Pasic adhered to his standpoint, and even the efforts of Venizelos and Take Jonescu to bring him and Trumbic together were unavailing.
It was not till 1897 that Venizelos came into prominence as one of the leaders of the Cretan uprising of that year, which culminated in the removal of Turkish rule from Crete (1898).
Venizelos was in command of the insurgents' camp on Akrotiri, which was shelled by the united European squadrons on Feb.
These two incidents form the first occasion when Venizelos came into official contact with the Great Powers.
In 1898 Prince George of Greece landed in Crete as High Commissioner of the Great Powers, and a few months later, upon Sphakianakis' retirement, Venizelos became the head of the Cretan executive.