Abstract

The rise of competing nationalisms in Cyprus first drew world attention in the 1950‘s, yet the origins of nationalism in Cyprus can clearly be traced to the closing stages of Ottoman rule on the island during the nineteenth century. While the earlier development of nationalism in the Greek Orthodox community of Cyprus is commonly acknowledged, the pre-World War II evolution of nationalism amongst Cyprus‘ Moslem Turks is consistently overlooked or misrepresented. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this work contends that Turkish nationalism in Cyprus did not first emerge in the 1950‘s, but instead grew gradually from the late nineteenth century onwards; that nationalism amongst the island‘s Turks was first discernible in a ‘civic‘ form founded on Ottomanism which was gradually, though progressively replaced by Turkish ethno-nationalism; and that while both British colonial policies and especially the threat perceived from the rise of Greek nationalism on the island may have helped spur nationalism amongst the Turks, the continued cultural and political interaction with Ottoman, and even non-Ottoman Turks, and later with the Turkish Republic was at least as influential in fostering nationalist sentiments and prompting their expression in political actions. While particular note is made of the often neglected impact of the Young Turk movement in the early twentieth century, this study acknowledges and seeks to elucidate a complex assortment of variegated stimuli that ranged from international developments, such as the recurring crises in the Balkans and President Wilson‘s speech on the ‘Fourteen Points‘, to the personal attitudes and attributes of British administrators and domestic inter-ethnic relations, and local and international economic trends and developments. Together, it is maintained, these influences had made Turkish nationalism a perceptible phenomenon amongst the Turks of Cyprus by the time of the October Revolt of 1931.