December 1st, 1913, The union of Crete with Greece

The official proclamation of the union took place in sunny Chania on Sunday, December 1, 1913, in the presence of King Constantine and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, in a very festive atmosphere. "The city lay awake being decorated. The sky celebrates, restored from a night of tranquility and as the sun rose. The streets present a view of myrrh-smelling meadows. Everywhere there are Byzantine flags hanging among the blue and white [Greek flags]. Everywhere peasents arethronging, living images of Theotokopoulos [El Greco]. Cretan children in swarms are circulating in traditional garb. Ever since Nikephoros Phokas, expelled the Arabs for the first time from Crete, a Greek King descends to the island," wrote Athenian newspaper "Estia" in its report from Chania. The events culminated at 11:50 am when the veteran freedom fighters Anagnostis Mandakas, 94, and Hatzimichalis Giannaris, 88, raised the Greek flag at the Firka Fortress, while at the same time, there were 101 gun salutes from Greek warships.

Crete came under the Ottoman Empire on October 4, 1669, when the Great Vizier Kioprolis entered the village of Candia (today Heraklion), ending the Venetian domination of the island, which lasted 465 years (1204-1669). Despite the flight of many inhabitants and the alteration of the population by the new conquerors, the Cretans never submitted to the Ottomans. This is testified by the revolts of 1692 (1692 Movement) and 1770 ("Daskalogiannis Revolution") testify.

 In 1821, the Cretans participated in the national uprising, but their efforts were not successful due to the large number of Turks and Turkish-Cretans on the island and the lack of supplies. The uprisings against the conqueror continued with unimpeded intensity and density, in 1833 (the "Mournion Movement"), in 1841 ("the Heretis and Vasilogeorgis revolt"), in 1858 (the "Mavrogenian Movement"), between 1866-1869 ("The Great Cretan Revolution"), 1878 ("Revolution of 1878"), 1889 ("Revolution of 1889") and the two years 1897-1898 ("Revolution of 1897-1898"), when Crete gained its autonomy under the the blessings of the Great Powers, following the incredible atrocities committed by the bashi bazouks (Turkishirregulars) in Heraklion on 25 August 1898. On 2 November of that year, the last Turkish soldier left the Cretan territory.

Crete was placed under the protection of the Great Powers and only the sultan's high sovereignty. From 1898 to 1913 the Cretan State was founded, under the Greek Prince George and a government of five Christians and a Muslim (Muslims accounted for about 25% of the inhabitants of Crete in 1900). A dominant figure of that period was the young lawyer Eleftherios Venizelos, who quickly came into conflict with George because of his extraordinary powers. The "Revolution in Therissos" (March 10, 1905), organized by Venizelos, forced Georgios to resign and the high commissioner's office was given to the Greek politician Alexandros Zaimis. The main demand of the insurgents was the direct union of Crete with Greece.

The victorious outcome of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) for Greece, due to the insightful policy of Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, accelerated developments. On May 30, 1913, the Sultan resigned all his rights to Crete by the Treaty of London (Article 4), and he withdrew in particular from his Sovereignty on the island (1 November 1913). Crete was free and its union with Greece had taken place. The Cretan question, which had long concerned  international politics, has been resolved.

In 1923, with the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey, the last Muslims left Crete, most of whom settled on the coast of Asia Minor.