Cyprus the Ancient.

Except that some of the inhabitants of Cyprus aspire to a union with Greece, which the Greek Government repudiates, the cablegrams so far have thrown little light on the motives of the Cyprus revolt. The island, one of the largest in the Mediterranean, passed under British occupation and administration when a partial re-carving of Europe occurred at the Berlin Congress of 1878. But it remained nominally a Turkish island, Britain paying the Sultan of Turkey an annual tribute of £92,800. This ended with the Great War, when Britain formally annexed Cyprus; and the defeat of Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, and Turkey confirmed the Turkish loss. At that time, it was recorded that British annexation was accepted by the Greek-speaking Cypriotes with enthusiasm, by the Turkish-speaking without demur. In 1925—the year, by the way, when Britain restored the gold standard, now in abeyance —Cyprus became a Crown colony. History records that the Turks took it in 1570, when 20,000 inhabitants of Nicosia were put to the sword. Cyprus was one of the earliest copper producers, dating from probably 3000 B.C.