In the aftermath of the events of 25 August 1898 and the definitive withdrawal of Ottoman forces from the island in October of the same year, the path was opened towards autonomy and eventual union with Greece.

On 9 December 1898, Prince George, second son of King George I of Hellas, arrived in Chania as High Commissioner of the Great Powers and was received with great enthusiasm. Crete was constituted a Principality, under the suzerainty of the Sultan and the high protection of the four Great Powers. The formation of the first government followed, together with the promulgation of the Constitution of the Cretan State, which defined Crete, along with its adjacent islets, as an Autonomous State.

In the years that followed, the open rift between Prince George and Eleftherios Venizelos, Adviser (Minister) of Justice, over the question of union with Greece led the latter to assume leadership of the Therisso Movement, which broke out on 10 March 1905 and gave decisive impetus to the resolution of the Cretan Question. On 12 September 1906 Prince George resigned his office and was succeeded by the moderate statesman Alexandros Zaimis. The gradual withdrawal of foreign troops between 1906 and 1909 further contributed to the island’s progressive release from international control and to the recognition of its full autonomy.