Misplaced Pages

British Cyprus

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
(Redirected from Colony of Cyprus) British colony from 1878–1960This article is about the British colony covering the whole of Cyprus until 1960. For the British Overseas Territory currently on the island of Cyprus, see Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
CyprusΚύπρος (Greek)
Kıbrıs (Turkish)
1878–1960
Flag of British Cyprus Flag
(1922–1960)
Badge (1905–1960) of British Cyprus Badge
(1905–1960)
Anthem: God Save the King (1914–1952)
God Save the Queen (1952–1960)
Cyprus in the 1930s, with Cyprus in dark green and the United Kingdom in dark greyCyprus in the 1930s, with Cyprus in dark green and the United Kingdom in dark grey
Status
CapitalNicosia
Official languagesEnglish
Common languagesGreek • Turkish
Religion
Monarch 
• 1878–1901 (first) Victoria
• 1952–1960 (last) Elizabeth II
Governor 
• 1878–1879 (first) Garnet Wolseley
• 1957–1960 (last) Hugh Foot
LegislatureLegislative Council
History 
• Cyprus Convention 4 June 1878
• Protectorate established 12 July 1878
• British annexation 5 November 1914
• Treaty of Lausanne 24 July 1923
• Crown colony of Cyprus 1 May 1925
• Enosis referendum 15 January 1950
• Cyprus Emergency 1 April 1955
• London & Zürich Agreements 19 February 1959
• Independence 16 August 1960
Area
19249,272 km (3,580 sq mi)
Population
• 1924 310,709
• 1955 529,972
• 1960 572,930
Currency
Preceded by Succeeded by
Ottoman Cyprus
Cyprus
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Today part of Cyprus
 Northern Cyprus
 Akrotiri and Dhekelia

British Cyprus (Greek: Βρετανική Κύπρος; Turkish: Britanya Kıbrısı) was the island of Cyprus under the dominion of the British Empire, administered sequentially from 1878 to 1914 as a British protectorate, from 1914 to 1925 as a unilaterally annexed military occupation, and from 1925 to 1960 as a Crown colony. Following the London and Zürich Agreements of 19 February 1959, Cyprus became an independent republic on 16 August 1960.

History

Silver coin: 45 piastre British Cyprus George V - 1928
Flag of Cyprus (1881–1922)

Formation

Cyprus was a territory of the Ottoman Empire, lastly as part of the Vilayet of the Archipelago, since it was conquered from the Republic of Venice in 1570–71.

Greek Orthodox priests blessing the Union Jack as it is raised in Nicosia, 1878

A British protectorate under nominal Ottoman suzerainty was established over Cyprus by the Cyprus Convention of 4 June 1878, following the Russo-Turkish War, in exchange for British support of the Ottomans during the Congress of Berlin. Cyprus was then proclaimed a British protectorate and was informally integrated into the British Empire. This remained in place until 5 November 1914, when after the Ottomans joined the Central Powers, in turn entering World War I, Britain declared the complete annexation of Cyprus into the British Empire, albeit under a military administration status. The Crown Colony of Cyprus was proclaimed a decade later, in 1925, after Britain's annexation of Cyprus was verified twice, firstly in the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, which was never implemented, and then confirmed again in the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.

Proposed union with Greece

King Paul of Greece declared that Cyprus desired union with Greece in 1948. A referendum was presented by the Orthodox Church of Cyprus in 1950, according to which around 97% of the Greek Cypriot population wanted the union. The Greek petition and enosis became an international issue when it was accepted by the United Nations.

Cyprus Emergency

Main article: Cyprus Emergency

The Cyprus Emergency was a military action that took place in Cyprus from 1955 to 1959. The Cyprus Emergency primarily consisted of a campaign by the Greek Cypriot military group EOKA to remove the British from Cyprus so it could be unified with Greece.

Independence

Part of a series on the
History of Cyprus
CYPRVS INSVLA
Prehistoric
Ancient
Medieval
Modern
History by topic
flag Cyprus portal

Signed on 19 February 1959, the London and Zurich Agreements started the process for the constitution of an independent Cyprus. The United Kingdom granted independence to Cyprus on 16 August 1960 and formed the Republic of Cyprus. Archbishop Makarios III, a charismatic religious and political leader, was elected as the first president of independent Cyprus. As part of the independence agreement, the United Kingdom retained possession of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia as a British Overseas Territory.

In March 1961 at the 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference, Cyprus became an independent republic in the Commonwealth of Nations, and Archbishop Makarios III became both a Commonwealth head of state and a Commonwealth head of government.

In 1961, the Republic of Cyprus became the 99th member of the United Nations.

Notable residents

See also

Notes

  1. as High Commissioner

References

  1. ^ "The British Empire in 1924". The British Empire. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Cyprus Population". Worldometers. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  3. Eric Solsten, ed. Cyprus: A country study (1991).
  4. Xypolia, Ilia (2017). British Imperialism and Turkish Nationalism in Cyprus, 1923-1939 Divide, Define and Rule. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781138221291.

External links

Cyprus articles
History
Prehistoric
Ancient
Medieval
Modern
Cyprus
Geography
Politics
Economy
Society
Culture
Demographics
Symbols
Former British Empire and Current British Overseas Territories
Legend
Former territory
Current territory
*Current Commonwealth realm
Current member of the Commonwealth of Nations
Europe
Africa
Asia
North America
Oceania
18th and 19th centuries20th century
South America
Antarctica and the South Atlantic
  • Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena.
  • Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under the Antarctic Treaty.
  • Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1985
Great Eastern Crisis
Wars and conflicts
Montenegrin
Serb
Bulgarian
Greek









International
agreements
See also
Categories: