This paper examines the question of politicization in Crete during the late Ottoman period, specifically between the years 1878 and 1889. By focusing on the minutes of the General Assembly, I argue that although the terms “majority” and “minority” as used by the representatives of the time initially referred to religious groups, they gradually acquired a purely political content. This transition was part of the emergence of a local political scene on the island within which party politics played a dominant role.