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The western Crusaders influenced a great deal the development of the history of Cyprus. It was Richard the Lionheart, King of England, who during the Third Crusade captured the island defeating its ruler, Isaac Comnenos in 1191. Richard tried to sell Cyprus to the Knights Templars, who nevertheless, were not able to resist the revolt of the people of Cyprus. Thus the island went back to the English King, who sold it again this time to the Frankish King of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan.

The Frankish Period The rule of the Franks in Cyprus lasted until 1489 and during that time life on the island was organised on the basis of the feudal model of the West, oppression of the indigenous population being its main characteristic. The Lusignan period left numerous monuments on the island - mainly Gothic churches and mountain fortifications.

During the 14th century Cyprus is an important point of contact between East and West. Within a network of contradictions, a complex cultural creation took shape both in the letters and in the arts with the pronounced seal of a variety of influences. The end of the Latin period in Cyprus came with the Venetian rule from 1489 to 1571. The Venetians held the island for its strategic position in the area of the Eastern Mediterranean on the way to the vital Silk Route to China.

Venice, wished in this way to underline its prominence among the western powers of the time and attempted to keep to road to the East open despite the growing menace of the Ottomans. The Venetians also left their mark on the island's cultural heritage with their fortifications around Nicosia and Famagusta. These, built with the intention of fending off the Turks, proved inadequate and Cyprus fell to the Turks in 1571, becoming part of the Ottoman Empire.

MODERN TIMESThe Turkish Period Though Cyprus on the whole became less prosperous under Ottoman rule, there were certain immediate benefits. Serfdom was abolished and the rights of the Greek Orthodox Church, which had been suppressed since the Franks, were restored. However, there was very harsh rule and harsh taxation which impoverished the people, and there were continual revolts. In 1821 an attempt by Cypriots to support the Greeks in their revolt against Ottoman rule was brutally crushed, with the Archbishop being publicly hanged and many others, including three bishops, put to death.

Cyprus remained under Ottoman rule until 1878 when, with the Treaty of Berlin, the Sultan in his effort to secure British support in his conflict with the Russians leased Cyprus to Great Britain. Then in 1914, following the entry of Turkey in World War I on the side of Germany, the British government annexed Cyprus and turned it into a Crown colony in 1925. In the meantime Turkey surrendered all claim on Cyprus with the Lausanne Treaty it concluded with Greece in 1923.

The British Period British rule left its mark on the island's complex culture with the adoption by the people Cyprus of some of the customs of their colonial masters, the legacy of some British colonial buildings, and, most importantly, the tradition of the British administration especially in the civil service.

Cypriots fought alongside the allies against fascism and nazism during World War II. The British, however, refused to keep their word and offer the island the right of self determination at the end