ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the emergence of Turkish Cypriot nationalism has to be examined mainly in relation to four factors, namely: the agitation of Greek Cypriot nationalism; the success of Ataturk's revolution; the modernisation of Cypriot society; and the British 'divide and rule' policies. Greek nationalism commenced at the beginning of the nineteenth century, way before the advent of British colonialism in 1878, while Turkish nationalism started developing in the Ottoman Empire at the end of nineteenth century, and was consolidated only with the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. The chapter focuses on the period between the two world wars, 1923 to 1939, when the transformation of the Muslims of Cyprus into Turkish Cypriots occurred. It briefly examines the 'ethnic' origins of the Muslim community of Cyprus. The chapter investigates whether the Muslim community possessed any of Smith's attributes that could constitute an ethnie.
