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MICHAEL, N. Michalis
Revolts and Politics in an Ottoman Island: Cyprus during the First Half of the Nineteenth
Century
In the beginning of the 19 th century the setting in Cyprus is one of claiming Ottoman political power on the
island or rather increasing and acquiring more administrative responsibilities, by all those who operated as the ruling
elite on the island. These elite members often abuse their power for speculation while another important fact noted is the
accumulation of wealth by Ottoman-Orthodox people. The aim of this paper is to study and analyze the major revolts that
took place in Cyprus during the first half of the nineteenth century. The revolts are considered important since they occur
during a period of general upheaval in the Ottoman periphery. Studying the 19 th century revolts of Cyprus could be viewed
as a case study for this period of Ottoman history in general, and it could also be seen as a more specific study of the real
state of the Ottoman periphery during that period. To better analyze these revolts, they should be first studied separately,
and then a comparison between them should follow in order to uncover their differences. The framework under which they
occur, the reasons and the motives, the protagonists of these revolts, the reaction of the local Ottoman government and
that of the Sublime Porte and the consequences of the revolts can each shed light on the Ottoman reality of the era and the
possible changes that occurred both in relation to the status quo of the Ottoman state in general and that of the Ottoman
periphery. The four major revolts that occurred in Cyprus during that period is the revolt of 1804, in which the local Ottoman
Orthodox elite has a crucial role, the incidents and executions during July 1821, the three parallel revolts in 1833, and
finally, the incidents during the first effort of the Sublime Porte to apply the Tanzimat reforms in the island in 1841.
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