The Population and its Stance

The population did not adopt a common, unified stance towards the major conflict being played out on the island. One sector, consisting chiefly of town dwellers with closer cultural ties to the Catholics and the West, sided with the Venetians. Nevertheless, a high proportion of the population, disaffected on account of the repression they had suffered from the feudal lords and the Venetian state apparatus, was more or less indifferent towards events. The dilemma faced by the Cretans is masterfully portrayed by Marinos Tzane Bounialis, author of a metrical narrative on the Cretan War:

The wretched folk went from bad to worse

And couldn't say who was better - Franks or Turks