ABSTRACT
Social and political change was slow, and quicker only in places where there were united movements, such as Egypt, where they threatened British interests. By the time Cyprus became a Crown Colony in 1925, the British in the metropole were recovering from the after-effects. The role of the British Empire during the war and the period following its official conclusion at least until the peace treaties were signed is linked to the expansion of the Empire and a renewed commitment to preserving the ‘old’ Empire. British rule may have given rise to the opportunity to emigrate, but it also propelled it, as the economic, social and political development of the island progressed slowly, while propelling emigration was also a dissatisfaction with their political elites. Cyprus was confirmed in British Empire and it had progressed considerably since 1878, yet it remained primarily rural and its people mainly illiterate peasants and rural agricultural labourers, who were largely interested in improving their lot.
