mass impoverishment.

The crisis was exacerbated by a terrible drought that ruined the crop. Farmers failed to collect enough hay to feed their livestock, and the animals began to starve to death. The local population had to go through severe trials and it was easiest to blame British politicians for everything. The dissatisfaction grew.

The bombing was another event. In response to a question from a Member of Parliament, Chancellor Philip Snowden said that the annual "tribute" the Cypriots had to pay to the British government since the British leased the island had been used by the latter to pay off their 1855 debt to the Ottoman Empire.

This meant that the British government was behaving extremely dishonestly towards the locals. Simply put, it's a scam. “The monstrous and immoral use of the profits of Cyprus,” this is exactly what the “National Organization” of the island called this fact, accusing the governor of Storrs of hypocrisy (Georgy Georgalidis wrote in his book Storrs that in 1927, for example, this “tribute” amounted to £1,038,150).

The members of the "National Organization" were right in their accusation: Storrs knew about the intentions of the Treasury, but he did not have the courage to tell the people of Cyprus about it.

The news infuriated the island's Legislative Council. As a result, by their decision, the budget of 1932 was blocked. Later, Storrs paid in full for his cowardice: he had to "drag" this decision through the Order-in Council - a law issued on behalf of the English king and the Privy Council and passed through Parliament without discussion.

This situation was exploited by the Greek Consul in Cyprus, Alexis Kyrou, who was a staunch supporter of the idea of ​​"enosis": he did everything in his power to stir up nationalist feelings. Cyprus became a powder keg that lacked only the slightest spark to explode.

And this explosion happened on October 21, 1931, when demonstrators, warmed up by agitators, went to the official residence of the governor and set fire to the building. The residence burned to the ground.

It quickly became apparent that the rebellion had spread throughout the island, and the police admitted that they were unable to cope with the rioters. Therefore, English military units located on the island (three officers and 126 soldiers) were called to help. Armed detachments from Egypt were also sent to help the British government.

Consul of Greece - persona non grata

Since the Nicosia October demonstration of 1931 was supported by the Greek representative in Cyprus, the Greek consul Alexis Kyrou, a staunch supporter of the idea of ​​​​enosis, he came under the special attention of the British government. The governor of the island of Storrs suspected that Kiru was one of the main instigators of the unrest. The British did not bother looking for evidence and decided to declare Alexis Cyrus persona non grata (“undesirable person” is a diplomatic term).

Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos was shocked by the events in Cyprus. Cyprus was not a subject of discussion for the Greek government (recall that only the supporters of the enosis movement imposed on the peoples of the Mediterranean the idea of ​​​​reuniting the territories that once belonged to the Greeks). Therefore, the authorities did not want the events in Cyprus to negatively affect relations between Greece and Britain. The Greek government hoped that the latter would help settle the protracted conflict between the Greeks and Turkey. And therefore the reaction of Greece to this news was lightning fast.

Two days after the demonstration in Nicosia, the Greek Prime Minister sent a letter to the British government in which he wrote: “I have repeatedly stated that the Cyprus issue did not and does not stand between the governments of Greece and Great Britain. This issue exists solely between the British government and the people of Cyprus. Until today, the inhabitants of the island staged rallies and protest demonstrations, which, according to British law, were illegal. The criminal events that took place the other day in Nicosia, during which attacks were carried out on British soldiers, Cypriot police officers and the house of the governor of the island was burned down, overflowed the patience of the British government, and became the reason for the end of the tolerant attitude of the authorities to the unrest on the territory of their colony: the British, according to the law, they were forced to take the strictest measures against the instigators and participants in criminal actions ... ”etc. On the same day, the Greek Foreign Minister informed the British Minister in Athens that Alexis Kyrou was leaving Cyprus immediately.

And the next day, Venizelos, who was then in London, was informed that the Greek consul in Cyprus, Alexis Cyrus, was officially declared persona non grata by the British government and expelled from the island. And therefore the Greek government may not bother to "evacuate" it. It was a slap in the face to the Greek government! Also, an official “reproach” was sent to Greece from the British government, which stated that the position of the Greek consul in Cyprus should be very delicate, requiring tact, prudence and caution. And that the appointment of such an imprudent and tactless person to this position was an unforgivable mistake.

At the next meeting of the Greek Parliament, Venizelos ended this painful topic for Greece by stating that no wishes related to national question Cyprus will no longer receive support from Greece. And the territory of Greece will never be used to prepare for any events that could cause a disturbance on the island of Cyprus. In conclusion, he added that the Greek citizens living in Cyprus have an obligation to be less selfish (meaning the supporters of the enosis movement). It should be added that before the end of World War II, the Cyprus issue was never discussed at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The period of deportations and repressions

From that moment on, the freedoms of the Cypriots were systematically restricted. Six people accused of organizing the riots were arrested. Many political figures of Cyprus were also arrested. Among them are Bishop Makarios of Kerinia, lawyer Savvas Loizidis, who really played a significant role in the National Organization, and some others. After some discussion, they were deported from the island. London was chosen as the place of exile - they were sent there. Their further fate is described in Richter's book "Cyprus" (Richter, "Zypern").

