THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND THE GREAT POWERS IN THE PROCESS OF ABANDONING CRETE (1869-1897)

One of the issues that preoccupied the Ottoman Empire the most throughout the 19th century was thefuture of the island of Crete. This problematic island, which constituted one of the important problemsof the state’s dissolution, kept the state busy with foreign aid and provocations throughout the 19thcentury. One of the most important factors that kept the struggle of the separatist section of the islandof Crete, which was officially granted autonomous administration in 1897, alive for almost a centurywas undoubtedly the dynamic policies pursued by the great Powers of the era called the Great Powersand the Greek Kingdom, the patron of the saparatists. These policies were important factors in both thematuration and the suppression of the rebellions that emerged throughout almost a century. Thepolicies put forward by the states showed themselves on the table as well as in the field.