The Quest for Enosis: The visit of the Greek Cypriot Deputation to London in October–November 1929. A view from the Greek archives

Abstract

The signature of the Lausanne Peace Treaty ?n 24 July 1923 marked the beginning of a new period in the history of the Cyprus Question, at least from a legal point of view, as Turkey officially recognized the annexation of the island proclaimed by Great Britain on 5 November 1914. However, the dedication of the Greek Cypriot majority to the ideal of Union (Enosis) with Greece remained unchanged. The Greek Cypriots continued to hope that sooner or later London would consent to their demands. Thus, immediately after the British elections of 30 May 1929, the Greek Cypriots decided to compile a new Memorial, which they would submit to the Secretary for the Colonies, asking for Union with Greece. For this reason, the Bishop of Kition Nikodemos (Mylonas) and the lawyer Stavros Stavrinakis, both elected members of the Legislative Council, were entrusted to travel to London, where they would act as ‘‘ambassadors’’ of the unredeemed Greek Cypriot people. The Deputes were assisted in their task by Zenon Rossides, who acted as the secretary of the Deputation. The article, based on research in the archives of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs studies the visit of the Greek Cypriot Deputation to London in autumn 1929, the way Greek diplomacy was involved in the whole matter and the consequences of the visit in relation to the evolution of the Cyprus Question in the interwar period.