On October 30, an open letter was published in the Cypriot press announcing the repeal of the Constitution. Also, the people of Cyprus were notified that the municipal and legislative Councils of the island had transferred their rights to the British governor of the island. From now on it was forbidden to hang Greek flags, churchmen were forbidden to ring bells, the right to appoint "mukhtaris" - heads of district municipalities - also passed to the British administration. Violators of the new rules were threatened with severe punishment.

On December 31, 1931, the Compensatory Tax Law was passed, according to which Greek Cypriots were required to pay a fine of £34,315. for the damage caused to the British administration. In reality, the amount of damage caused was £66,000, but was reduced by almost half when the passions subsided.

Most of this money was spent on restoring the burned down residence of the governor. It was built of stone and luxuriously decorated. In 1941, the famous English writer Allan Moorhead visited Cyprus. He later wrote in his memoirs that the residence of the Governor of Cyprus is a "grand architectural event". He enthusiastically described walls that could "slide up and down to create a second tier" and a pool surrounded by Roman-style arches...

During this short period, 3,359 Greek Cypriots were prosecuted, of which 2,606 were found guilty. Another 2,000 people were sentenced to fines ranging from £2 to £10. (Recall that the monthly salary of a worker in those days was about 3.5 pounds). Some were sentenced to 6 to 9 months in prison.

The governor of the island, Richard Storrs, insisted that more rebels be deported from the island, but was refused by London. The refusal was motivated by the fact that the people who were found guilty should be punished, but on the island. Deportation is associated with significant difficulties. In addition, London hoped that the measures taken, including deportation, fines and imprisonment, significantly changed the mood of the people and the situation as a whole.

When writing the article, the following materials were used:
1. Reviews: Stathis Gourgouris, Dream Nation: Enlightenment, Colonization and the Institution of Modern Greece, Stanford, CA, Stanford University Press, ISBN http://ehq.sagepub.com/content/28/2/278.extract
2. Pancyprian Gymnasium in Nicosia: http://www.cyprushighlights.com/en/index.php
3. "Journey through the blessed island", A. Zimin, Archimandrite Augustine, 2008.
4. http://www.trains-worldexpresses.com/400/401.htm
5. History of Cyprus, Doctor of Historical Sciences Andrekos Varnava (Andrekos Varnava) 2006.
6. First borrowing period at Ottoman Empire (1854-1876): Budget policies and consequences. S.Ozekicioglu, H.Ozekicioglu. 2010. http://academicpublishingplatforms.com.
7. Sweet and Bitter Island: A History of the British in Cyprus by Tabitha Morgan

http://www.vestnikkipra.com/?mod=iss&id=6198 Elena NIKOLAEVA

Cyprus was officially part of the British Empire from 1915 to 1960 as a colony that served as a naval base to protect the Ottoman borders from possible encroachments of the Russian Empire.

There was no mass migration of British to the island during this period. At the same time, already in 1878, that is, long before the direct annexation as a colony, the secret Cyprus Convention recognized the island as a British protectorate. The British period was characterized on the one hand by the improvement in the socio-economic situation of the island, which in the Ottoman period was notorious for its outbreaks of malaria. On the other hand, the actions of the British authorities, loyal to the policy of "divide and rule" to maintain their colonial empire, led to fierce competition between the Greek Orthodox majority and the Turkish Muslim minority, which ultimately led to the division of the island and the segregation of its main communities.

In 1878 between the British Empire and Turkey was concluded the Cyprus Convention of 1878, a secret Anglo-Turkish treaty of a "defensive alliance" directed against Russia. The treaty was signed on June 4, 1878 in Istanbul before the opening of the Berlin Congress of 1878. Great Britain undertook to help the Ottoman Empire "by force of arms" if Russia, holding Batum, Ardagan and Kars, tried to acquire new territories in Asia Minor. In return, Turkey agreed to the occupation of the island by Great Britain.

However, the expediency of signing the convention caused serious debate in the British Parliament itself. So the Prime Minister of England sent a letter to Queen Victoria, in which he pointed out the importance of Cyprus for the protection of the Indian part of the empire. On the other hand, the liberals expressed doubts about the advisability of establishing a protectorate. The lack of a convenient harbor on the island was cited as arguments. In addition, the expediency of using Cyprus as a military base became quite controversial and financially difficult, especially after the appearance of British bases in Egypt, which needed financial injections.

In accordance with the secret treaty of the protectorate, the British received the right to occupy and manage the island, subject to an annual payment to the treasury of 99,799 pounds sterling. Formally, Cyprus continued to remain part of the Ottoman Empire, which helped to calm the representatives of a rather large Muslim community (21%), but in fact the real power passed into the hands of the British High Commissioner, which was initially welcomed by representatives of the Greek Orthodox majority, since the British were aimed at holding a number of economic reforms and improvement transport infrastructure. The British commissioner settled in Limassol, which became the center of the British administration, where quite large funds were invested by local standards.

The island was finally annexed in 1914 during the First World War.

