Uprisings

From the very outset, attempts by the Venetians to strengthen their grip on the island met with stubborn resistance on the part of the indigenous population. In 1211 an revolutionary movement led by the Agiostephanites broke out. Initially centred on the Lassithi Plateau, this rapidly spread to the whole of Eastern Crete, in what was the first of numerous rebellions against the new overlords that rocked the island up until the mid 14^th century.

At the forefront of such movements stood powerful Cretan families such as the Callergis, Skordilis, Mellissinos and Chortartzis clans. In suppressing the rebellions the Venetians often took a reconciliatory line and granted privileges to powerful local leaders, as in the case of Alexis Callergis.

The St. Titus Mutiny, a revolutionary movement led by Venetian feudal lords against the mother city, was in a league all of its own. This broke out in 1363, mainly in reaction against the burdensome taxation levied on the lords by the Venetian state.