History

Cyprus been revealed through archeological work as having been inhabited for at least 10,000 years. Long an important part of eastern Mediterranean trade, Cyprus saw civilizations come and go: the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Byzantines, even the English passed through during the Crusades as Richard the Lion-Hearted established a crusader entity at the end of the 12th century. In 1489, Venice took over Cyprus and then came the Ottomans in 1571. Placed under British control by the Congress of Berlin in 1878, it was annexed by Britain in 1914. Eleven years later, Britain made Cyprus a formal colony. Tensions between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots have led to violence at various points, post World War II. In 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus and occupied the northern 40% of the island. The occupation has continued, though the international community has not seen fit to recognize the area's self-proclaimed status as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (1983). The rest of the island has prospered with reasonable political stability, foreign investment, and tourism.