Memorandum On The Island Of Cyprus

Most of the Cypriot population, especially the lower classes, remained loyal to the British cause during the Great War and the island contributed significantly to the First World War, with men and materials. The British acknowledged this yet failed to institute political and economic reforms once the war ended. The obsession of Greek Cypriot elites with enosis (union with Greece), which only increased after the war, and the British dismissal of increasing the role of Cypriots in government, bringing the Christian and Muslim communities closer, and expanding franchise to all classes and sexes, led to serious problems down the line, not least the development of a democratic deficit. Andrekos Varnava studies the events and the impact of this crucial period.

World War II marked a pivotal point in the history of Cyprus, yet surprisingly, this period of the island's history has been little studied to date. Anastasia Yiangou here provides the first major study of the impact of World War II on the political development of Cyprus. In doing so she traces shifting Cypriot attitudes to the war and the formation of a triangular conflict in the island between the Left, Right and British colonial power. She explains how the British and Cypriots fought a war alongside each other, yet remained far apart in discussions on the future of the island. Yiangou's original and compelling analysis highlights how the post-1945 landscape of Cypriot political struggles was shaped by forces set in motion during the war itself.