The salutatory speeches addressed to the first British High Commissioner by representatives of the island's population reflected the hopes of the Cypriots for a change for the better. And although the Greeks and Turks imagined the future in different ways, neither one nor the other imagined that the island would become a British colony.

Initially, the British administration acted rather cautiously, since the convention provided only for a temporary cession of the island. The role of the spiritual head of the Greek Cypriots was retained for the archbishop. In 1882 Cyprus was granted a constitution based on a typical colonial model. The real power in Cyprus passed into the hands of the British governor, a self-governing body was formed - the Legislative Council. However, this fact was negatively perceived by the Greek majority, who hoped for enosis with Greece. The long struggle of the Greeks for independence begins, in which the British authorities supported the interests of the Turkish Cypriots to counterbalance.

The revival of economic life, advances in health care and education, however, could not relieve the tension that began to be increasingly felt in relations between the local population and the British authorities as the popularity of nationalist ideas grew among the Cypriots, especially the Greek majority. The movement for enosis, that is, the accession of Cyprus to the "motherland" of Greece, was gaining momentum. The very idea of ​​enosis was born in connection with the creation of an independent Greek state. Its active propagandists were the Cypriot Orthodox Church and extreme nationalists in Greece itself, who advocated the creation of " Greater Greece". At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. the Greek intelligentsia also adopted the slogan of enosis, but the movement for joining Greece was not yet massive. Its participants used peaceful methods, which consisted in holding rallies and demonstrations, sending petitions and memorandums to the British authorities. Already in 1882, the newly elected Greek members of the Legislative Council protested against the policy of the Gladstone government, which prevented the annexation of Cyprus to Greece. With the help of such demarches, the supporters of the idea of ​​enosis managed to achieve a discussion of the Cyprus issue in the British Parliament in 1895, but the majority of the members of the House of Commons did not support the demands of the Greek Cypriots. As a sign of protest in Nicosia, Limassol, Paphos, Larnaca and Famagusta, "national meetings" were held.

Already in 1931 riots broke out among the Greek population, resulting in the death of 6 people and the burning of the British administration building in Nicosia. During the suppression of the riots, 2 thousand people were arrested, a "reserve police" recruited from Turkish Cypriots was used.

Events in October 1931 began with a speech by Bishop Nicodemus of Kition at a rally in Limassol, where he called for civil disobedience, stating that “53 years of British rule on the island showed everyone the impossibility for enslaved peoples to free themselves through requests for help or appeals to the feelings of tyrants ". The next day in Nicosia, the bishop was supported by the priest Dionysios Kykkotis, who unfurled the Greek flag and declared: "I declare a revolution." The participants of the demonstration moved to the residence of Governor Storrs, demanding a meeting with him. When he refused to comply with this demand, an angry mob smashed and set fire to the residence. The police, on Storrs' orders, opened fire on the demonstrators. Similar clashes occurred in other cities - Limassol, Famagusta, Kyrenia. Started as a movement for enosis, the uprising eventually turned into a mass movement against the British colonial regime. However, it was not supported by the leadership of the Turkish community, which again opposed the annexation of the island to Greece or the granting of independence to Cyprus.

The British hastily brought up military contingents from Egypt and crushed the uprising, which lasted about a week. 400 people were arrested, many of them expelled from the island, including the bishops of Kition and Kyrenia. By a special royal decree, the constitution was suspended, all elected bodies (Legislative Council, municipal councils) were dissolved, all political parties were banned, and censorship was introduced on all media. By the same decree, it was forbidden to fly Greek flags and hold rallies and meetings. All legislative and executive power was concentrated in the hands of the governor. Appointed in 1933 as governor, Herbert Palmer used this power to the full to suppress any manifestations of discontent. The restoration of the constitution from 1937 did not change anything in Palmer's activities.

During World War II, Greek Cypriots took part in the British war effort, fighting on the side of the British. This gave rise to widespread expectations that, at the end of the war, Britain would recognize the independence of the island, however, these hopes did not materialize. After the war, there was a growing movement among the Greek population for the unification of the historical Greek territories, including Cyprus, with Greece. January 1950 a referendum is held in which the Greek majority votes for enosis. Britain refused to recognize the results of the referendum.

During British rule, a railway (Cyprus Government Railway) was built in Cyprus, operating from 1905-1951, with 39 stations. On December 31, 1951, the railway was closed for financial reasons.

In 1955 the first armed clash between the Greeks and the British led to the founding of EOKA, an organization of Cypriot nationalists, and Greek pogroms are taking place in Turkey, the Volkan paramilitary group is being formed, leading the fight against EOKA. In 1956 Britain brings the number of its troops in Cyprus to 30 thousand, and conducts mass repression. By 1959 EOKA managed to get rid of the British, Archbishop Makarios becomes the President of Cyprus. However, the main goal - accession to Greece, was not achieved.

British heritage in Cyprus includes, in particular, left-hand traffic, and two remaining military bases that are under British sovereignty. The island's electricity grids are built to British standards - they have British-style sockets and 250 volts, as well as many legal regulations.

