This text examines the relationship between the 1821 rebellion and the Roma of Cyprus from two sides. The first is related to the developments brought about by the revolution on the island and the second to how the Greeks of Cyprus were connected to the Greek revolution.
The events of 1821 in Cyprus
Among the various regions in which the Friendly Society was interested in sowing the seeds of rebellion against the Ottoman administration was Cyprus due to the majority presence of the Orthodox element. In this context, in October 1818, Dimitrios Hypatros arrived in Cyprus as an emissary of the Friendly Society, who explained to Archbishop Kyprianos its aims. Kyprianos replied that he could guarantee him material and moral support but Cyprus could not participate in the revolution. For the Archbishop, the island was too far from Greece and too close to the Ottoman centers of power and the risk of a mass massacre of Cypriots was very likely..
However, this moderate attitude of Kyprianos did not act as a deterrent in creating concerns in the Ottoman administration regarding the possible attitude of the Roma of Cyprus. So when the revolution started in Greece, the Governor of Cyprus Kiucuk Mehmet sent reports to the Sultan asking for troops to be sent. In fact, some detachments of Albanians were moved from Syria to Cyprus, while at the same time the disarmament of the Cypriots was carried out, a measure that applied as a precaution to the rest of the Ottoman territory.
But then the Governor will proceed to formulate a request for the execution of the most prominent Orthodox Cypriots. It was a good opportunity for the Ottoman administration of Cyprus to appropriate the wealth of the Orthodox Christians. In other words, Kiucchuk used as a pretext the rebellion of the Greeks in other areas of the Empire to extract the consent of the Sultan to proceed with executions and confiscation of Orthodox property. In this way, an attempt was made to oppose the very active role that the Greek Orthodox elite had in the political and economic power of the island. It is very likely that Mehmet's overall attitude did not only reflect the ever-increasing anger of the Muslims towards the orthodox elite, given that the Agades of Nicosia had also agreed with him, but also plans from higher Ottoman echelons.
The first Greek Governor I. Kapodistrias, after a question from the British diplomat Wilmot-Horton about what the borders of the country would be, answered that "These borders since 1821 are determined by the blood of the one spilled in the slaughterhouses of Kydonia, of Cyprus, Chios, Crete, Psara and Messolonghi...
It thus seems that the fact of the appointment of a new Kapudan Pasha, Deli Abdullah Pasha, in 1818 must have played an important role in the developments. And this is because the new Kapoudan Pasha was determined to proceed with a logic of centralization of his power and therefore wanted a Governor in Cyprus with upgraded power. The relative of Kiucuk Mehmet was exactly this case.
The truth is that the Sultan will initially be negative about carrying out executions with the argument that since Cyprus became an Ottoman possession the Orthodox had not challenged the authority of the Sultan and in several cases of Muslim uprisings they helped the Ottoman army to defeat the rebels. However, then another letter from Mehmet will follow where it will be stated that ammunition was found in houses and monasteries. Then the Sultan, knowing the extent of the Greek revolution that was taking place in Greece, believed the reports and ordered the execution of the previous ones, the confiscation of their property and the sale of their families as slaves.
Those pre-registered gathered in Nicosia, following the call of the Metropolitans and without knowing what awaited them, where the firman of their execution was read to them. Eventually several dozen were executed, among them the Archbishop and the three Metropolitans of Paphos, Kiti and Kyrenia. Along with the executions, there were confiscations of property and looting even of people who were not included in the firman, while a large part of this wealth seems to have been obtained by Mehmet himself. Churches and monasteries were looted, the houses of those scheduled were confiscated and their families expelled, while in other houses the upper floors were demolished. The provosts, priests and wealthy Orthodox who managed to escape from the janissaries took refuge in the protection of the consuls who were in Larnaca, while eventually several left Cyprus.
Last, but not least, an additional consequence was changes in the distribution of taxes. So on the one hand there was a transfer of the taxes of those who left the island to the remaining Orthodox residents and on the other hand there was a reversal of the ratio of taxes between Orthodox and Muslims from 2/3 to 1/3 to 4/5 to 1/5 between 1823- 1827 and from 1827 to 7/8 to 1/8 .
