The Therissos Rebellion

From the very first years, serious political problems were prompted by the conservative nature of the Constitution, the concentration of over-extensive powers in the hands of the Prince and the often high-handed way in which he discharged his duties. In essence, all political dialogue was done away with, municipal leaders were appointed by central authority and newspapers were often banned, while substantial administrative and political responsibilities were assigned to Athenian advisors. These phenomena added to discontent among the Cretans, leading the island into political turmoil once more.

On 10^th March 1905, a large number of dissidents gathered at the village of Therissos in Kydonia district and proclaimed revolution against the Prince. The leading light in the movement was Eleftherios Venizelos, flanked by prominent members of local society, such as Ioannis Sfakianakis, Ioannis Tsouderos, Dionysios Kastrinoyiannakis, Bishop of Rethymnon and Titos, Bishop of Petra. Having secured the support of a sizeable segment of Cretan public opinion, the rebels set about forming a revolutionary government, established a bureaucracy and published their own newspaper, entitled "The Therissos".

Eventually, following tough negotiations with the Great Powers, the terms laid down by the rebels were in essence met. On 12^th September 1906 Prince George resigned. Six days later, Alexandros Zaimis assumed office as High Commissioner of the Cretan State.