Almost a century after the liberation of Greece, its glorious and largest island was united with the mainland. On November 1, the Sultan relinquishes all sovereignty of the island and on December 1, the union officially takes place.
Crete lived under Ottoman occupation from 1669, when Vezyris Kioproulis entered Chandakas (Heraklion). The Cretans never bowed their heads, something that can be seen from the uprisings, both in 1692 and in 1770. In 1821, the Cretans joined the struggle of the Revolution, but the numerous presence of Turks and Turkish Cypriots on the island, made the struggle their very difficult.
The movements of 1833 and 1841 and the "Great Cretan Revolution" followed, from 1866 to 1869. The Cretans never sat down with them, wanting to shake off the Ottoman yoke. In the "Revolution of 1897-1898", they managed to gain their autonomy, with the blessings of the then "Great Powers", after the incredible atrocities committed by the Vassivouzouks (naughty Turks) in Heraklion on August 25, 1898. On November 2, XNUMX At the same time, the last Turkish soldier left the Cretan territory.
For 15 years Crete was under the protection of the "Great Powers". During this period the "Cretan State" was founded, with Prince George as High Commissioner and a government with six members, five Christians and one Muslim. The percentage of Muslims in Crete at that time reached 25%. The figure that emerged at that time was Eleftherios Venizelos, who came into conflict with Prince George. The result of this conflict was the "Revolution of Therissos" in 1905, with the main request for union with Greece. The movement of Therissos overthrew Prince George and the politician Alexandros Zaimis was appointed to his position as High Commissioner.
The victorious outcome of the Balkan Wars and the manipulations of the then Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, accelerated the developments in 1913. The sultan relinquished all rights to the island, first with the "Treaty of London" in May and later with a special treaty on November 1. 1913. The official union took place on December 1, 1913, with the exchange of populations being completed ten years later and the Muslims of Crete settling mainly on the shores of Asia Minor.
Source: edaily