The island passed under the authority of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, for the services to the Ottoman Empire in the Greek Revolution in the Peloponnese.

On 30 March 1856, the Treaty of Paris obliged the sultan to apply the hatt-ı hümayun, that is to say the civil and religious equality of Christians and Muslims.

[3] The international events that destabilised the Balkans (revolts of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1875 and of Bulgaria in 1876, intervention of Serbia and Montenegro on the side of the rebels) came to add to the ambient atmosphere.

A volition that was amplified while in 1875, the majority of the Christian representatives of the assembly weren't rural, but the doctors and the lawyers were often from the University of Athens.

The Ottoman administration tried to put a halt to this protestation movement by its root by arresting the deputy of Chania, and one of the emblematic figures of the Christian community.

Charilaos Trikoupis, then minister of foreign affairs in the government of Koumoundouros, announced on 27 December the support of Greece in case of revolt.

Among them, we find Hatzimichalis Giannaris, hero of the Cretan Revolt of 1866–1869, then exiled in Russia, followed by the leaders of the clans of western of Crete.

These emissaries were Kostis Adosidis Pasha, old governor of the province of Lasithi, and the Cretan Turk Selim Efendi.

In mid-March, the rebels controlled the rest of the island, with the exception of strongholds of Ierapetra, Spinalonga, Heraklion, Rethymno, Izzedin, Chania, Kissamos and Gramvousa that couldn't be taken without heavy artillery.

In July 1878, the consuls of the great powers insisted on establishing a cease-fire, promising that the case of Crete would be discussed at the Congress of Berlin.

[8] The Ottoman Empire, satisfied knowing the idea of union of Crete with Greece was rejected by the European Powers, accepted to make concessions towards the Cretan population.