The other day, London confirmed that the status of its Sovereign Territories in Cyprus under the treaty, which is exactly half a century old, will remain the same.

Political scientist Leonid Shepilov comments:

Fifty years have already passed since Great Britain, under the terms of the Zurich-London Treaty on Cyprus (August 1960), introduced British status from mid-November of that year to almost 5% of the territory of Cyprus. British military and intelligence bases are located in these areas, and in the status of the Sovereign Territories of the United Kingdom. The mentioned British areas are located in the east of the Mediterranean. And in its extreme West, another British territory remains - Gibraltar, also with military and intelligence bases. That is, London, and, therefore, NATO will continue to control these most important strategic points in the Mediterranean.

Moreover, British base territories in Cyprus were created before the First World War. Because London understood and understands not only the role of these bases in the context of Western policy in the Mediterranean region and in the Caucasus adjacent to it, in particular.

This is very instructive example, by the way, for Russia - in the context of Sevastopol, our military facilities in the Crimea, the Kerch Strait. Russia could well have taken advantage of this British “experience” on the Crimean peninsula, but during the collapse of the USSR, our authorities preferred to fix the Ukrainian status of the entire Crimea and the waters adjacent to it ...

Meanwhile, British bases in the British regions of Cyprus, they allow, firstly, to "look through" not only the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. But also the whole South of Russia, Crimea, Donbass. Not to mention all the countries neighboring Cyprus and the nearby Suez Canal. And secondly, it was these areas that were used, in particular, for the recent transfer of British troops to Iraq, Afghanistan, and some Arab countries of the Persian Gulf.

Let me note that these base territories in the mentioned Treaty and other documents on Cyprus (1959-1960) were qualified as guarantors of the independence and integrity of Cyprus. But in fact, Great Britain contributed to the Turkish occupation of almost half of this island in the summer and autumn of 1974. For neither politically nor militarily, London has done nothing to counter Turkish aggression and the split of Cyprus.

Because the idea of ​​the revival of the Hellenic unity - the union of all Greek-speaking countries and territories - is still contrary to the interests of the West. Therefore, in 1974, the British declared neutrality during Turkish invasion, and today London does nothing to overcome the split of Cyprus. It is also characteristic that almost all British Sovereign Territories on this island are located precisely in its Greek part, that is, in the Republic of Cyprus.

Special for the Centenary

June 2013. The large anti-submarine ship "Admiral Panteleev" and the ocean rescuer "Fotiy Krylov", which are part of the operational formation of the Russian Navy ships in the Mediterranean Sea, made a business call at the port of Limassol of the Republic of Cyprus to replenish supplies and rest the crews.

Russia got the opportunity to create a stronghold in Cyprus. While the former colonial power Great Britain, on the contrary, weakens its control over the two military bases that it has on this island. Cypriots get more rights.

Road safety islands allow motorists to get an idea of ​​the features and structure of traffic organization, while transport hubs deliberately attract all traffic flows to themselves - that's what they are designed for - and then redistribute them to new directions. Cyprus would gladly play the role of an island of safety in history and would prefer that captains hungry for conquests and Ottoman pashas carefully studying maps bypassed it, but at the same time it would serve as a transport hub for merchants and other people skilled in crafts without crooked sabers and combat helicopters.

However, this green island in the eastern part mediterranean sea, located between Europe and the Arab world, is quickly becoming a staging post and refueling base - for the crusaders and imperial armies, for refugees and American-British listening installations.

This month, Cyprus made some changes to the functioning of its transport hub, and his actions did not attract much attention, but they did not become less significant: the Russian leadership will be able to use the air base of the Cypriot armed forces in Paphos, located on west coast islands in close proximity to a small civil airport, which is used by the owners of villas and tourists on vacation. This agreement was reached in early January during talks between Defense Minister Fotis Fotiou and representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry. How much Russia will pay for this, and whether it will pay at all, is still unknown. Politically, this is a very important agreement, and if it had been reached during the reign of leftist former President Dimitris Christofias, who was in power from 2008 to 2013 and was educated in Moscow during Soviet times, it would , would probably cause a lot of noise on the island itself, as well as critical comments from NATO in Brussels. Cyprus is not a full member of NATO, but participates in the Partnership for Peace program (Partnership-for-Peace).

The Russian navy is now able to use the port of Limassol on a long-term basis, although in the past Russian ships regularly and increasingly frequently called in for refueling and resupply. The reason for the conclusion of this Russian-Cypriot agreement was, of course, Syria. Only 200 kilometers separate Cyprus, which is a member of the European Union, from the coast of Syria. At Tartus, in the southern part of the coast, Russia has the only naval base in the Mediterranean area; reports of an imminent withdrawal from this base due to the dangers associated with fighting between government forces and rebels, Russia constantly denies. Nevertheless, the Russian Air Force would not interfere with the second reliable point of support in Cyprus. The port in Limassol, as well as the Andreas Papandreou Air Force Base in Paphos, will help Russian army to carry out transport operations for humanitarian purposes, as well as in case of emergency - at least as stated in the statement of the Cypriot Minister of Defense. Storage and placement of weapons is not provided.

