A brief history of Cyprus

Cyprus is rich in history and a fascinating island to explore, but it has a troubled past…

By Mike Stock

Lying about 75km south of Turkey, Cyprus has a complicated history. After the parting of the Roman Empire, Cyprus and its Greek population, became a part of the Byzantine Empire. Then during the third Crusades, in 1191, the island was conquered by Richard I. A year later the Templars sold the island to Guy de Lusignan, and his decendants ruled for the next 300 years. The Republic of Venice took control of the island in 1489 and in 1571, Cyprus became part of the Ottoman Empire. This is the point where the first Turks came and settled, which had huge consequences for the island - right up to the modern day. 

In 1878, in return for Britain's support of the Ottoman Empire during the Russian-Turkish War, an agreement was made for Britain to take control of the island. During the First and Second World Wars, Britain promised Greek Cypriots who signed up to fight in the British Army that they would be united with Greece after the war. This had long been a strong wish among the Greek-Cypriote majority population. This, however, turned out to be an empty promise and, after a period of growing unrest during the 1950s, Cyprus declared independence and the Republic of Cyprus was born on the 16th August 1960.

Conflict erupts
What follows is very complicated and widely disputed. London and Zurich established an agreement that was supposed to insure that both the Greek Cypriot majority (80 per cent of the population) and the Turkish Cypriote minority (18 per cent of the population) would have political representation and all their rights protected.

However, the complexity of the agreement led to both sides disagreeing on the meaning and implementation of the arrangement. They could not find common ground and in 1964 the conflict erupted. This resulted in the UN sending in a Peace Corps.

In the coming years, talks lead nowhere and the quarrel between the two parties escalated. The Turkish Cypriots were now fighting for a divided island, while the Greek Cypriots wanted unity. In 1974, a group of Greek Cypriot nationalists, with military assistance from Greece, tried to overthrow the government. A few days later, on the 20th of July 1974, Turkey invaded and took possession of the northern part of Cyprus. This caused havoc, leading to 160,000 Greek Cypriot refugees and 50,000 Turkish Cypriot refugees. 

In 1983 North Cyprus declared independence, but this is still only recognised by Turkey. Many attempts on finding a solution have failed. In 2004, the Kofi Annan Plan (backed by the UN) sought to reunify the island before Cyprus was scheduled to join the European Union. It was put to a vote and the north voted in favour, but the south voted overwhelmingly against. The plan failed and South Cyprus joined the EU, despite the island still being divided.

In the years following 1974, the economy of Cyprus has grown and the population on the south side of the island enjoys a very high standard of living. North Cyprus, on the other hand, is much poorer due to international embargos, although there are now growing talk from the EU on lifting these. North Cyprus is experiencing increased revenue from tourism and a lot of foreign investment in the property market. But, as it is today, the northern part of the island still relies on aid from Turkey.

Finally, though, after the February elections in South Cyprus, the discussions of reunification are back on the table and there is a growing hope of finding a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem.