Theriso revolt The Theriso revolt ( ) , an episode in the history of Crete , was an insurrection that broke out in March 1905 against the government of Crete , then an autonomous state under Ottoman suzerainty . The revolt was led by the Cretan politician Eleftherios Venizelos , and is named from his mother ’ s native village , Theriso ( or Therisos , Therissos ) , the focal point of the revolt . The revolt stemmed from the dispute between Venizelos and the island ' s ruler , Prince George of Greece , over the island ' s future , in particular over the question of Cretan union with Greece . Its origin can be traced to 1901 , when Prince George dismissed Venizelos from the government . The hostility between Venizelos and the prince was precipitated by the latter ' s attitude toward foreign relations and by his refusal to engage in dialogue with his advisers over the island ' s internal affairs . After a prolonged political struggle , Venizelos and his followers decided upon an armed uprising , with the goals of uniting Crete with Greece and ushering in a more democratic government for the island . The Theriso revolt established Venizelos not only as the leading politician in Crete , but also brought him to the attention of the wider Greek world . His reputation would lead in 1909 to his call to Greece , where he became Prime Minister . Context . Autonomous Crete . In 1897 , a renewed revolt broke out in Crete , which had been under Ottoman domination since the mid - 17th century . The island ' s Christian majority wished to join Greece , but the great European powers ( France , the United Kingdom , Russia , Germany , Italy and Austria - Hungary ) were opposed to it . A compromise led to the creation of an autonomous state under Ottoman suzerainty , guaranteed by the presence of military contingents of the Powers . Prince George of Greece , the second son of King George I , was named High Commissioner . In turn , Prince George named Eleftherios Venizelos prime minister . Disagreements soon emerged between the two men . Their first argument concerned the construction of a palace for Prince George . Shortly after his arrival on the island , the latter indicated his wish for a palace . Venizelos protested that a palace would be a symbol of permanence for a regime he intended to be temporary , while union with Greece was awaited . The offended prince eventually dropped his demand for a palace . The principal source of contention between the Prince and Venizelos concerned their vision for the island ' s government . Although the chief author of the island ' s constitution ( notably of articles guaranteeing individual liberties and equality between Christians and Muslims ) , Venizelos believed it was far too conservative and granted the Prince too much power . The Cretan assembly had few powers and only met once every two years . Moreover , ministers were in fact counselors to the prince , who alone could approve laws . In foreign relations , Prince George alone was authorised to deal with the Great Powers , as illustrated by the absence of a foreign affairs minister . The Prince took responsibility for the matter of Greek annexation of the island , without taking care to speak to his counselors , and discussing the subject with the foreign ministers of Russia , France , Italy and Britain . In the summer of 1900 , when he was preparing to tour the European courts , the prince declared : " When I am travelling in Europe , I shall ask the Powers for annexation , and I hope to succeed on account of my family connections " . Venizelos thought union would be premature , especially as Cretan institutions were still unstable . He recommended instead the creation of a Cretan army , followed by the withdrawal of European troops . Once foreign control had diminished , then union with Greece could take place . However , this approach was dimly viewed by public opinion and the Athenian newspapers impatient for union to succeed . Dismissal of Venizelos . In February 1901 , the Powers refused to make any change to the island ' s status . Although this demonstrated the correctness of Venizelos ' approach , something Prince George publicly admitted , it was the minister who endured attacks from the press . Venizelos handed in his resignation on two occasions : first on 5 March 1901 , citing health reasons , and then on 18 March , explaining that he could not work while in permanent disagreement with his colleagues and the High Commissioner . George refused to accept his resignation , instead preferring to dismiss him for insubordination . On 20 March , posters on the walls of Chania announced the Prince ' s dismissal of Venizelos . After his departure , the newspapers launched an anti - Venizelos campaign . A series of articles possibly written by the Prince ' s secretary referred to him as the " insolent counselor " , criticising his policies as anti - union , anti - dynastic and pro - Powers . After his dismissal , Venizelos withdrew from politics . However , in December 1901 , he responded to the accusations by means of five articles in the newspaper " Kyrix " , prompting the Prince to throw his former minister in prison . The revolt . Venizelos next appeared on the public stage in the spring of 1905 , when an insurrection against the Cretan government broke out . He was its leader , denouncing the corruption of Prince George ' s entourage and the ruler ' s inability to persuade the Great Powers to accept the idea of Crete ' s union with Greece . During the Cretan revolt of 1897 which led to the establishment of autonomy in Crete , Venizelos was a fervent proponent of union with Greece . However , during his premiership of the island , he envisioned autonomy , believing union would be premature . During his absence from power , Venizelos again changed his belief about the " Cretan Question " . As in 1897 , he thenceforth advocated union at all costs . Although absent from political life , he showed his support for the advocates of union ( " Enosis " ) during their demonstrations . The Theriso assembly . In February 1905 , Venizelos organised an assembly at Theriso with a group of seventeen other Cretan leaders who became the core of his movement . At first they were joined by 300 armed Cretans who , although not posing a significant military threat , would prove very difficult to remove , hidden in the Theriso gorge . The impact of this act was important : within twenty days , some 7 , 000 sympathisers had flocked to Theriso . Venizelos chose the village of Theriso for its strategic position 14 km from Chania , its naturally defenses at the foothills of the White Mountains , and its easy access to other villages and valleys , around Chania as well as toward Sfakia . The passage toward Theriso was defended by narrow gorges , easy for the insurgents to control . Moreover , these gorges concealed numerous grottoes and caverns that served as natural shelters for the insurgents who converged around Theriso . The village was already a symbol of resistance before 1905 : in 1821 , during the Greek War of Independence , several hundred Greeks there had routed an army of 21 , 000 Ottomans . The rebellion broke out officially in broad daylight on , when some 1 , 500 Cretans met at Theriso , which thenceforth became the centre of the revolt . Venizelos and other prominent critics of the Prince formed the core of the revolt , along with around a thousand men , of whom only half were armed . From the first moments , skirmishes took place between the gendarmerie and the rebels . Aside from a general dissatisfaction with the Prince ' s authoritarian government , the assembled rebels fervently supported union with Greece . On the first day of the uprising , Venizelos declared that " Enosis " was impossible as long as Prince George remained the island ' s High Commissioner . The following declaration was approved by the insurgents and read in St . George ' s Church at Theriso on 10 March : " The Cretan people , meeting in a general assembly at Theriso in Kydonia , today , 11 / 24 March 1905 , proclaims its political union with the Kingdom of Greece , in a single free and constitutional state " . The following day , Papagiannakis , a former deputy in the Cretan Assembly , and Konstantinos Manos , communicated to the consuls of the Great Powers , on behalf of the rebels , the reasons that had led to the revolt . They mentioned the transitional character of the present government and the eventual desire to join Greece , and cited the political instability which prevented foreign investment and hindered the island ' s development . Finally , they mentioned the growing general discontent because of the government ' s " nearly absolutist " nature . From Theriso , Venizelos organised a provisional government that printed its own postage stamps and newspaper . Papagiananakis was elected president of the insurrection ' s assembly and was assisted by four vice - presidents . A revolutionary triumvirate emerged : Konstantinos Foumis , a childhood friend of Venizelos ' and former High Court prosecutor , as well as a member of parliament and former minister , was assigned charge of finances ; Konstantinos Manos , the former mayor of Chania , handled the military aspect and held the post of general secretary ; Venizelos covered the political and organisational side . The opposition decided not to take part in the elections scheduled for that would choose 64 Cretan deputies ( in addition to the ten directly named by Prince George ) . The Theriso insurgents called for a boycott of the elections and for an armed struggle against the regime . The new assembly , which met on 20 April at Chania , was opened through a speech by Prince George on the economy and planned reforms . However , as soon as he left the chamber , the assembly voted in favour of " Enosis " . In the assembly hall , entirely decorated with Greek flags , the deputies proclaimed the union of Crete with the Greek mother country and placed it under the control of King George I . They then informed the consuls of the Great Powers at Chania of this resolution . On 31 May , at the end of the parliamentary session , most of the deputies joined the Theriso Assembly . A month later , two of the prince ' s chief counselors , Kriaris and Koundouros ( the finance minister ) , resigned their posts and joined their former colleague in the mountains . A quasi civil war . Martial law was declared by Prince George , who only had 1 , 100 gendarmes at his disposal , as well as recognition from the European powers . The presence of two parallel governments led to a near - civil war among the population , with clashes leaving several victims in the vicinity of Chania . At the end of April , armed encounters between gendarmes and rebels took place at Voukolies . Three rebels and two gendarmes were killed , while fifteen peasants were wounded . During the skirmishes , residents set ablaze the gendarmes ' stations . At the beginning of August , the insurgents took the customs house at Kasteli Panormos . On the morning of 7 August , the Russian gunboat " Khrabry " , with 200 Imperial Guards aboard , as well as several Cretan gendarmes , laid anchor off Kastelli . Two Russian officers and an Italian lieutenant of the gendarmerie went to meet the rebels in order to engage in negotiations . The Italian gendarme ordered the insurgents to wave the white flag of surrender in the next half hour or else face shelling . An hour and a half later , the " Khrabry " opened fire . This incident caused greater unrest . While Konstantinos Manos marched on Rethymno seeking to free political prisoners , insurgents attacked Koubes ( west of Rethymno ) . The following day , Colonel Urbanovich send fifty infantrymen there to defend the position , but