Prince George. The prince soon retired to Melos, but on the night
of the 14th of February a Greek expeditionary force under
Colonel Vassos landed at Kolymbari, near Canea, and its commander
issued a proclamation announcing the occupation of the
island in the name of King George. On the same day Georgi
Pasha, the Christian governor-general, took refuge on board a
Russian ironclad, and, on the next, naval detachments from
the warships of the powers occupied Canea. This step paralysed
the movements of Colonel Vassos, who after a few slight engagements
with the Turks remained practically inactive in the interior.
The insurgents, however, continued to threaten the town, and
their position was bombarded by the international fleet (21st
February). The intervention of Greece caused immense excitement
among the Christian population, and terrible massacres of
Moslem peasants took place in the eastern and western districts.
The forces of the powers shortly afterwards occupied Candia
and the other maritime towns, while the international fleet
blockaded the Cretan coast. These measures were followed by
the presentation of collective notes to the Greek and
Decision of
the powers.
Turkish governments (2nd March), announcing the
decision of the powers that (1) Crete could in no case
in present circumstances be annexed to Greece; (2)
in view of the delays caused by Turkey in the application of the
reforms Crete should now be endowed with an effective autonomous
administration, intended to secure to it a separate
government, under the suzerainty of the sultan. Greece was at
the same time summoned to remove its army and fleet from the
island, while the Turkish troops were to be concentrated in the
fortresses and eventually withdrawn. The cabinet of Athens,
however, declined to recall the expeditionary force, which
remained in the interior till the 9th of May, when, after the Greek
reverses in Thessaly and Epirus, an order was given for its return.
Meantime Cretan autonomy had been proclaimed (20th March).
After the departure of the Greek troops the Cretan leaders, who
had hitherto demanded annexation to Greece, readily acquiesced
in the decision of the powers, and the insurgent Assembly, under
its president Dr Sphakianakis, a man of good sense and moderation,
co-operated with the international commanders in the
maintenance of order. The pacification of the island, however,
was delayed by the presence of the Turkish troops and the inability
of the powers to agree in the choice of a new governor-general.
The prospect of a final settlement was improved by the
withdrawal of Germany and Austria, which had favoured Turkish
pretensions, from the European concert (April 1898); the remaining
powers divided the island into four departments, which
they severally undertook to administer. An attack made by the
Moslems of Candia on the British garrison of that town, with
the connivance of the Turkish authorities, brought home to the
powers the necessity of removing the Ottoman troops, and the
last Turkish soldiers quitted the island on the 14th of November
1898.
On the 26th of that month the nomination of Prince George of Greece as high commissioner of the powers in Crete for a period of three years (renewed in 1901) was formally announced, and on the 21st of December the prince landed at Suda and made his public entry into Canea Prince George’s administration. amid enthusiastic demonstrations. For some time after his arrival complete tranquillity prevailed in the island, but the Moslem population, reduced to great distress by the prolonged insurrection, emigrated in large numbers. On the 27th of April 1899 a new autonomous constitution was voted by a constituent assembly, and in the following June the local administration was handed over to Cretan officials by the international authorities. The extensive powers conferred by the constitution upon Prince George were increased by subsequent enactments. In 1901 M. Venezelo, who had played a noteworthy part in the last insurrection, was dismissed from the post of councillor by the prince, and soon afterwards became leader of a strong opposition party, which denounced the arbitrary methods of the government. During the next four years party spirit ran high; in the spring of 1904 a deputation of chiefs and politicians addressed a protest to the prince, and early in the following year a band of armed malcontents under M. Venezelo raised the standard of revolt at Theriso in the White Mountains. The insurgents, who received moral support from Dr Sphakianakis, proclaimed the union of the island with Greece (March 1905), and their example was speedily followed by the assembly at Canea. The powers, however, reiterated their decision to maintain the status quo, and increased their military and naval forces; the Greek flag was hauled down at Canea and Candia, and some desultory engagements with the insurgents took place, the international troops co-operating with the native gendarmerie. In the autumn M. Venezelo and his followers, having obtained an amnesty, laid down their arms. A commission appointed by the powers to report on the administrative and financial situation drew up a series of recommendations in January 1906, and a constituent assembly for the revision of the constitution met at Canea in the following June. On the 25th of July the powers announced a series of reforms, including the reorganization of the gendarmerie and militia under Greek officers, as a preliminary to the eventual withdrawal of the international troops, and the extension to Crete of the system of financial control established in Greece. On the 14th of September, under an agreement dated the 14th of August, they invited King George of Greece, in the event of the high commissionership becoming vacant, to propose a candidate for that post, to be nominated by the powers for a period of five years, and on the 25th of September Prince George left the island. He had done much for the welfare of Crete, but his participation in party struggles and his attitude towards the representatives of the powers had rendered his position untenable. His successor, M. Alexander Zaimis, a former prime minister of Greece, arrived in Crete on the 1st of October. (J. D. B.)
On the 22nd of February 1907 M. Zaimis, as high commissioner, took the oath to the new constitution elaborated after much debate by the Cretan national assembly. His position was one of singular difficulty. Apart from the rivalry of the factions within the Assembly, there was the question of the Mussulman minority, dwindling it is true,[1] but still a force to be reckoned with. The high commissioner, true to his reputation as a prudent statesman and astute politician, showed great skill in dealing with the situation. From the first he had taken up an attitude of great reserve, appearing little in public and careful not to identify himself with any faction. In such matters as appointments to the judicial bench, indeed, his studied impartiality offended both parties; but on the whole his administration was a marked success, and the cessation of the chronic state of disturbance in the island justified the powers in preparing for the withdrawal of their troops. In spite of the admission of their co-religionists to high office in the government, the Mussulmans, it is true, still complained of continuous ill-treatment having for its object their expatriation; but these complaints were declared by Sir Edward Grey, in answer to a question in parliament, to be exaggerated. The protecting powers had fixed the conditions preliminary to evacuation—(1) the organization of a native gendarmerie, (2) the maintenance of the tranquillity of the island, (3) the complete security of the Mussulman population. On the 20th of March 1908 M. Zaimis called the attention of the powers to the fact that these conditions had been fulfilled, and on the 11th of May the powers announced to the high commissioner their intention of beginning the evacuation at once and completing it within a year. The first withdrawal of the troops (July 27), hailed with enthusiasm by the Cretan Christians, led to rioting by the Mussulmans, who believed themselves abandoned to their fate.
Meanwhile M. Zaimis had made a further advance towards the annexation of the island to Greece by a visit to Athens, where he arranged for a loan with the Greek National Bank and engaged Greek officers for the new gendarmerie. The issue was precipitated by the news of the revolution in Turkey. On the 12th
- ↑ The Mussulman population, 88,000 in 1895, had sunk to 40,000 in 1907, and the emigration was still continuing. The loss to the country in wealth exported and land going out of cultivation has been very serious.
