British Cyprus and the Long Great War, 1914-1925: Empire, Loyalties and Democratic Deficit

Description

Most of the Cypriot population, especially the lower classes, remained loyal to the British cause during the Great War and the island contributed significantly to the First World War, with men and materials. The British acknowledged this yet failed to institute political and economic reforms once the war ended. The obsession of Greek Cypriot elites with enosis (union with Greece), which only increased after the war, and the British dismissal of increasing the role of Cypriots in government, bringing the Christian and Muslim communities closer, and expanding franchise to all classes and sexes, led to serious problems down the line, not least the development of a democratic deficit. Andrekos Varnava studies the events and the impact of this crucial period. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of figures List of tables Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Introduction Historiography Theories Sources and methodology Notes 1. British Cyprus, 1878–1915: The inconsequential possession The last decades as an Ottoman backwater The first decades as a British backwater The early war years: from a backwater to a pawn Conclusion Notes 2. Elite loyalties: Enosis, the Greek schism and the war effort Reaction to the failed offer of October 1915 Conclusion Notes 3. Middle class loyalties: Military intelligence and the war effort Cyprus in allied intelligence operations in the eastern Mediterranean Loyalties and disloyalties and the civil-military dispute Suspect loyalties Towards more restrictions Conclusion Notes 4. Lower class loyalties: Cypriots at war Cypriots serving in the Great War Cypriots ‘enlisting’ in the Greco-Turkish war of 1919–22 Conclusion Notes 5. Refugees and settlers: Inclusivity and exclusivity Settling refugees and rejecting others during the Great War Settling and rejecting refugees from wars emanating from the Great War Conclusion Notes 6. ‘Remember Heligoland’: Retaining Cyprus against the enosis policy The pro-enosis policy: supporters and opponents Towards rejecting enosis The rejection of enosis in July 1920 Crosfield and thesecond rejection of enosis in November 1920 Conclusion Notes 7. Colonialism, enosis and democratic deficit, 1921–25 Reactions to the ‘no’: the blame game and threat of violence The democratic deficit Conclusion Notes Conclusion Notes Selected Bibliography Index