the Russian soldiers suffered a setback . Urbanovich himself then went to the scene leading a column of 400 soldiers . In the face of these reinforcements , the rebels had to abandon their positions and beat a retreat south to Atsipopoulo , on the heights of Rethymno . After violent combat pitting them against the Russians and the gendarmes , the Cretans ended up ceding the village to the Russians . Among the victims of the fighting were certain insurgent leaders . The reports of the French consul at Chania observe that , despite these events , the insurgents were not leading a systematic attack against European troops . At the beginning of summer in 1905 , Prince George realised the importance of renewing dialogue with Venizelos . He wished to do so through a mutual acquaintance , a certain Bourchier , then correspondent in the region for " The Times " . At first agreeing to talks at the Theriso camp , Venizelos then declined the invitation , claiming that any cooperation with the High Commissioner was impossible . During a new parliamentary session in September , the Cretan Assembly , encouraged by the Theriso revolt , voted for several reforms taken directly from the Venizelist programme : Before the Prince ' s allies had time to respond , the Assembly decided to convoke a National Assembly that could make laws regarding all the relevant issues . The arrival of winter made life more difficult for the insurgents hiding in the mountains . Moreover , since October , the financial situation had been worrisome . In order to sustain the insurgents ’ war effort , Venizelos had to take out loans . Thus , he borrowed 100 , 000 francs in obligations of 5 francs each in Greece . October also saw the first defections . Rebel bands from around Sitia laid down their arms and were granted an amnesty . In mid - October , Venizelos and his comrades recognised that it would be difficult to maintain the revolt , all the more so as the latest military operations had been directly aimed at them , notably by the Russians . They gave notice that they were ready to entrust the island ' s fate to the Great Powers . Venizelos participated in new negotiations with the consuls , seeking to obtain a maximum of concessions regarding the island ' s internal affairs . In a letter addressed to the Great Powers , he stated his intention to lay down arms in exchange for honourable conditions . Most of the insurgents were ready to hand over their weapons and , for those who refused to lay down arms , it was proposed that they be transported to Greece without being disarmed . In exchange for 800 guns and the same number of cartridges , an amnesty would be possible for the insurgents , except for the gendarmes who had deserted . With these conditions , Venizelos accepted surrender . Several days later , he obtained the right to have the deserting gendarmes transported to Greece . On 25 November , the Theriso camp was broken up and an amnesty proclaimed . International reaction . From the beginning of the insurrection , the Great Powers ' consuls based in Crete convened in numerous meetings . The reinforcement of the local gendarmerie with European troops was quickly planned . With similar speed , Prince George of Greece secured from the European powers the creation of an international corps intended to aid the Cretan gendarmerie in protecting Chania from a possible rebel attack . The Greek government , led by Theodoros Deligiannis , opposed Venizelos ' action . Deligiannis informed King George of the insurrection and Prince George of his support , and denounced " Venizelos ' coup d ' etat in Crete " publicly . Among the European nations , Russia reacted most promptly to the events . According to Venizelos ' biographer Chester , the Russian conscripts were particularly cruel in their treatment of the Venizelists . During March and April , a contingent of the Tsar ' s soldiers marched toward the Lefka Ori accompanied by Cretan gendarmes . At the beginning of June , Russian troops disembarked in Crete and took several villages while the Russian fleet bombarded several others . The British , despite their support of the existing regime , only took a few symbolic actions without real impact . As for the French and the Italians , they avoided taking part in any anti - revolutionary activity . Nevertheless , an international force was assembled at Alikianos , on the road to Theriso , ready to receive orders . With the arrival of troops at Alikianos , Colonel Lubanski of the French Army organised a first meeting with the insurgents at Fournes , between Alikianos and Theriso , in a spot where the insurgents could see unmistakably the European force gathered in the valley . The talks took place on 1 April and were attended by Konstantinos Foumis and Konstantinos Manos , with Colonel Lubanski receiving the insurgents ' grievances . The following day , the latter went to Theriso with a message for Venizelos : the Powers were unanimous regarding the impossibility of the island ' s annexation by Greece . After the Cretan Assembly issued its declaration of independence in April 1905 , the Great Powers responded on 2 May ( OS ) : they were determined to use their naval and ground forces if necessary to maintain order . That same day , at Heraklion , the Greek flag flying above a government building was discreetly removed by the British Army and replaced with a Cretan flag . Later however , as the Great Powers realised that Prince George had lost popular support , they arranged for negotiations . On 13 July , the insurgent leaders were invited to meet the European consuls . The following day , Venizelos , Foumis and Manos met them at a monastery near Mournies . Each leader went to the monastery accompanied by his men , who surrounded the building , but without incident . With each side remaining camped on its positions , no agreement was reached during the talks . On 31 July , the Powers declared martial law . This measure seems to have had a minimal impact : the insurgents then controlled the entire west of the island , where order reigned , and they were ready to retreat into the White Mountains if necessary . Afterwards , the foreign troops increased their activity . The British occupied Heraklion , the Russians Rethymno , the Italians Kissamos and the French Agios Nikolaos , Sitia and Ierapetra . At Rethymno , the Russians declared a state of siege and the measures they took were more severe than in the island ' s other regions . In November 1905 , in response to Venizelos ' letter affirming his willingness to lay down arms , the Powers agreed to significant reforms and proclaimed a general amnesty in exchange for 700 - 800 guns . An international commission visited the island and recommended the overhaul of the Cretan gendarmerie so that Greek officers would lead it , and the withdrawal of international forces present on the island starting in 1897 . End of the conflict . At the end of November 1905 , close to 1 , 000 insurgents and gendarmes were transported to Greece . Nevertheless , despite their departure and the halt to the revolt called by Venizelos , Crete remained tense and the island was liable to erupt in insurrection yet again . Tensions between the supporters of each side led to conflict . For instance , when municipal elections were held and the opposition won 40 of 77 available mayoral posts , bloodshed resulted . In February 1906 , the Great Powers sent a mission to evaluate Crete ' s administration and finances . At the end of March , the members of the commission finished their study , which they gave to the Powers . Fresh legislative elections took place in May 1906 . The Prince ' s party won 78 seats in the assembly , while the opposition won 36 . When Prince George opened the parliamentary session in July , he announced that the international commission ' s report had been studied by the Great Powers , who were also considering how Cretans ' national aspirations could be taken into account . Strengthened in its intentions , the assembly once again voted for Crete ' s annexation by Greece and suspended its activities until the Powers ' decision was to be made known . On 25 July , at Chania , the Great Powers announced a series of proposed reforms for the island : Venizelos was disposed to accept the proposals , but Prince George viewed them with hostility . In the following days , he asked for Athens to present his resignation to the Powers . His father , King George I , exercised his full powers in order to try and modify the reforms granted to the island , but the sole concession he was able to obtain was the right to choose his son ’ s successor . In the assembly , 80 of 130 deputies , all close to the government , showed their displeasure with the idea of replacing George , a development that threatened to plunge the island anew into revolt . The closer the Prince ’ s departure seemed , the more his allies agitated in the hope of a new European intervention . However , it was clear to the Powers this time that the situation could only improve with George ’ s departure . On , Prince George left the island for good . Numerous sympathisers converged upon Chania to bid their goodbyes . Six hundred of these were armed , which added to the moment ’ s tension . There was no longer any question of delaying his departure and proceeding to hold lavish ceremonies for him . He went on board the Greek battleship " Psara " and , while the crowd began to stir itself up , troops intervened at the same time as British soldiers disembarked . Aftermath . Prince George of Greece was replaced by Alexandros Zaimis , a former Greek prime minister , for a five - year term beginning on 18 September 1906 . From June 1906 , an agreement between the former rebels of Theriso and the Cretan Assembly allowed for the creation of a constituent assembly led by Antonios Michelidakis . On 2 December , this body submitted a new constitution to Zaimis , who then swore allegiance to it . Order gradually returned to the island . A public administration was set up and laws passed for improving the health and education systems . In July 1907 , Michelidakis was elected president of the Cretan Assembly , defeating Konstantinos Foumis by 34 to 31 votes . Impressed by the efforts the Cretan government had made , and having received assurances regarding the safety of the Muslim population , the European powers decided to send their troops home . On 26 August 1908 , the first French contingents embarked at Chania , paving the way for a complete evacuation of the island . In 1908 , the Young Turk Revolution roiled the Ottoman political landscape and strained relations between Turkey and Crete . The empire ’ s new leaders wished to abrogate the agreements adopted concerning the island ’ s statute and reintegrate Crete into the Empire . On 10 October , taking advantage of Zaimis ’ absence , the committee exercising his duties proclaimed Crete ’ s union with Greece , an action later approved by parliament . The office of High Commissioner was abolished and the Greek constitution adopted . An executive committee met , with Venizelos at its centre holding the foreign affairs portfolio . The Greek government of Georgios Theotokis did not risk ratifying this union , but the Great Powers only protested half - heartedly , continuing their military withdrawal and completing it in June 1909 . In 1913 , following the First Balkan War , Crete achieved official union with Greece . The Theriso revolt established Eleftherios Venizelos ’ fame in Crete and also in continental Greece ; he would go on to serve as Prime Minister of Crete from April to September 1910 . The following month , King George I invited him to become Prime Minister of Greece , an office he would hold seven times between 1910 and 1933 .