Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean with an area of 9.251 square
kilometers. It lies in the north-eastern corner of the East Mediterranean basin, at the
meeting point of three continents - Europe, Asia and Africa - a fact which has added
considerably to the island's importance and development.
Cyprus' population at the end of 1992 was 718.000. Population distribution by ethnic
group is 81,7% Greek Cypriots including Maronites, Armenians, Latins and others and
18,3% Turkish Cypriots.
Since early times Cyprus has had an eventful history, mostly the result of its geographical
position. It appeared for the first time in the history of civilisation in the 7th millennium
B.C. during the Neolithic period. This period, which lasted three millennia, was followed
by the Chalcolithic period. The Bronze Age followed which lasted until 1100 B.C. During
the last phase of this period, in the 13th century B.C., the Mycenean Greeks came for this
first time to Cyprus as merchants and immigrants. They settled and they introduced the
Greek language and culture both of which have been preserved to this day. At the end of
the 4th century B.C. Cyprus became part of the Kingdom of Alexander the Great. During
the first century B.C. it became a province of the Great Roman Empire and remained as
such until the 4th century A.D. when it was included in the eastern part of the Roman
Empire. This marks the beginning of the Byzantine period, which lasted until the 12th
century A.D. when, during the Crusades, King Richard Coeur de Lion, conquered the
island. Very soon, however, Cyprus came under the rule of the Lusignan family, which
remained and ruled Cyprus until the 15th century. In 1489 Cyprus became part of the
Republic of Venice and in 1571 it was conquered by the Ottomans.
Cyprus remained under Ottoman rule together with the Greek mainland and the other Greek
islands for centuries. However, after the 1821 Greek uprising and the liberation struggle,
the various parts of Greece gradually attained independence. Cyprus also participated in
the Greek War of Independence and a large number of Cypriots fought and fell during this
war, particularly in the battle of Athens in 1828. (At the beginning of Greece's War of
Independence a number of Bishops in Cyprus were hanged by the Turkish occupation
authorities, having been accused of supporting the revolution). The question of the
incorporation of Cyprus in the Greek state was raised soon after 1830, but it did not
become possible and Cyprus remained under Ottoman rule until 1878.
In that year the expansionist policy of Tsarist Russia caused the Turks to cede Cyprus to
Britain which promised to help Turkey in the event of an attack by Russia on certain
bordering provinces. The Turco-British agreement was concluded in complete disregard of
the wishes and interests of the Cypriot people, who demanded incorporation of their island
as part of Greece.
At the outbreak of the First World War, Cyprus was annexed to the British Empire, and in
1925 it was formally declared a British Crown Colony. By that time Turkey had, under the
Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, Article 16, renounced all claim to Cyprus and by Article 27 of
the same Treaty divested itself of the exercise of any power or jurisdiction in political,
legislative, or administrative matters over the nationals of Cyprus. When Cyprus was
declared a British Crown Colony, the Turkish population of the island - descendants of
members of the Turkish occupation force and expatriates from Turkey - were invited to
choose between repatriation to Turkey or permanent settlement in Cyprus, and a number of
them chose to remain in Cyprus. At that time it had never been intended or expected, that
the Turkish minority would become the arbiters of the country's destiny. From 1878 when
Cyprus was handed over to Britain, until April 1955, when the struggle for liberation from
British rule was started by the Greek Cypriots, the Turks in Cyprus intermingled with the
Greek people and lived in peace and harmony with them.