But back in 2013, Russia had an intention to use the air base in Cyprus. And this has led to a conflict of interests between the US and Russia in the island nation, according to an article published on Tuesday in the Greek newspaper Greek Reporter.

Its author notes that the Cypriot government, forced to look for a solution that suits both sides, found itself between two fires, since any option could create problems in Cyprus' relations with Moscow or Washington.

According to the SigmaLive website, the starting point of the conflict was a request Russian government to the defense department of Cyprus on the lease of the air base. In response, the Cypriot government stated that it could agree to the use of military facilities, but the request to lease the air base would be difficult to satisfy.

The Americans, having received information about the Russian request, made it clear to the Cypriot government that they categorically disagree. When the Cypriot government reminded the United States that Russia was providing continuous security and financial assistance to Cyprus, the United States responded that "Cyprus is also under the influence of the United States," the article says.

Cyprus in the midst of a crisis

The Cypriot government signed a similar agreement with France in 2007 regarding Paphos. However, the opening of the air base for Russia, as well as the beginning of the long-term use of the port of Limassol, come at a time when reports are coming in that Moscow is increasing arms supplies to the Syrian regime. It is possible that weapons and ammunition are also delivered by sea with a call to Cyprus.

Conservative Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, also this month, completed talks begun under his predecessor regarding changes to the operation of both British air bases on the island. In this case, we are talking about the use of non-military sites on the territory of these bases, while the sovereign areas of the base (Sovereign Base Areas) is a separate issue: a total of 254 square kilometers of British Overseas Territory is under the authority of the Queen and is controlled by military commanders, and those located inside Cypriot villages are considered enclaves.

This piece of UK territory was retained by the British government in 1960, when Cyprus was granted independence. Fifty-four years later, Anastiasiadis signed the treaty, which he called historic: “The rights of the people living in these bases have been restored, while again taking into account the needs of communities and the local population regarding their land and property.” About 8,000 Cypriots and 7,500 British soldiers with their families live in the Akrotiri base, located on the southern tip of the island near Limassol, as well as the Dhekelia base, located east of Larnaca. By bus or car, you can easily pass through the overseas military territories, but the rights of the Cypriots, who remained under British control, were limited for a long time. Now more than three-quarters of the territory will be put into circulation again - for the construction of houses, roads, for new investments, mainly in the tourism sector.

The British listening service GCHQ, as well as its big American brother the National Security Agency (NSA), have reacted much faster: they have already upgraded their listening installations in Cyprus and have begun to take information from submarine cables in order to monitor data flows in the Middle East. This is evidenced by documents provided by Snowden. According to a newspaper investigation published in November 2013, half of the cost of maintaining British listening equipment in Cyprus is paid by the NSA, and this primarily applies to installations in the town of Agios Nikolaos (Ayios Nikolaos) on the territory of the Dhekelia base, which in a certain sense represent the divine ear Anglo-Saxons. This is exactly what happens when it comes to a transport hub, and not a quiet island of safety.

Cyprus is an island with a rich history: numerous cultural, historical, archaeological monuments have been preserved here, some of them dating back thousands of years. It is possible to speak more or less reliably about the history of Cyprus, covering the period starting from 10 thousand years BC. From prehistoric times to the present day, Cyprus bears the seal of a unique place, which is of great interest to the conquerors, who has replaced more than a dozen rulers, personifying a huge layer of the history of the Mediterranean.

Prehistoric period in the history of Cyprus: 10000 - 1050 BC.

You can start a story about the history of Cyprus from the Epipaleolithic era. At that time, there were no people on the island yet, thanks to which dwarf animals lived here. In particular, these are species such as the Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus, the Cypriot pygmy elephant, the Holocene, etc. It is believed that animals could get to the island by sea, by swimming. Another version is that they went to Cyprus by land even at the time when the island was connected to the mainland. After the first people came to Cyprus, dwarf animals began to disappear. The connection between these events is evidenced by the finds of burnt bones in caves in southern Cyprus.

The earliest human settlement in Cyprus dates back to the Neolithic era, it dates back to 8200 BC. At that time, people lived in small houses, which consisted of only one room. Fish, cereals, meat of goats and sheep were used as food. Stone tools were used for work, vessels were made of baked clay. The earliest finds of pottery in Cyprus date back to the fifth millennium BC.

Significant changes in the way of life of the ancient Cypriots brought with them the Bronze Age. The islanders began to build big buildings for several rooms. Copper mining and processing began on the island, and the plow began to be used in agriculture. However, mostly the islanders preferred to settle far from the sea, in small villages. Trade with external territories was not conducted, and on the island itself, communications between the settlements were not maintained.

The first settlements on the coast appeared in the late bronze age. The islanders were increasingly mining metal ores. In the same period (1-2 millennium BC) the first alphabet appeared, the development of trade relations with peoples living in the Middle East, in the eastern Mediterranean, on the islands of the Aegean began.

