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THE TURKISH PERIOD (1571-1878)
The first general registration
carried out in 1572, showed that at least 76 villages, which were occupied
mostly by Latins, were completely vacated. Sinan Pasha, the Beylerbeyi of
Cyprus, recommended to the Turkish Government an immediate resettlement of
the island by transfer of people from Anatolia, to improve and develop the
land and revive economic and social life.
The records of the Prime
Minister's Archive in Istanbul show the total number of families transferred
to Cyprus from Anatolia in 1572 as 1689 families.
The Turkish Sultan's firman
dated 6 May 1572 , addressed to the Turkish administrators in Cyprus stated
that, the inhabitants should be treated with justice.
(Prof. Halil Inalcik, Ottoman
policy and Administration in Cyprus after the conquest, the first
international Congress Studies Ankara 1971 p.61)
After the oppressive Latin
occupation it was the Turks who established, for the first time in the long
history of Cyprus, a civil administration based on communal self-rule and
free elections.
Turkish Rule immediately ended
the humiliation, the slavery and poverty of the Greek people and they were
given freedom and full citizenship rights. They were allowed to own property
and to transfer it. Thus the Greek Cypriot people became active in
agriculture as well as in commercial life.
1) The Greek Orthodox Church was
granted many privileges and the Archbishop was declared, ETHNARCH, the
leader of the community.
2) Autonomy (Self - Rule):
- The Greeks were free to elect
their local rulers and run their schools as they wished.
3) Greek was accepted as an
official language
4) Equal Representation: The
Greeks were represented in equal number in local administrative councils,
district courts and other public institutions.
5) Special incentives were given
to the Greek Cypriots engaged in trade and commerce.
The Turkish Period of 308 years
proved to be the most encouraging for the Greek Cypriot population. It
provided conditions of tolerance and justice by which the Greek Community
revived and became prosperous.
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