In this video I'm going to look at a country very close to my heart - Cyprus.
This small Mediterranean island was never meant to be a state.
Indeed, when it became independent, in 1960, it was termed 'the Reluctant Republic'.
So, how did Cyprus instead become an independent state?
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Hi. Welcome to Independent Thinking.
A channel dedicated to statehood, independence and the origins of countries.
My name is James Ker-Lindsay.
The Republic of Cyprus has a rich and fascinating history.
However, this small Mediterranean island state was never in fact meant to be an independent country.
Had things turned out the way that the of the islands inhabitants had hoped,
Cyprus would have instead become a part of Greece.
So how did it become a state?
Lying at the very eastern end of Mediterranean, Cyprus sits at the crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa.
It has therefore been seen as a strategically important piece of territory by many imperial powers.
Over the course of thousands of years it has come under the rule of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire,
and the Crusaders - to name just a few.
Throughout much of its history, the large majority of the island's inhabitants have been Greek speaking.
However, the conquest of the island by the Ottoman Empire, in the late 16th century,
saw the arrival of Turkish speaking settlers.
These are the origins of the islands two main communities - the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Our story really starts in 1878, when the Ottoman Empire gave Britain control of the island in return for
British support in the event of an attack by Russia.
For the Greek community on the island,
which represented about three-quarters of the population at the time,
this was an ideal chance to realize their hopes of union with the Kingdom of Greece
- an aspiration known as 'enosis'.
They therefore called on the British Government to transfer the island to Greek sovereignty.
However, Britain refused on the grounds that it no power to do so.
It had merely taken administrative responsibility for the island from the Ottomans.
It had not assumed formal sovereignty.
This changed in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War,
when Britain and the Ottoman Empire found themselves on opposing sides.
As a result, Britain annexed Cyprus.
It was at this point that Britain in fact offered Cyprus to Greece in an attempt to persuade Athens
to join the war on its side.
However, the Greek Government turned down the offer due to deep internal differences
over its participation in the war.
British control over the island was further strengthened with the end of the First World War.
The Ottoman Empire collapsed and in its place emerged a new Republic of Turkey.
In 1924, it relinquished all claims to Cyprus under the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne.
The following year, Britain declared Cyprus to be a Crown Colony.
With the island now under formal British control,
the Greek Cypriots renewed their efforts for enosis.
However, Britain refused to consider the idea.
And in late-1931 tensions erupted in widespread anti-colonial rioting.
Although the quest for unification was put on hold during the Second World War,
when Greece and Britain were allies,
the campaign for enosis began again after the end of the war.
In 1950, an unofficial referendum amongst Greek Cypriots showed that 96%
of those taking part wanted Cyprus to unite with Greece.
Yet again, it made little impression on the British colonial authorities.
Meanwhile, a Greek attempt to debate the islands future at the United Nations also failed.
By now, there was a growing sense that the only way to secure union with Greece
was through an armed uprising against British rule.
On April the 1st 1955, the Greek Cypriot organization better known by its Greek acronym EOKA,
launched a campaign to end British imperial control and secure enosis.
Although the rebellion was not aimed against the Turkish Cypriot community,
which represented about 20% of the overall Cypriot population,
the prospect of the island's union with Greece was firmly rejected by the Turkish Cypriots
as well as by the Turkish Government.
As a result, they launched their own guerrilla movement to demand that the island be partitioned
between Greece and Turkey
By 1958, the situation between the communities was becoming increasingly tense.
Worryingly, fighting between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities
threatened to draw Greece and Turkey into the conflict.
This raised the prospect of a war between two NATO members at what was a crucial point in the Cold War.
As a result, the Greek and Turkish governments sought a compromise solution.
In January 1959, they agreed that Cyprus would neither unite with Greece
nor would it be partitioned between Greece and Turkey.
Instead, it would become an independent sovereign state.
Power would be shared between the two communities. And the sovereignty and
independence of the new state would be protected by Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Britain, which was in the process of wider decolonization at the time, agreed to the plan.
On 16th August 1960, the British flag came down
and Cyprus became an independent republic.
Curiously, although Cyprus became independent on August 16th,
it actually celebrates its independence day on October 1st each year.
Just over a month later, on September 20, 1960, Cyprus became a member of the United Nations.
In fact, it joined the UN on the very same days as Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic,
Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar,
Niger, Somalia and Togo.
So that's how the island of Cyprus - despite the aspiration of the majority of its population
to become a part of Greece - in fact became an independent state.
I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did please take a moment to hit the 'Like' button below.
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And do let me know in the comment section if you have any questions or if there are any other topics
you'd like to see me cover.
Also, if you'd like to find out more about Cyprus, I have put a link to my book on the Cyprus problem
in the description below.
Thanks a lot for watching and hopefully see you again soon.
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