Other minorities in Cyprus

In addition to the majority Greek and minority Turkish population in the island, Cyprus is also home to three other, quite small ethnic minorities, the Armenians, the Maronites and the Latins. The word "ethnicity" is, of course, pretty slippery. In fact, all five communities in Cyprus are distinguished by religion, though this is commonly forgotten. The majority Greek community is made up of members of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus. The Turkish community is Sunni Muslim. The Armenians are monophysite Christians, whose ancestors dissented from the Council of Chalcedon in 451. They are members of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Maronites have their origins in the Levant and are in communion with Rome.

As for the Latins, this is a catch-all term to cover virtually anyone of Roman Catholic faith, going back to the Frankish Lusignan and Venetian rule and extending up to contemporary Filipino domestics. I am particularly interested in this group, since there is a possibility that our own family has roots there. The surname Koyzis may once have been something like Coisy, Coizy or Coizie, and the origins may have been in France.

According to Dr Nicholas Coureas of the Cyprus Research Centre,

According to the testimony of Malcolm Laing Meason, a fair number of Frenchmen and Italians settling in Cyprus took Cypriot wives and busied themselves with commerce or various other professions. He describes them as well-off and with money in the bank, but not wealthy, adding that they were extremely careful with their money. He makes particular mention of a Frenchman and his compatriots, who having served at the French consulate decided to remain in Cyprus on account of the lower cost of living on the island.

This could have something to do with how my own ancestors came to Cyprus and why they stayed on. But, given that I've seen no records to this effect, this is pure speculation.