Institutions, legislation, administration and Cretan society itself embarked on a course of modernization. Crete distanced itself from the Ottoman world, forging ever closer links with Greece. The new regime passed new legislation, minted its own currency - the Cretan drachma - and established a new bureaucracy. These political and institutional reforms accelerated changes in the mentality, way of life and customs of Cretan society.
For the town itself and urban life in general, the period of Autonomy was one of transformation. Major public works projects such as the new quay were carried out together with urban redevelopment, the erection of imposing neoclassical buildings smartened up the town centre. The predominance of Muslims in the population waned until it was overturned, while the people of Heraklion increasingly adopted European cultural traits in their everyday lives, though these were combined with a host of traditional features.
