Labour, society, and politics in Cyprus during the second half of the nineteenth century

284 Pages·1996·1.623 MB·English

by  Rolandos Katsiaounes

LABOUR, SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN CYPRUS
DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
(
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CYPRUS RESEARCH CENTRE
TEXTS AND STUDIES OF THE HISTORY OF CYPRUS
-XXIV-
LABOUR, SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN CYPRUS
DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
BY
ROLANDOS KATSIAOUNIS
NICOSIA
1996
© 1996, by the Cyprus Research Centre
ISBN 9963-0-8034-0
/
Printed in Cyprus
by IMPRINTA LTD, NICOSIA
FOREWORD
BY PROFESSOR RICHARD CLOGG
FELLOW OF SAINT ANTONY'S COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
For reasons which are self-evident, modern Cypriot historiography has
tended to focus on the 'high politics' of Cyprus: on British colonial policies,
on the process of decolonization and on the history of the independent state.
For this reason, Dr. Rolandos Katsiaounis' study of labour, society and politics
on the island during the second half of the nineteenth century is particularly
welcome. For it illuminates many hitherto neglected aspects of the social,
ecconomic and political history of the island. A particular strength of the
book is his cogent analysis of the ideological trends that developed among
the dispossessed of Cypriot society, the peasants, urban and rural labourers
and petty tradesmen, during the critical decades after the establishment of
British rule on the island. Hitherto it has been the voice of the political elite,
of the clergy and the schoolmasters that has tended to prevail. Through the
careful exploitation of a wide source of materials Dr. Katsiaounis is able to
offer important insights into the concerns of the labouring poor and to
demonstrate the way in which opposition to the prevailing status quo and
resentment of the power and privileges of the traditional ruling elite moved
from 'social' banditry and allied forms of protest to assume more modern
forms, a process assisted by the spread of literacy. By the end of the nine
teenth century the cause of enosis had brought into play new actors, who had
hitherto been marginalised in nationalist discourse. One of the many merits
of Dr. Katsiaounis' work is to rescue these groups from obscurity, in the
process of illuminating numerous facets of Cypriot society in the later nine
teenth century.
Richard Clogg
St Antony's College, Oxford
December 1996
\
PREFACE
The present study arose out of an effort to recover and understand the
lives and actions of common people in Cyprus, from the closing years of
Ottoman rule to the British occupation in 1878 and the turn of the century.
Labour is being examined not in isolation but as the essential part of both the
economic basis and the institutional and ideological superstructure of Cypriot
society. In the theoretical framework of the materialist approach to history,
Cypriot society at large is viewed as a hierarchical system riven with contra
dictions and thereby pregnant with its own internal dynamic of change.
My interest in the common people of my country, which arose in a con
crete form during my undergraduate years, eventually led me to a decision to
pursue it through the avenue of academia. Research and writing on the sub
ject was therefore developed and completed, within the framework of a doc
toral thesis, in the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies of
King's College, in the Faculty of History of the University of London. I would
therefore begin by thanking those who helped me in their capacity as acade
mics. I am particularly grateful to my supervisor, Professor Richard Clogg,
Fellow of Saint Antony's College, University of Oxford. I am happy to
acknowledge his constant encouragement, impressive erudition on Greek his
tory and valuable suggestions on matters of presentation and literary style.
Thanks are also due to him for having kindly agreed to provide the foreword
to the thesis in its published form. My gratitude is also extended to the two
examiners of my thesis: Dr. John Cambell, Fellow of Saint Antony's College,
University of Oxford, and Dr. Robert Holland, Reader in Imperial and
Commonwealth History and Pro-Director of the Institute of Commonwealth
Studies, University of London. In the short space of time between the viva
examination and the commencement of printing I have endeavoured to
incorporate in my text as many as possible of the examiners' constructive
observations.
