n, to rule over the island, a Greek prince,
Constantine, the son of the king. Eight years later he had become very
unpopular through meddling with Cretan politics--on the wrong
side--and had to leave.

The It was at this time that Venizelos came to the front. The Cretan
government was really independent, like a little kingdom without a
king, and he was its true ruler. Now all the Greeks had looked forward
to the time when they might be united in one great kingdom. The shores
of Asia Minor and the cities along the Aegean Sea and the Dardanelles
were largely inhabited by Greeks. Crete and the islands of the Aegean
had once been part of Greece and they never would be content until
they were again joined to it. The Cretan government was ready to vote
that the island be annexed to Greece, when in 1908 there came the
revolution of the "Young Turks" which drove the old Sultan from his
throne (page 186).

The Young Turks at the outset of their crusade against the government
were tolerant to all the other races and religions in their country.
At first the Armenians, the Jews, the Albanians, the Greeks, and the
Bulgarians in the Turkish Empire were very happy over the result of
the revolution. It looked as if a new day were dawning for Turkey,
when it would be possible for these various races and different
religions to live side by side in peace.

No sooner were the young Turks in control of the government, however,
than they began to change. "Turkey for the Turks, and for the Turks
only" became their motto. With this in mind they massacred Bulgarians
and Greeks in Macedonia (page 85) and Armenians in Asia Minor.
The thought of the loss of Crete roused their anger and they began
scheming to get it back under Turkish rule.

In 1910 Venizelos, seeing the danger of his beloved island, left for
Greece, hoping there to stir up the people to oppose the Turks and
annex Crete. His wonderful eloquence and his single-hearted love for
his country soon made him as prominent on the mainland as he had been
in his island home. Before long he was chosen as prime minister of
Greece.

He found the country in a very sad condition. The military officers
were poorly trained. What was worse, they did not know this, but
imagined that their army was the best in the world. The politicians
had plundered the people and there was graft and poor management
throughout the government.

Venizelos made a wonderful change. He sent to the French republic f