Henry Balwer ruled Cyprus for six years, from 9 May 1886 to 5 April 1892.
He was from Norwich in the east of England. Born in 1836. After studying at Cambridge, Balwer entered the civil service, taking a position in the English administration of the Ionian Islands, which he held from 1860 until the end of English rule and the transfer of the Ionian Islands to Greece in 1864. His further career before his transfer to Cyprus took place in Constantinople and various British colonies. Thanks to his service, he significantly enriched his political and administrative experience. After the Ionian Islands, Balwer was appointed for a year (1865) to the British embassy in Constantinople as special secretary to the ambassador, who was his uncle, Lord Dallingand Balwer. From 1866 to 1886, Henry Balwer successively held various positions in Trinidad, Dominica, Borneo, and was governor of Natal from 1875 to 1886.
Balwer's mission to Cyprus coincided with years of British rule on the island, during which the early hopes and dreams of the Greek Cypriots had already evaporated and were replaced by the harsh reality of colonialism. The administration of Cyprus, having very limited financial resources at its disposal, was forced to maintain all the taxation that it inherited from the Ottoman financial system, and at the same time increasingly systematize tax collection. In addition to this, the costs of the salaries of English officials, which were very high by Cypriot standards, fell on the shoulders of the local population. The Cypriots were dissatisfied with their financial situation and, through their representatives in the Legislative Council, sought to reduce the salaries of English officials and ease the tax burden.
Balwer arrived in Cyprus when this issue was already on the agenda. After a series of discussions in the Legislative Council, the British government, watching developments with displeasure, informed the Cypriots that any savings achieved by cutting the salaries of British officials would make life easier not for the Cypriots, but for the British taxpayers, at the expense of which the British Parliament's subsidies were allocated to Cyprus. Thus, the administration made it clear that it does not intend to ease the tax burden of the island’s residents.
The second important problem that Balwer faced was the crisis that caused first in Karpasia and Paphos, and then throughout Cyprus, the great drought of 1887/88. The drought destroyed the production of grain and other agricultural products, severely affected livestock production, caused hunger and poverty in many families, and led to a riot that could develop into an insurrection. While the British administration began to realize the extent of the problem and take some urgent measures to eliminate it, dissatisfaction with the government spread in the cities.
In this situation, a belief was created that problems should be solved by sending representatives to negotiate with the British government. The first Cypriot delegation to London in May 1889 included Archbishop Sophronios of Cyprus and authoritative representatives of the Greek Cypriot community (Theodoros Peristianis, Achilleas Liasidis and Paschalis Konstantinidis). Balwer was extremely active during this crisis. Mobilizing government services, he collected data and information, which, along with his comments and notes, sent to the Colonial Office in order to be able to rebut criticism of the British administration and demands for improvement of the situation of local residents. During the next two years, which were the last years of Balwer's reign, weather conditions were very favorable and a rich harvest alleviated the economic and social crisis. But this was only a temporary improvement, since the reasons big problems have not been eradicated.
During Balwer's reign the agricultural debts of the inhabitants continued to fluctuate at a very high level, ranging from £250,000 to £400,000; crime, despite the efforts of Balwer himself and the Legislative Council, was quite high. On the other hand, there have been some encouraging changes in the education system. The same thing happened in transport, crafts, trade and health care. The population, according to the 1891 census, reached 209,286 (of which 158,585 or 75.8% were Greek Cypriots and 47,926 or 22.9% Turkish Cypriots) compared to 185,630 in 1881.
Balwer left Cyprus on April 5, 1892, ending his career as a civil servant. On the eve of his departure, the Voice of Cyprus newspaper called him "a champion of the poor and downtrodden, respected by all" a man who loved Cyprus and ensured that the administration respected the citizens. It is also mentioned that on his initiative, charitable institutions were created, such as a hospital near Nicosia, a hospital for the blind and a psychiatric clinic in Nicosia, a leper colony, and a hospital in Kyrenia.
Henry Balwer died in 1914.
This article was first published in the Cyprus Herald on 18 February 2022. Some information may be out of date.
