MATEO - Mannheimer Texte Online
Abstract
British colonial rule in Cyprus lasted from 1878 until 1960, when the island became an independent Republic. This study attempts to tell the story of these 82 years.
In keeping with the course of Cypriot history, the book is divided into four parts. The first part covers the years between the beginning of British rule in 1878 and the end of a relatively calm and liberal constitutional period in 1931, when the first anti-British revolt took place. At the centre of the analysis will be the administrative and political changes brought on by the end of Ottoman and the beginning of British rule. Another focus of this chapter are the 1920s as a decisive decade of Cypriot history. After the end of the First World War, Cyprus finally became the undisputed possession of the United Kingdom. This triggered developments which would have a decisive and long-term effect on Cypriot history and society: The Greek nationalist movement started to organise itself and became a challenge for British rule. The British responded by introducing important political and economic reforms which aimed to detach the vast majority of the Cypriots from the nationalists. The 1920s witnessed the birth of a communist movement in Cyprus as well as the foundation of trade unions and co-operative societies.
The second part of this study analyses the various developments between 1931 and 1955. Following the uprising, the constitution was abolished. The British applied a strict dictatorial rule which paralysed the island politically for the next ten years. It was not until 1941 that the Greek and Turkish Cypriots were permitted limited participation in the running of their affairs on a local level. One of the reasons for this relaxation was the Second World War, the impact of which on Cyprus is the topic of a separate sub-chapter. As a reward for the contribution of Cyprus in the war, the Greek Cypriot majority expected unification with Greece. Britain, however, was only prepared to offer a new constitution with increased Cypriot self-administration. Instead of accepting such an offer, the Greek Cypriots embarked, in 1950, on a campaign to bring this dispute to the international forum of the United Nations. The success of this lengthy internationalisation campaign changed the parameters of the Cyprus dispute. The involvement of the United Nations as well as of the motherlands of the two Cypriot communities, Greece and Turkey, turned the conflict from a dispute between a state and its colonial subjects into a complex international issue. However, when the United Nations decided to deal with the Cyprus question at a later stage, the Greek Cypriot nationalists started, in April 1955, to pursue their goal by means of violence.
The complex developments during the decisive and best researched four years of Cypriot history, 1955-1959, make up the third part of this study. They led to the complete deterioration of the relations between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, and to the involvement not only of the United Nations but also of NATO with their respective interests. This was also the time when Greece and Turkey tottered on the brink of war over Cyprus. Developments in Cyprus proper as well as diplomatic activities on the international level finally prompted the British to give up colonial rule on the island. In the end a compromise, which nobody really wanted, enabled the British to get out of the Cyprus mess: the establishment of an independent Republic of Cyprus.
The fourth and final part reconstructs and analyses the Transitional Period, from the settlement of the Cyprus dispute at a conference in London on 19 February 1959 until the declaration of independence on 16 August 1960. In these 18 months, a final agreement on all outstanding issues concerning the putative Republic had to be reached. This study extensively examines the negotiations and developments which finally led to the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus.
A central objective of all four chapters will be to investigate the widespread view that British colonial policy in Cyprus was one of divide and rule.
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