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==Background== [[File:Georgios Grivas 1967.jpg|thumb|160px|[[George Grivas]]]] Cyprus, an island in the Eastern Mediterranean inhabited mostly by [[Greek Cypriots|Greeks]], was conquered by the Ottoman Empire from 1571 and remained under its control until 4 June 1878, when in the aftermath of the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russo-Turkish War]], it was handed to the British empire.{{sfn|Richter|2007|p=23}} By that time, a sizeable [[Turkish Cypriots|Turkish]] minority population had also been established in the island. As nationalistic tendencies grew in both major population groups, Greek Cypriots advocated for ''Enosis'' (Union with Greece) which was a part of the [[Megali idea]]. The origins of Enosis date back to 1821, the year when the [[Greek War of Independence]] commenced, and the archbishop of Cyprus, his archdeacon, and three bishops were beheaded by the Ottoman colonial administration, amongst other atrocities. In 1828, [[Ioannis Kapodistrias]], the first governor of Greece, asked for the union of Cyprus with Greece, while small-scale uprisings also occurred.{{sfn|Mallinson|Mallinson|2005|p=5}} In 1878, when British general Wolsely came to Cyprus to formally establish British rule, he was met by the archbishop of [[Kition]] who, after welcoming him, requested that Britain cede Cyprus to Greece.{{sfn|Mallinson|Mallinson|2005|p=5}} Initially, the Greek Cypriots welcomed British rule, as they were aware that the British had returned the [[Ionian Islands]] to Greece in 1864. They were also hopeful for British investment in Cyprus, which the Ottoman occupation left as an impoverished island.{{sfn|Emerick|2014|pp=117–118}} In 1912, the British government made an offer to Greece to exchange Cyprus for a naval base in [[Argostoli]], in order to gain control of the [[Ionian Sea]], an offer which was repeated in 1913. In 1915, the British offered Cyprus to Greece several times in exchange for Greece's participation in World War I. While Greece was undecided whether it should enter the War, however, the British government withdrew its offer.{{sfn|Richter|2007|loc= chapter First World War|p=157-194}} By 1915, the Greek Cypriots' opposition to British rule had increased, seeing that neither the British investment nor Enosis had materialized.{{sfn|Emerick|2014|p=117-18}} In the beginning, the Enosis movement had only few supporters, mainly from the upper classes.{{sfnm|1a1=Lange|1y=2011|1p=93|2a1=Bellingeri|2a2=Kappler|2y=2005|2p=21|3a1=Isachenko|3y=2012|3p=37|4a1=Richter|4y=2007|4pp=114-15}} However, that was about to change as two groups, disappointed with the new ruler, began to form, namely the Church and the Usurers. A number of Cypriots studying in Greece in the following years became strong advocates of Enosis upon their return.{{sfnm|1a1=Richter|1y=2007|1p=114-15|2a1=French|2y=2015|2p=17|2ps=: French writes: "''But Greek Cypriot teachers and parents insisted that education should follow a classical curriculum that promoted a Greek ethnic identity and preserved the Greek character of the island, a curriculum that also instilled into pupils a sense of historical awareness that supported their claims for Enosis.27''"}} On the other hand, the Turkish Cypriot community started to develop its own nationalism in the early 20th century, as news arrived in the island about the persecutions faced by Muslims in the countries that formed after the collapse of Ottoman Empire.{{sfn|Κτωρής|2013|p=80}}<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Kizilyurek|2011|pp=198–199|ps=:[[Niyazi Kızılyürek|Kizilyurek]] clearly states: "''The Turkish Cypriot nationalism mainly developed in reaction to the Greek Cypriot national desire for union with Greece.''"}}</ref> The November 1926 appointment of [[Ronald Storrs]] (a philhellene) as the new governor of Cyprus, fostered the idea among Greek Cypriot nationalists that British rule would be a stepping stone for the eventual union with Greece.{{sfn|Klapsis|2009|p=131}} Their relationship was to sour in 1928, when Greek Cypriots refused to take part in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the British occupation of Cyprus. Greece appealed for calm, limiting the spread of anti-colonial articles in Greek Cypriot newspapers. Education became another arena of conflict with the passage of the Education Act, which sought to curtail Greek influence in the Cypriot school curricula. Cypriot irredentists also lamented the supposedly preferential treatment of [[Malta]] and Egypt at the expense of Cyprus.{{sfn|Frendo|1998|pp=47–51}} Relations worsened further when the British authorities unilaterally passed a new penal code which permitted among other things the use of [[torture]]. In 1929, Legislative Council members Archbishop of Kition Nikodemos and Stavros Stavrinakis arrived in London, presenting a memorandum to the secretary of colonies [[Sidney Webb, 1st Baron Passfield|Lord Passfield]] which contained demands for Enosis. As with previous such attempts the answer was negative.{{sfn|Klapsis|2009|pp=131–135}} In September 1931, Storrs blocked a Legislative Council decision to halt tax hikes that were to cover a local budget deficit. Greek Cypriot MPs reacted by resigning from their positions. Furthermore, on 18 October, Archbishop of Kition Nikodemos called Greek Cypriots to engage in acts of [[civil disobedience]] until their demands for Enosis were fulfilled.{{sfn|Klapsis|2009|pp=135–136}} On 21 October 1931, 5,000 Greek Cypriots, mostly students, priests and city notables rallied in the streets of [[Nicosia]] while chanting pro–Enosis slogans in what came to be known as the [[1931 Cyprus revolt|October Events]]. The crowd besieged Government House, following three hours of stone throwing the building was set on fire. The rioters were eventually dispersed by police. At the same time British flags were stripped from public offices across the country, often being substituted with Greek ones. Order was restored by the beginning of November. A total of seven protesters were killed, thirty were injured, ten were exiled for life, while 2,606 received various punishments ranging from prison terms to fines on account of seditious activities.{{sfn|Klapsis|2009|pp=135–136}}{{sfn|Rappas|2008|pp=363–364}} The revolt damaged both the Enotic cause and the Anglo–Hellenic relations. The Legislative Council and municipal elections were abolished, the appointment of village authorities and district judges was relegated to the governor of the island. Propagating Enotic ideas and flying foreign flags was banned as was the assembly of more than 5 people. Cyprus thus entered a period of autocratic rule known as ''Palmerokratia'' (Παλμεροκρατία; {{lit|Palmerocracy}}), named after governor [[Richmond Palmer]], which started shortly before the revolt and would last until the beginning of [[World War II]].{{sfn|Rappas|2008|pp=363–369}} In the 1950s, EOKA was established with the specific aim of mounting a military campaign to end the status of Cyprus as a British crown [[colony]] and achieving the island's unification with Greece. The leadership of [[AKEL]] at the time, the island's [[communist]] party, opposed EOKA's military action, advocating a "[[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Gandhiesque]] approach" of civil disobedience, such as [[workers' strike]]s and demonstrations.{{sfn|Mallinson|Mallinson|2005|p=19}} Initially, the struggle was political, as opposed to military. EOKA, in Grivas' words, wanted to attract the attention of the world through high-profile operations that would make headlines.{{sfn|Markides|1974}}
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