The Locust Invasions in the Island of Cyprus and Its Social and Economic Affects (1750-1840)

The island of Cyprus, which has a strategic location in the Mediterranean, has been attacked by locusts at different times. Due to the damage to the vegetation and agricultural products on the island, the people of the island have experienced great distress. The island, which was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the period under review, tried to take a series of measures with the encouragement of the central administration in order to overcome the problems. Due to the insufficient measures taken, the locusts continued to exist in swarms on the island and continued to damage agricultural areas and plants. A Christian living in the region, who did not mention his name, reported how to fight locusts on the island in a report he wrote to the center. In this study that we discussed on the information in this report, the information in the archive records and the research works related to the problems caused by the locusts on the island have beenevaluated.