One particular event in Crete, the "Holocaust…

One particular event in Crete, the "Holocaust of Arkadi", causes strong reactions among the liberal circles of western Europe,

The event occurs in November 1866, as a large Ottoman force besieges the Arkadi Monastery, which serves as the headquarters of the rebellion.

In addition to its two hundred and fifty-nine defenders, over seven hundred women and children have taken refuge in the monastery.

After a few days of hard fighting, the Ottomans break into the monastery.

At this point, the abbot of the monastery sets fire to the gunpowder stored in the monastery's vaults, causing the death of most of the rebels and the women and children sheltered there.

As reported by the American writer and consul William Stillman and others over the recently introduced telegraph, this event causes enormous shock in the rest of Europe and in North America and decreases the perceived legitimacy of Turkish rule.