Colonial Cyprus' urban waste history

Present

Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, with a total area of 9,251 km². Since 1974, The Island has been divided into three political units: the Republic of Cyprus (part of the EU), the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and the UK Sovereign Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The island is home to about 1,300,000 Cypriots (923,000 in Greek Cyprus and 382,000 in Turkish Cyprus).

Past

Cyprus was placed under British governance in 1878 as part of an agreement between Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire, even though de-jura it remained Ottoman. In 1914, at the break of the First World War, the British annexed Cyprus from their Ottoman enemies. After the war, in 1925, Cyprus became a British Crown Colony. Although Cyprus was only a periphery territory in the British Empire, it experienced modernization and urban growth. Since the 1930s, Cyprus started to face growing ethnic tension between the Greek and Turkish communities of the island and a struggle for independence. This process led to the independence of Cyprus in 1960. However, the ethnic tension did not end, and inter-communal violence became more aggressive. Following the 1974 coup d'état of a Greek junta, Turkey invaded the island and occupied its northern parts. After four weeks of fighting, a ceasefire was reached, with a UN buffer zone between the island and the capital, Nicosia, in two parts.

BLOCYP in Cyprus

The research examines the developments in waste disposal in Colonial Cyprus under British rule, based mainly on British administrative sources from Nicosia and London. It focuses on the capital, Nicosia, and the port city, Famagusta. These were the colony's main cities, and both grew significantly during these years. Between 1921 and 1946, Nicosia grew from 61,000 inhabitants to 106,000, while Famagusta grew from 34,000 residents to 78,000. Obviously, this growth was accompanied by the accumulation of waste.

This project is funded by the EU Horizon MSCA PF 2024 programme under grant agreement number 101150702 .