Crete (Greece) History Turkish rule, 1669-1898

The island of Crete (Ottoman Turkish: كریت, romanized: Girit) was declared an Ottoman province (eyalet) in 1646, after the Turks conquered the western part of the island as part of the Cretan War, but the Venetians maintained their hold on the capital Candia, until 1669, when Francesco Morosini surrendered the keys of the town. The offshore island fortresses of Souda, Grambousa, and Spinalonga would remain under Venetian rule until 1715, when they were also captured by Turks. Crete took part in the Greek War of Independence, but the local uprising was suppressed with the aid of Muhammad Ali of Egypt. The island remained under Egyptian control until 1840, when it was restored to full Ottoman authority. After the Cretan Revolt (1866–1869) and especially the Pact of Halepa in 1878, the island received significant autonomy, but Ottoman violations of the autonomy statutes and Cretan aspirations for eventual union with the Kingdom of Greece led to the Cretan Revolt (1897–1898) and the Greco-Turkish War (1897). Despite an Ottoman victory in the war, Crete became an autonomous state in 1898 because of intervention in favour of Greece by European powers and was united with Greece after the Balkan Wars.