In 1912 the British government offered Greece to exchange Cyprus for a naval base in Argostoli, Kefalonia, in order to gain control of the Ionian sea, an offer which was repeated in 1913. In 1915, the British offered several times Cyprus to Greece, in exchange for Greece's participation in World War I. But while Greece was undecided whether it should enter the War, the British government withdrew its offer. By 1915, the Greek Cypriots seeing that neither the British investment nor Enosis, had materialised, increased their opposition to British rule. In the beginning, the Enosis movement had only few supporters mainly from the upper classes. But that was about to change as two groups of disappointed with the new ruler began to form: the Church and the Usurers. In the following years a growing number of Cypriots were studying in Greece, and upon their return, they became strong advocates of Enosis. On the other hand, the Turkish Cypriot community started to develop its own nationalism in the early 20th century, as news arrived in the island about the persecutions faced by Muslims in the countries that formed after the collapse of Ottoman Empire.