A NEW ERA FOR CYPRUS
NEW RULERS FOR THE ISLAND IN THE SUN
Clandestine negotiations between the British and the Ottoman Empire culminated in the Cyprus Convention agreement of 1878. Signed on June 4th during the Congress of Berlin, it saw the Ottoman Empire retain the rights over the territory of Cyprus, but grant total administrative control of the whole island to Great Britain. The Ottomans had made similar offers to the British three times previously, and although these proposals were rebuffed in 1833, 1841, and again in 1845, an agreement regarding Cyprus was finally reached at the fourth attempt in 1878.
RUSSIAN EXPANSION
During the 1870s, the Russian Empire found itself trying to fill a power vacuum. Western Europe was faced with a constant Russian threat of expansion because of this. The Russian Empire continually began to focus its efforts southward towards the warm-water port of Constantinople and the Dardanelles. A much weakened Ottoman Empire needed help to repel this threat. With this in mind, it set about taking decisive steps towards securing its northern borders. A British presence in Cyprus was intended to help forestall such an expansion.
PROTECTION FOR BRITISH INTERESTS
The Cyprus Convention of 1878 firmly stipulated that the British would use the island primarily as a military base. This would help protect not only the Ottoman Empire but the greater eastern Mediterranean against any possible Russian aggression. Taking control of Cyprus also served other British interests at the time. Britain would eventually use Cyprus to protect its interests in the nearby Suez Canal, which had become a crucial gateway to its empire in the east.
CONFRONTED WITH THE IDEA OF A UNION WITH GREECE
The first British High Commissioner to Cyprus, during a welcoming speech in Larnaca, met with several Cypriot representatives. They initially welcomed and embraced British control of the island. They viewed the British as world leaders and welcomed the idea of being part of their commonwealth. Most saw that the future would be much brighter under British control. Others, however, were pushing a different agenda. The British High Commissioner was confronted at the very beginning of his administration with the reality that the majority of Greek Cypriots wanted union with Greece. This became known after Greek Cypriot Nationalism made its presence known at these meetings. The Bishop of Kition was particularly vocal. He expressed the hope that the British would eventually expedite the unification of Cyprus with Greece, as they had previously done with the Ionian Islands.
PAYING A PRICE
Cypriots were soon to realise that British Colonial rule came at a price. The terms of the Cyprus Convention of 1878 provided that the excess of the island’s revenue, after the government expenditure, would be paid as an ‘annual fixed tribute’ to the Ottomans. This provision enabled the Ottomans to assert that they had not ceded or surrendered Cyprus to the British, but had merely temporarily turned over administration to them. The agreement was sometimes described as a British leasing of the island because of this.
THE CYPRUS TRIBUTE
The ‘Cyprus Tribute’, as it became known, would later become a major source of discontent amongst Cypriots. It later became an underlying factor for later Cypriot unrest. This came after the Cypriots found themselves not only paying tribute to the Ottomans but also covering the expenses incurred by the British colonial administration. This created a constant drain on the Cypriot economy that could not be ignored. Matters worsened when it surfaced that this money earmarked for the Ottomans was never actually paid. Instead, it was used to pay off Ottoman Crimean War loans. This arrangement would later greatly disturb the Ottomans as well as the Cypriots.
A SPECIAL CYPRUS CONTINGENCY FUND
Cypriots were further irritated by the creation of the ‘Cyprus contingency fund’. Exclusively controlled by British administrators, this was created to mop up any leftover wealth. Cypriot public opinion at the time felt that Cypriots were being forced to pay a debt that was not theirs to bear. The annual payment would eventually become a symbol of British oppression across the island. This was noted by the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies, Winston Churchill. He raised the issue of Cypriot finances in Parliament after a visit to the island in 1907. This resulted in a vote that enabled the British Government to issue a permanent annual grant-in-aid of £50,000 to Cyprus. This reduced the tribute and Cypriot burden accordingly.
A KEY MILITARY BASE
In 1906, a new harbour at Famagusta was completed, increasing the importance of Cyprus as a strategic naval outpost. Cyprus would go on to serve Britain as a key military base on the sea route to British India. This was then Britain’s most important overseas colony. The harbour also helped to protect the approach to the Suez Canal.
THE END OF THE AGREEMENT
On November 5th, 1914, the Cyprus Convention agreement of 1878 came to an abrupt end. Great Britain formally annexed Cyprus, and the island became a Crown colony. This came after the Ottoman Empire entered the side of the Central Powers, in opposition to Great Britain, during the First World War. Great Britain also took control of the Ottoman Khedivate of Egypt and the Sudan.
