5 May 1878: British Prime Minister, Lord Benconsfield (Benjamin Disraeli) , wrote to Queen Victoria suggesting that if Turkey accepted to hand over Cyprus to Her Majesty, Britain would guarantee the protection of the Eastern Turkish provinces against the Russians, by signing a treaty of Defence.

4 June 1878:The Convention of Defensive Alliance between Great Britain and Turkey was signed. The convention had two articles.

Pursuart to the first article, Great Britain was guaranteeing to "join His imperial Majesty the Sultan in defending by force of arms if Russia at any future time attempts to take possession of any further Turkish territories in Asia and in return, in order to enable England to make necessary provision for executing Her engagement, the Sultan further consent, to assign the island of Cyprus to be occupied and administered by England."
 

1st July 1878: An annex to the Anglo-Turkish Convention was signed between the two sides elaborating the conditions relating to the British administration of Cyprus.

The most important part of this annex was article 6 which was as follows:

"THAT IF RUSSIA RESTORES TO TURKEY KARS AND OTHER CONQUESTS IN ARMENIA DURING THE LAST WAR, THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS WILL BE EVACUATED BY ENGLAND AND THE CONVENTION OF 4th OF JUNE, 1878, WILL COME TO AN END".

(As a matter of fact those Eastern provinces were returned to Turkey in 1917 by Russia, but Britain did not evacuate and hand back Cyprus according to this article. Instead she unilaterally declared its annexation to the British Empire.)

THE BRITISH ADMINISTRATION

22 July 1878: The first British High Commissioner Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived at Larnaca.

 The Bishop of Kitium, Kyprianos, read an address of welcome and reportedly said: "we accept the change of Government in as much as we trust that Gt. Britain will help Cyprus, as it did the IOANIAN ISLANDS, to be united with mother Greece, with which it is naturally connected." (7)

17 April 1879: First Legislative Council assumed its functions. Its members included one Greek and one Turkish Cypriot (Mustafa Fuat Efendi). Thus both communities were equally represented.