Abstract:

The essence of the Crete problem, whose foundations date back to the independence of Greece in 1829 and which has become more severe since the 1890s, is the desire and efforts of the Greeks and Cretan Greeks to annex the island under Ottoman rule. With the Greek uprisings supported by Greece, the massacres against Cretan Muslims, the 1897 Ottoman-Greek War, and the intervention of European countries afterwards, the problem gained an international character. After the declaration of Crete's autonomy in 1897, although the island was legally a part of the Ottoman Empire, it was under the military occupation of Britain, France, Italy, and Russia (the patron states). By 1908, Crete was under the Ottoman rule but had autonomous status. One of the most important agenda topics and international problems of the Second Constitutional Monarchy is Crete. On October 6, 1908, the Crete Parliament's announcement of its accession to Greece was the first serious crisis the new regime faced. Greece could not legitimize the decision of adherence due to the failure of the great powers to legitimize the decision of the Crete Parliament and their attitude towards the preservation of the current status quo. The Cretan crisis would continue until 1912 in the dilemma of debates and social reactions. In this study, the social reaction and boycott movements in Ottoman Macedonia against Greece as a result of the efforts of Crete to unite with Greece and Greece's support for this will be examined.

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