History of the Cyclades by the Ottoman Empire, which allowed the islands a certain administrative and fiscal autonomy. Economic prosperity continued despite the pirates. The archipelago had an ambiguous attitude towards the war of independence. Having become Greek in the 1830s, the Cyclades have shared the history of Greece since that time. At first they went through a period of commercial prosperity, still due to their geographic position, before the trade routes and modes of transport changed. After suffering a rural exodus, renewal began with the influx of tourists. However, tourism is not the Cyclades' only resource today. The most ancient traces of activity
Lesser Cyclades the islands belong to the Naxos and Lesser Cyclades municipality apart from the islets of Ano and Kato Antikeri that belong to Amorgos municipality. During the last Ice Age most of the islands of the Cyclades were united into a big landmass. After the sea level rose in ca. 9,000 B.C. the Aegean flooded the landmass to form the many small islands and acquire its modern form. The Lesser Cyclades are inhabited since the Stone Age. The islands flourished during early Bronze Age, when the Cycladic culture appeared. The island of Keros was one of the major sites of Cycladic