CYPRUS (British)

For nearly 300 years Cyprus was ruled by the Turks, who gradually colonized the island and displaced the indigenous Greeks. When in 1876 broke the Russo-Turkish war, Turkey has asked the United Kingdom to protect the island from Russia. The agreement assumed that the British would manage Cyprus in exchange for approximately 100,000 pounds sterling a year. In 1914, hearing that Turkey stood on the side of Germany in the World War I, the UK annexed Cyprus and on May 1, 1925 gave it the official status of the British colony. Soon national political camps supporting either Greece or Turkey were formed, which evolved into armed partisans. The civil war broke out in the 50's. London decided to end it by the offer of the independence of Cyprus. The declaration of the independence was signed on August 16, 1960.