On the Cypriot side very sincere thanks are due to Dr. George Georghalli-
des, former Director of the Cyprus Research Centre, who has helped me with
his unique knowledge of the modern history of Cyprus and who, over several
years, has given me a clear insight into his understanding of the history of
Cyprus under British rule. My appreciation is also extended to Mrs Joan
Georghallides, for her unfailing encouragement. The text of the thesis had
also benefited from discussions with Mr. Kyriacos Vassiliou, former Head of
the History Department in the English School, Nicosia and from the thor
ough proof reading of Mrs. Penny Eracleous, both of whom I warmly thank. I
ROLANDOS KATSIAOUNIS
should like to express my thanks to the Director of the Cyprus Research
Centre, Dr. Costas Yangoullis, and the Director-General of the Ministry of
Education and Culture, Dr. Andreas Phylactou, for having made the necessary
financial and administrative arrangements for the speedy publication of my
doctoral dissertation. Thanks are also due to the Director and Managing
Committee of the British School at Athens: they provided me with a generous
grant, at a time when work on the thesis was grounded by financial straits.
Regarding the sources used in the thesis, I would like to express my thanks
for the assistance granted by the staff of the following archives and libraries in
the United Kingdom: the Public Record Office at Kew Gardens, London; the
Department of Official Publications and the Newspaper Section of the British
Library; the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London
School of Economics; the Library of the University of London at Senate
House; the Ronald Burrows Library at King's College, London; the Libraries
of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and of the School of Oriental and
African Studies of the University of London; the Bodleian Library, Rhodes
House in particular, and the Taylor Institution, all in the University of Oxford;
the Archive of the Royal Commonwealth Society, now housed in the
Cambridge University Library. Finally, regarding sources in Greece, I would
like to thank the Director and staff of the Archive of the Greek Foreign
Ministry.
In Cyprus I wish to extend my deepest gratitude to His Beatitude,
Archbishop Chrysostomos, for having kindly granted me access to the Archive
of the Archbishops of Cyprus, and to the Director and staff of the library of
the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation. My appreciation is also extended to:
the Keeper of the State Archive, Nicosia, and her obliging staff; the Librarians
of the Antiquities Department, of the House of Representatives and of the
Press and Information Office, Nicosia; the Director and staff of the British
Council Library, Nicosia, and of the Limassol Municipal Library and the
Director and staff of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia. I am also par
ticularly pleased to record my high appreciation to the Director and staff of
Imprinta Ltd., for the friendly co-operation and technical excellence which
they exhibited during the printing of this volume.
Above all I would like to thank my parents for having tried to make me
conscious of the struggles, values and aspirations of the labouring people, for
having encouraged me to embark on the writing of a doctoral dissertation
about labour in Cyprus and for having provided the material and moral sup
port which made possible the completion of the thesis.
Rolandos Katsiaounis
Limassol, December 1996.
CONTENTS
Page
Foreword by Professor Richard Clogg vii
Preface ix
Chapter 1. Introduction
I. Aim and Scope of the Book 1
II. Sources and Methodology of Research 3
III. A Note on the Theoretical Framework of the Thesis 7
Chapter 2. The Ancien Regime under Ottoman Rule
I. The Economics and Politics of the Church of Cyprus 11
II. Iltizam and the Lay Kocabasis 13
III. The Forces of Nationalism 17
IV. The Politics of the Greek Elite 21
V. The Address to the First British High Commissioner 25
Chapter 3. The Circumstances of Toil under Ottoman Rule
I. Smallholders and Labourers in Large Estates 29
II. Tradesmen and Labourers in Towns 39
III. The Decline of the Corporate Economy 46
IV The Ideology and Culture of the Labouring Poor 49
V. The Politics of Paternalism 60
Chapter 4. The Foundations of British Rule