Finally, in the second half of the XIII century BC. begins the resettlement of significant numbers of people from mainland Greece to Cyprus. Mycenaean pottery began to be brought to the island. Later, its manufacture will be established here: it was actively used in everyday life and in religious ceremonies.

Early historical period in Cyprus: from the Phoenician colonization to the capture by the Egyptians: 1050 - 480. BC.

In the XI century BC. all the major cities that existed on the island were completely destroyed. The cause of this destruction was probably some natural disaster. New cities were founded by the heroes of the Trojan War who returned from the campaign. The Hellenization of Cyprus eventually leads to the spread of the Greek language on the island and Greek culture. At the same time, Cyprus begins to strengthen ties with the islands of the Greek archipelago.

Another important development of this period was the emergence of iron-making technology. Initially, it was used only for jewelry, but later this metal replaced copper in the manufacture of tools.

Around the same time, the Phoenicians began to arrive in Cyprus. They capture Kition, a large coastal city, establish a number of their colonies, the largest of which are Salamis, Larnaca, Kart-Hadasht. The Phoenicians brought pottery with a characteristic black and red ornament to the island. At first it begins to be used by local residents, and soon its production begins.

The Phoenicians were not able to hold out on the island for long - already in 750 BC. Cyprus was captured by the Assyrians. By that time, there were several large city-states in Cyprus: Kourion, Amathus, Kition, Salamis, Idalion, Marion, Soloy, Timassos, Palaipafos. All of them were subject to tribute, which was paid to the Assyrian governor. The city-states retained their independence as long as they could pay tribute.

The Assyrians in Cyprus were replaced by the Egyptians: the island was captured by Amasis, the Egyptian pharaoh. The period of Egyptian rule in Cyprus brought a gradual increase in Eastern and Greek influence on life on the island. This was especially noticeable in such areas as religion and culture.

The classical period in the history of Cyprus - under the rule of the Hellenes and Romans: 480 BC. - 330

The classical period is considered to be between 480 and 330 BC. 5th century BC was marked by the Greco-Persian wars, which affected Cyprus as well. The Greeks sought to expel the Persians from all Greek lands, which included Cyprus. This was achieved, but for a short period: in 450 and 449 BC.

The expulsion of the Persians became possible as a result of the capture of the city of Marion in Cyprus, the liberation of Soloi and the siege of Kition. Nevertheless, pretty soon Cyprus became part of the Persian Empire, although it managed to largely maintain its independence: despite the fact that the formal rulers in Cyprus were the Persians, the Greek influence on life on the island remained very strong.

So, it is Cyprus during the reign of Evagoras in Salamis that becomes one of the largest cultural and political centers Hellas. The inhabitants of Cyprus continued to worship the Greek gods. The appearance of Cypriot coins was also developed by Greek artists.

In the period from 310 to 30 BC. the Persians are gradually losing control of Cyprus. Finally, their influence weakens at the moment when Alexander the Great begins his campaign to the east. After the death of the commander, one of his commanders, Ptolemy, becomes the ruler of Cyprus. During this period, the influence of Alexandria on the culture and art of Cyprus began to increase. It is worth noting that the Ptolemaic dynasty considered the island mainly as a military base. In addition, during the reign of the Ptolemies in Cyprus, copper and timber were widely mined for the construction of ships.

The Ptolemies were replaced by the Romans, who gained power in Cyprus in 58 BC. Interestingly, during the reign of the Roman Empire, Cyprus was called "Kuprum", which means "copper" in Latin. This renaming clearly reflects the interests of the Romans on the island: they were mainly engaged in mining.

At the same time, during the reign of the Romans, which lasted about three centuries, the economy of Cyprus received a dynamic development, which was associated primarily with an increase in activity in the trade sector. During this period, decorative ceramics, which are made in the Roman style, are actively exported from Cyprus. The level of prosperity of local residents becomes really high: the richest burials date back to the time of Roman rule. Finally, in 45 AD. the baptism of Cyprus by the apostles Paul and Barnabas takes place - this is one of highlights in the history of the island.

Cyprus under the rule of Byzantium: IV-XII centuries AD

After the Roman Empire collapsed in 395, Cyprus became part of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as Byzantium. Byzantium lasted until the 12th century, and all this time Cyprus was under its rule.

The state religion in Byzantium was Christianity, and the church had quite a lot of power. So, until the 7th century, the Cypriot church managed to maintain complete independence and even more - its influence gradually increased. Having an autocephalous status, the church had a number of privileges. For example, in 488, the Byzantine emperor Zeno gave the archbishop of Cyprus the right to attend official ceremonies in purple robes. In addition, the archbishop had the right to sign in red ink and carry a scepter. In response, the Cypriot Archbishop Anthemios presented the emperor with a manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew, written by St. Barnabas. This manuscript was found in the tomb of St. Barnabas, located next to Salamis. Later, a monastery was built on this site.

The first few centuries of Byzantine rule were peaceful for Cyprus. At this time, several major earthquakes occurred on the island, as a result of which a number of old settlements were destroyed. New cities were built to replace them in Cyprus. If earlier the capital of Cyprus was in Paphos, now it has been moved to Salamis. in the 7th century, the new city of Famagusta appeared next to it. Next to Amathus, Neapolis was built, later renamed Lemesos. The new city of Lefkosia (modern Nicosia) was also founded. It was Lefkosia that in the 12th century would become the capital of Cyprus.

