Cyprus.

Cyprus

Cyprus is located in the eastern Mediterranean. Some of its neighboring countries are Turkey, Egypt and Greece. In the sixteenth century there was a war going on between Venice and Turkey. During this time period, Cyprus belonged to the Venetians and it was used as a trading outpost. To the Venetians this was a dangerous military post where the Venetians were unpopular and reluctant to serve. Cyprus had a very mixed population and there major item of production was salt. All of the profits made from the salt production went to the Venetians.

Its location made it a target for expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Soon the Turks advanced into Cyprus. Approximately 60,000 men set sail for Cyprus in 350 ships. These men first marched to the capital Nicosia a seized it, this lasted for seven weeks. Since the Ottoman army was superior many of the other towns fell quickly. At one point, the Venetian army destroyed the Ottoman fleet but did not take advantage of this. As a result Venice had to give up Cyprus to the Ottoman Empire. This expanded the Ottoman control over the Adriatic sea. Also, after the conquest, many of the minorities converted to Islam.