I. Colonial Rule - Hope and Disillusionment 65
II. The End of Millet and the Church 72
III Ethnic and Social Relations under British Rule 77
IV. Social and Regional Dimensions of Electoral Politics 84
V. Ideas as Forces of Change 92
Chapter 5. Changes in Landed Proprietorship and the Rural Crisis
I. The Confirmation of Private Property in Land 99
II. Taxation, Usury and Rural Expropriation 102
III. The Poor Being Ground Down 109
IV. Paternalism during Colonial Rule 115
Chapter 6. The Growing Independence of Labour
I. Continuity and Change in Corporate Trades 119
II. The Weakening of Client Relationships 124
III. An Undisciplined Labour Force 133
xii ROLANDOS KATSIAOUNIS
Chapter 7. The Erosion of Paternalism
I. Declining Respect for the Establishment 140
II. Deviance and Crime 143
III. The Phenomenon of Social Banditry 149
Chapter 8. Moralizing the Labouring Poor
I. The Hysteria against Masterless Men 159
II. Labour Deference and Civil Obedience 162
III. Labour Associations and their Purpose 166
Chapter 9. A Changing Society
I. The Rise of a New Middle Class 175
II. The Mounting Sentiment of Nationalism 181
III. The Deputation to London 185
IV. Social Divisions and Freemasonry 189
Chapter 10. The Formation of a Popular Movement
I. The Class Bias of Taxation 193
II. Rural Agitation 195
III. Wage-Earners, Tradesmen and Popular Grievances 197
IV Towns as Centres of Social Conflict 201
Chapter 11. The Consolidation of Nationalism
I. International Factors - The Image of Greece and Turkey 209
II. Nicolaos Katalanos and his Lectures to Labour 215
Chapter 12. The Assault Against the Old Order
I. The Archiepiscopal Question 225
II. Politics of Deference and Politics of Disrespect 230
III. The Hegemony of Nationalism 237
Chapter 13. Conclusion
I. The Rearguard Action of the Old Order 241
II. Class and Nation in the Popular Movement 243
Bibliography 245
Index 259
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
I. Aim and Scope of the Book
The present study examines the process by which the opinions of Cyprus'
labouring poor began to count as politics. More specifically it attempts to
explain the underlying social basis of the political and national transforma
tions which culminated towards the end of the 19th century, when the labour
ing people, led by a nationalist middle class, were able to pose a challenge to
the social and political status quo. In the history of Cyprus the mass of ordinary
people, whose voice was seldom reflected irTthe oratory of the politicians, or
the effusions of the schoolmasters, tended to be lost sight of as an indepen
dent entity and to be presented in accordance with the opinions or interests
either of their leaders or of their enemies. The study therefore endeavours to
put at the forefront the elements making up the Cypriot plebeian strata: peas
ants, tradesmen and labourers, as social groups with their own identity, inter
ests and aspirations.
The first part of the book focuses on the closing years of Ottoman rule in
Cyprus, from the time of the Tanzimat reforms (1839-1856) to the British
occupation in 1878. Since the previous century the framework of social and
political life in Ottoman Turkey was provided by the Millet system, according
to which Ottoman subjects were organised in empire-wide communities of the
same confession or rite. Next to the dominant Muslim Millet the Orthodox
Christians, the Jews and the Armenians were designated as distinct Millets,
whose members held a certain and defined status.1 Cyprus, at the time of the
first census, in April 3, 1881, almost three years into the British occupation,
was inhabited by 186,173 souls.? Of these, 137,631 (73.9%) were Greek mem
bers of the Orthodox Church and 45,458 (24.4%) were Mohammedan Turks.
There were also 2,115 (1.1%) Catholics, 715 (0.4%) Protestants, 179 (0.1%)
Armenian Copts, 65 Jews and 15 Gypsies.3
A consequence of the religiously-defined status of Ottoman subjects was
that in Cyprus, as in the rest of the Empire, Bishops and Primates in general
were designated as Basts (leaders) of their Millet, or Ethnarches. Below the
1. See a comprehensive description of the term in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume VII,
Leiden, 1990, pp. 61-64.
2. [C.-4264], Report on the Census of Cyprus, 1881, London, 1881, p. 6.
3. Ibid., p. 12.