In the 6th century, silk production technology was brought to Cyprus from China, and soon the production of this fabric became one of the most important crafts on the island. At the same time, the shipyards of the island flourished, where many ships were built. Finally, an aqueduct was erected at Salamis, and this was done on the personal orders of the emperor Heraklios.

During the Byzantine rule in Cyprus there was a flowering of ecclesiastical art. In his works, the simultaneous influence of Eastern and Greco-Roman traditions was traced. So, the churches built at the beginning of this period on the island were very similar to Roman basilicas: they were elongated buildings decorated with arched vaults, the aisles of which were separated by rows of columns. Gradually, the architecture of churches became more complex; domes, arches, and other elements were used in their design. architectural elements. The most interesting buildings of this time are the frescoed wooden basilicas. Such structures have been preserved in Lambus, Kato Paphos, Constantine, Hyalus, Pegia, Kourion.

In the 7th century, Byzantium begins a war with Islamic countries, and Cyprus plays a very important role in it. At this time, the attacks of the Arabs on the island begin - they continue until the year 965 and end after a decisive battle in which the Byzantine emperor Nicephoras II Phokas wins.

Until the 12th century, Byzantium was actively building in Cyprus: fortresses and forts were built along the Pentadactyl mountain range. The largest of them are being built in Kantara, Vufavento, St. Hilarion. At the same time, the largest and most famous monasteries were being built in Cyprus: Maheiras, Kykkos, St. Neophyte.

Frankish rule in Cyprus: 1192 - 1489

In 1191, the power in Cyprus changes once again: during the Third Crusade, the island passes into the hands of the English king Richard the Lionheart. Richard I understood that Cyprus would be of great strategic importance for supplying the troops of the Third Crusade. On the other hand, the king rightly believed that it would be very difficult to maintain power on the island.

As a result, having played his wedding with Princess Berengaria of Navarre in Cyprus, he decided to sell it to the Knights Templar. They refused the offer because a major uprising had just taken place on the island. Then Richard decided to sell Cyprus to the French: the island came under the rule of Guy de Lusignan, a French nobleman who previously ruled the Latin-Jerusalem kingdom.

Lusignan became the first of a whole dynasty of Cypriot rulers: the power of the Franks on the island was maintained for three centuries. During this time, Catholicism became the official religion in Cyprus, and a feudal system was established on the island.

In 1291, the Egyptian Mamelukes captured the Latino-Jerusalem kingdom, after which Cyprus became the last stronghold of Christianity in the east. At the same time, the island continued to be one of the most important trading centers in the east of the Mediterranean. The island received this status due to the fact that the Frankish cities provided serious privileges to the largest European trading cities. Meanwhile, Venice and Genoa, who were among them and actively traded with Cyprus, began to conflict with each other, challenging the right to control over the island. As a result, Cyprus suffered, whose political and economic situation seriously deteriorated.

Nevertheless, the development of the Cypriot economy continued: in the XIV century, Ammochostos and Nicosia became large shopping malls that supplied wines, sugar, as well as a number of agricultural products. In addition, Cyprus became known for the development of weaving and, in particular, the art of lace making. Finally, glazed pottery was another export commodity, which was highly valued outside of Cyprus.

During the reign of the Franks, Gothic architecture became widespread in Cyprus. It was intricately mixed with Byzantine and Western styles, resulting in a number of original buildings on the island, mainly castles and cathedrals. The most famous examples of Cypriot Gothic are Bellapais Abbey, St. Sophia, located in Nicosia, as well as the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, built in Ammochostos.

Venetian power in Cyprus: 1489 - 1571

The last of the French Lusignan dynasty in Cyprus was Caterina Cornaro, who was the wife of King James II and the sister of Andreas Cornaro, a Venetian nobleman. In 1489, Catherine transferred the rights to Cyprus to the Venetian Republic, as a result of which Cyprus became part of it.

Immediately after that, Venetian influence began to increase on the island, the Genoese were completely expelled from Cyprus. The new rulers tried to establish the tightest possible control over the island so as to ensure the unhindered supply of their ships, as well as their free movement in the eastern Mediterranean.

Cyprus at this time actively exports agricultural products, including olive oil, sugar, cotton, wheat, barley, wine. In Lefkara, a large-scale production of lace is being established, weaving becomes one of the main crafts. Fabrics and lace produced in Cyprus are highly valued and the Venetians continue to export them from the island. At the beginning of the Venetian rule in Cyprus, Ammochostos was the main port of the island, but later Larnaca began to acquire more and more importance, from where the salt mined on the island is exported. At the same time, another major Cypriot port, Limassol, is being developed.