The participation of Cypriots in the Greek revolution
The fact of the executions of the former in the summer of 1821 but also the spread of the revolution in the Greek area will act as detonators for the Greeks of Cyprus to try in various ways to strengthen the Greek liberation struggle. One of them was the conclusion of a loan, guaranteed by the Greek state, with which a corresponding revolution in Cyprus would be financed. However, for various reasons, which cannot be presented here, this was not possible. The other was a plan for the simultaneous occupation by Greek soldiers of Cyprus and Lebanon.
The initiators of these plans believed that on the one hand Cyprus would be liberated and on the other hand the Ottoman Empire would receive a significant blow with the loss of Lebanon, which would overall facilitate the effort to create an independent Greek state. However, this plan did not proceed either. The third way, which was the only one implemented, was the participation of Greek Cypriots in the war of Greek independence, where according to the detailed archive of Rodion P. Georgiadis, more than 600 Cypriots who fought in the Greek revolution are recorded. My opinion is that it is precisely in that phase that the Greek consciousness is formed in a massive way among the Cypriot Orthodox Christians, who from Roma, that is, Orthodox Ottoman subjects, become Greeks of Cyprus.
"1821" has a double dimension for Cyprus. On the one hand, it gives the Ottoman power the opportunity to use the dynamics of the Greek revolution as an occasion, on the one hand, to achieve a greater concentration of power in the hands of the central administration and, on the other hand, to proceed with the violent seizure of part of the wealth of the rising Greek Cypriot bourgeoisie from portions of the local Ottoman political elite
From then on, regarding the process of establishing the new Greek state, the first Greek Governor I. Kapodistrias, after a question from the British diplomat Wilmot-Horton about what the borders of the country would be, answered that "These borders from 1821 are determined under the blood of the one spilled in the slaughterhouses of Kydonia, Cyprus, Chios, Crete, Psara and Messolonghi...". This fact will encourage the Greeks of Cyprus to send a delegation in August 1828 to Greece where they will ask Kapodistrias the question of the Union of Cyprus with Greece.
However, from the answers of the Greek Governor it becomes clear that, at that stage at least, Cyprus is not included in the immediate plans for inclusion in the Greek territory under formation:"As for the islands, and the history and the monuments of antiquity, all in for some reason they protest that Rhodes, Cyprus, and so many others (islands) are parts of Greece. But the current temporary Government, following the decisions of the three National Assemblies, is obliged to consider as constituting Greece all the provinces, which were, or are, under Turkish power, and the weapons were launched in 1821, or after these [...] ]". As is clear, the Greek government's plans were dominated by the realism of political and military relationships, taking into account the fact that in Cyprus there were no military relationships that could support the integration of the island into Greece.
Conclusion
"1821" has a double dimension for Cyprus. On the one hand, it gives the Ottoman power the opportunity to use the dynamics of the Greek revolution as an occasion, on the one hand, to achieve a greater concentration of power in the hands of the central administration and, on the other hand, to proceed with the violent seizure of part of the wealth of the rising Greek Cypriot bourgeoisie from portions of the local Ottoman political elite.
On the other hand, the adoption of the Greek national identity by the Orthodox Cypriots is highlighted, which can be seen both from their massive participation in the Greek revolution and from the wording of the Union's request to Kapodistrias. After the negative attitude of the latter, the Cypriot claim for the Union will be slow to emerge despite the formulation of the Great Idea by Kolettis in 1844. Neither the newly formed Greek state could convincingly claim such a thing, nor did the associations on the island allow the emergence of this issue. It will be necessary for several decades to pass, to precede both the cession of the Ionians to Greece and the integration of Thessaly, so that the issue can be raised again by the Greek element towards the new rulers of Cyprus, the British.
*Spyros Sakellaropoulos is Professor of State and Political Theory in the Department of Social Policy of Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences.