Cretan State
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Cretan State | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1898–1913 | |||||||||
Anthem: Ottoman Turkish (recognised) | |||||||||
Religion | Greek Orthodox (prevailing religion), Sunni Islam (recognised), Judaism | ||||||||
Demonym(s) | Cretan | ||||||||
High Commissioner | |||||||||
• 1898–1906 | Prince George | ||||||||
• 1906–1911 | Alexandros Zaimis | ||||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1910 | Eleftherios Venizelos | ||||||||
Legislature | Assembly | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
9 December 1898 | |||||||||
23 March 1905 | |||||||||
• Unilateral union with Greece | 7 October 1908[1] | ||||||||
30 May 1913 | |||||||||
1 December 1913 | |||||||||
Population | |||||||||
• 1911 estimate | 336,151 | ||||||||
Currency | Cretan drachma | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of | Greece |
The Cretan State (
History
Background
The island of Crete, an Ottoman possession since the end of the Cretan War (1645–1669), was inhabited by a mostly Greek-speaking population, whose majority was Christian. During and after the Greek War of Independence, the Christians of the island rebelled several times against external Ottoman rule, pursuing union with Greece. These were brutally subdued, but secured some concessions from the Ottoman government under the pressure of European public opinion. In 1878, the Pact of Halepa established the island as an autonomous state under Ottoman suzerainty, until the Ottomans reneged on that agreement in 1889.
The collapse of the Pact heightened tensions in the island, leading to another rebellion in 1895, which greatly expanded in 1896–1897 to cover most of the island. Six
Establishment of the Cretan State
In February 1897, the Great Powers decided to restore order by governing the island temporarily through an "Admirals Council" consisting of admirals from the six powers making up the International Squadron. Through naval bombardments of Cretan insurgent forces, by placing sailors and marines ashore to occupy key cities, and by establishing a blockade of Crete and key ports in Greece, the International Squadron brought organized fighting on Crete to an end by the end of March 1897, although the insurrection continued.[3] Soldiers from the armies of five of the powers (Germany declined to send any) arrived to occupy key Cretan cities in late March and April 1897.[4] Thereafter, the Admirals Council focused on a negotiated settlement that would bring the insurrection to an end without bringing Ottoman governance of Crete to an end, but this proved impossible. They then decided that Crete would become an autonomous state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. Germany strongly opposed this idea and withdrew from Crete and the International Squadron in November 1897 and Austria-Hungary followed in March 1898, but the remaining four powers carried on with their plans.[5]
On 6 September 1898 (25 August 1898 according to the Julian calendar then in use on Crete, which was 12 days behind the modern Gregorian calendar during the 19th century), a Cretan Muslim mob massacred hundreds of Cretan Greeks and murdered the British vice-consul, his family, and 14 British soldiers and sailors, in the city of Candia (modern Heraklion). As a result, the International Squadron and the occupying forces ashore expelled all Ottoman forces from Crete in November 1898.[6] The autonomous Cretan State, under Ottoman suzerainty, garrisoned by an international military force, and with its high commissioner provided by Greece, was founded when Prince George of Greece and Denmark arrived to take office as the first high commissioner (Greek: Ὕπατος Ἁρμοστής, Hýpatos Harmostēs), effectively detaching Crete from the Ottoman Empire, on 21 December 1898 (9 December according to the Julian calendar).[7][8] The Admirals Council was dissolved on 26 December 1898.[9]
The National Bank of Greece established a bank, the Bank of Crete, which had a 40-year monopoly on note issuance. The Cretan State also established a paramilitary force, the Cretan Gendarmerie, modeled on the Italian Carabinieri, to maintain public order. The Cretan Gendarmerie incorporated the four small gendarmerie units the four remaining occupying powers had created before the arrival of Prince George.
Internal turmoil – the Therisos Revolt
On 13 December 1898, Prince George of Greece and Denmark arrived as high commissioner for a three-year tenure. On 27 April 1899, an Executive Committee was created, in which a young, Athens-trained lawyer from Chania, Eleftherios Venizelos, participated as minister of justice. By 1900, Venizelos and Prince George had developed differences over domestic policies, as well as the issue of Enosis, the union with Greece.
Venizelos resigned in early 1901, and for the next three years, he and his supporters waged a bitter political struggle with the Prince's faction, leading to a political and administrative deadlock on the island. Eventually, in March 1905, Venizelos and his supporters gathered in the village of
On 15 August, the Cretan Assembly voted for the proposals of Venizelos, and the Great Powers brokered an agreement, whereby Prince George would resign and a new constitution created. In the 1906 elections the pro-Prince parties took 38,127 votes while pro-Venizelos parties took 33,279 votes, but in September 1906 Prince George was replaced by former Greek prime minister Alexandros Zaimis and left the island. In addition, Greek officers came to replace the Italians in the organization of the Gendarmerie, and the withdrawal of the foreign troops began, leaving Crete de facto under Greek control.
Union with Greece
A
Upon the outbreak of the
On 1 December, the formal ceremony of union took place: the
Population
The total population in 1911 was 336,151.[11]
Religion | Followers in Population |
---|---|
Christians | 307,812[11] |
Muslims | 27,852[11] |
Jewish | 487[11] |
References
Notes
- ^ Anderson, Frank Maloy; Amos Shartle Hershey (1918). "The Cretan Question, 1897–1908". Handbook for the Diplomatic History of Europe, Asia, and Africa 1870–1914. National Board for Historical Service, United States Government Publishing Office. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ a b McTiernan, pp. 13–14.
- ^ McTiernan, pp. 13–23.
- ^ McTiernan, pp. 20–21.
- ^ McTiernan, p. 28.
- ^ McTiernan, pp. 32–35.
- ^ Kitromilides M. Paschalis (ed) Eleftherios Venizelos: The Trials of Statesmanship, Edinburgh University Press, 2008 p. 68.
- ^ McTiernan, pp. 36–39.
- ^ McTiernan, p. 39.
- ^ Ion, Theodore P., "The Cretan Question," The American Journal of International Law, April, 1910, pp. 276–284
- ^ a b c d First encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913–1936, M. Th Houtsma, page 879
Bibliography
Further reading
- Kallivretakis, Leonidas (2006). "A Century of Revolutions: The Cretan Question between European and Near East Politics". In P. Kitromilides (ed.). Eleftherios Venizelos: the trials of statesmanship, A (PDF). Vol. 1. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 11–35. ISBN 978-0-74867126-7.
- Λιμαντζάκης Γιώργος, Το Κρητικό Ζήτημα, 1868-1913, από τα πεδία των μαχών στη διεθνή διπλωματία (Τhe Cretan Question, 1868-1913, from the battlefields to international diplomacy), Εθνικό Ίδρυμα Ερευνών και Μελετών «Ελευθέριος Κ. Βενιζέλος», 2020.
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(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - A. Lilly Macrakis (2006). "Venizelos' Early Life and Political Career in Crete, 1864–1910". In P. Kitromilides (ed.). Eleftherios Venizelos: the trials of statesmanship, A. Vol. 1. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 27–84. ISBN 978-0-74867126-7.
External links
- Enosis: The Union of Crete with Greece
- http://rethemnosnews.gr/2014/02/%CE%B7-%CF%83%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%B1%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-%CE%BA%CF%81%CE%B7%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE%CF%82-%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%B9%CF%84%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%B1%CF%82-%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85/ η "σημαια" της κρητικης πολιτειας
- About drachma coin of Cretan State (Paris mint, France)