The Venetians failed to hold their power in Cyprus for a long time. Already in 1522, they faced the threat of losing control over the island, which came from the Ottoman Empire. The latter at that time captured the island of Rhodes, coming close to Cyprus. In response, the Venetians engaged in the construction of fortress walls around Nicosia, as well as strengthening the fortress of Famagusta. In the same period, the Tower of Othello was built in Ammochostos, which got its name in honor of the Shakespearean tragedy. It has survived to this day and is considered one of the most significant monuments of the Venetian period.

Ottoman rule in Cyprus: 1571 - 1878

In 1571, the Ottoman period begins in Cyprus. The Turks capture Ammostochos and drive the Venetians off the island. The first Muslim settlements begin to be built on the island. However, at the very beginning of the reign of the Turks, the Orthodox Church of Cyprus received serious privileges, as a result of which its political influence increased.

In general, Turkish rule becomes a very difficult time for the island. In 1821, Greek Cypriots participate in the Greek War of Independence. In response, the Turks execute the Archbishop of Cyprus Kyprianos, three bishops, as well as about 470 church ministers and parishioners.

The socio-economic situation in Cyprus improves only at the beginning of the 18th century. This process coincides with the gradual weakening of the Ottoman Empire. The coastal cities of the island begin to trade more actively with European states, consulates of other countries appear in Larnaca. Previously, the main industry on the island was agriculture, which existed on the basis of semi-feudal relations. Now, with the dynamic development of coastal cities, the proportion of the urban population is growing on the island. This is largely due to the gradual strengthening of ties with Greece, where an independent state is being formed after the war.

The population of Cypriot cities is also beginning to speak out in favor of creating their own independent state. At the same time, despite all this, Cyprus is still far from full independence.

Cyprus as a British colony: 1878 - 1960

The Ottoman Empire loses power over the island in 1878, when, in accordance with a secret agreement, Cyprus is transferred by the Turks to Great Britain. The colonial rule of the British begins, which temporarily puts an end to the dreams of local residents about major changes in the economy, politics and social life of the island. Cyprus, which has long dreamed of uniting with Greece, is under the yoke of the power of the colonists, which brings with it a serious recession in the economy. As a result, in October 1931, a serious uprising took place in Cyprus. Nevertheless, it does not give positive results: having suppressed the rebellion, the colonialists toughen the existing regime even more.

However, the sentiments that led to the rebellion persist on the island: indigenous people continues to demand the restoration of the nation-state, but the British still do not agree with them. On January 15, 1950, a referendum was held on unification with Greece. 95.7% of the island's population is in favor of such a union, but the UK again ignores the Cypriots. On October 20 of the same year, Makarios III, Bishop of Kition, was elected Archbishop of Cyprus. The situation comes to a standstill, the way out of which is the emergence of an anti-colonial movement on the island.

This movement existed for four years: from 1955 to 1959. The National Organization of Cypriot Wrestlers or EOKA is being created on the island. Ultimately, Great Britain renounces its claims to the island, but this does not bring the desired unification with Greece to Cyprus. Agreements are signed in Zurich and London, under which an independent Republic of Cyprus is created. Archbishop Makarios III becomes the first president of Cyprus. His reign begins on December 13, 1959.

Modern history of Cyprus: from 1960 to the present day

The official creation of the Republic of Cyprus took place on August 16, 1960. The new state has joined a number of international organizations, among which were the Council of Europe, the UN, the British Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement. Britain maintains two military bases in Cyprus, the area of ​​​​which is 158.4 square meters. km. This right is assigned to her under an agreement previously signed in London and Zurich. One of the bases is located east of Larnaca, in Dekeli, the other is in Akrotiri, not far from Limassol. Guarantees under the treaty were provided by three powers - Greece, Turkey, Great Britain. In accordance with the terms of the agreement, they received the right to take action if the terms of the agreement were violated.

Cyprus created its own constitution, which ensured the protection of basic rights and freedoms for the citizens of the island. At the same time, this document contained a number of provisions, due to which its application became too complicated and practically impossible.

The President of Cyprus proposed a number of constitutional amendments in 1963, but the leaders of the Turkish Cypriot community, as well as Turkey itself, rejected them. As a result, the Turkish Cypriots left the Cypriot government, creating an illegal Provisional Turkish Cypriot government. In 1964, the Turkish and Greek communities of the island entered into open conflict, after which the UN Security Council sent its peacekeeping forces to the island.

Greece intervened next. The military junta that came to power in the country in 1974 organized a military coup, the purpose of which was to overthrow the Cypriot president. Turkey responded by sending troops to the territory of Cyprus - on July 20, 1974, Turkish military forces landed on the island, occupying 37% of its territory. The UN, the UN Security Council, the Non-Aligned Movement, the British Commonwealth and a number of other international organizations condemned Turkey's actions, recognizing the rights of the indigenous people of Cyprus. However, despite this, Turkish troops still occupy the northern part of the island.

Since 2004, Cyprus has been a member of the European Union, but the agreement on the accession of the republic to the EU was supplemented by a special protocol. He points out that EU legislation in the case of Cyprus will not apply in territories not controlled by the government. Once the Cyprus problem is resolved, the protocol will no longer be in force. Today, negotiations on a solution to the Turkish Cypriot problem continue.