The Acceleration of History and Decolonization in the Eastern Mediterranean: the Case of Cyprus, 1945-1959

Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to examine whether the struggle carried out in the late 1950s by the Greek-Cypriot liberation movement of EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston-National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) against the British colonial forces in Cyprus hastened the British decision to terminate its colonial rule on the island and establish the Cyprus Republic (August 1960). International historiography about the four-year insurgency in Cyprus has, undoubtedly, produced works focused on the political, diplomatic and military planes, especially in recent years. There is further ground to be covered, however, not least concerning whether the phenomenon generally described as “acceleration of history”, the increased speed of historical events, was in evidence during the late period of British rule over Cyprus (the 1950s), which was marked by London’s decision to grant the island independence. A variety of works, bearing one way or another on British postwar colonial policies or Greek-Cypriot conduct of that time, provide an important backdrop to our analysis.