I have seen no evidence that Canaan was abandoned in this period.
The Canaanites were a distinct people from the Phoenicians.
Yeah, the Phoenicians were not Minoan exiles. The Phoenicians have very clear native Levantine roots.
I recognize this. I never once said that the Phoenicians did not have Levantine roots.
Close to 2,000 BC, the Amorites (again) fell upon the city of Byblos with a show of devastating destruction. Much of Byblos was put to the torch. However, since Byblos was not a singly city standing on its own, and part of a greater connection of Phoenician cities along the Levant, the city recovered, where most would not.
But this left a permanent stain on the Phoenician's conscience. They knew they had to leave. They looked at Cyprus, but they didn't have the will to fight their way in. They looked on the coast of Anatolia, and Greece, but didn't find those areas suitable.
Another place they looked towards was their old outpost at Santorini and other islands in the Aegean. They gave Santorini, an island with friendly locals and located in the middle of the two mainlands (Greece and Anatolia), a strong look. There were a lot of negative drawbacks, being the volcano and earthquakes that occurred there. It also would not have enough water to sustain a significant population.
This caused them to turn their attention to the neighboring islands, namely Crete, the Cretans being one of their major customers during this time. Just offshore of Crete was a small Phoenician Outpost called Dia Island. Dia however was even less suitable than Santorini to meeting the Phoenician's needs.
The Phoenicians had a long standing custom of blending in with the native populations in the areas they came in contact with, including in their own backyard. They realized people liked to attack others who seemed different, so they tried their best to look, on the outside at least, similar to those they encountered. This worked amazingly well with the Canaanites and other levantine peoples, as well as the Egyptians. Another area it worked perfectly, had been at Crete.
They had first stumbled upon Crete in 3,000 BC, where they found out the people lived very rusticly. There were many on Crete that lived as hunter gatherers, some living in small one room huts, and still more living in caves as their ancestors had before them. It was these people, the Pelasgians, that the Phoenicians encountered in 3,000 BC.
The Phoenicians and the local people quickly found a common ground for trade, and the Cretans welcomed these peaceful foreigners who wanted nothing more than to trade with them. Though in the beginning there was suspicion from both sides, the locals came to accept these peaceful visitors, who did their best to blend in. What was more important, was the Phoenicians refused to take sides in the local people's disputes. The Phoenicians were not feared because they presented no danger, and eventually, they were trusted by the Cretan people.
Now fast forward to 2,000 BC. The Phoenicians wanted to escape the increasing hostility they were facing from the Amorites. The Phoenicians looked to the friendly island of Crete. They came with breathtaking gifts and began negotiating. They came with a simple proposal to the Cretans: These riches they saw around them would be they'res if they joined with the Phoenician people. They and all of their people would live in homes with many rooms, and would share in all the new riches that came in year-by-year from a trading empire spanning the known world.
In return, they asked for something equally simple. The Cretans would live in accordance to Phoenician rules: they would live under a Phoenician "king" (depending on how loosely you like to use the term). They would come to learn secrets with respect to ships, trade and internal matters that must be held in strict secrecy. And finally, they must live peacefully with each other and with all Phoenicians on the island and elsewhere.
The various Cretan leaders gave this strict consideration. While it meant giving up some of their leadership, accepting the rule of a Phoenician king. Yet they were already doing just that to one of their own at Knossos. The Phoenicians were unlikely to be any worse. The people from Dia Island (Phoenicians) had a a clean record of always keeping their promises in the eyes of the Cretans. Living in peace was acceptable, because they knew anyone who broke the peace would lose access to all these newfound riches.
The leaders accepted, and the Phoenicians kept their word. The Phoenicians were moving to Crete and Knossos. This is one of those few times in history where a country's rule was pasted into the hands of outsiders, with the news being met with celebration.
The Phoenicians tried their best to blend in. They moved into the capital of Knossos. They made subtle changes, like giving the port of Porus a newfound importance. They built a new and much larger harbor here, and all operations were moved from Dia to here. Porus became so filled, that a nother harbor was built at Amnissos. They built more and more harbors and ports.
One clear sign of the Phoenician being in control here, was the establishment of one large trading house in each region leading town. This was customary in Phoenician cities.
To say Crete evolved on its own so suddenly without outside help is absurd. The fact that these people could rise so quickly on their own from hunter gatherers to the empire they would become is evidence enough. Anyway, around 2,000 BC, according to archaeological excavations, Tyre was abandoned. They show no indications of widespread destruction in the city. The people seemed to just have picked up their possessions and left.
This was the same time the Minoan civilization began to form. This was the entire population of the city migrating. This might have been a coincidence, but there is even more evidence.
A growing layer of sand accumulated on top of the deserted city of Tyre for hundreds of years. The sand layer was 3 feet thick when when new construction showed the return of people to settle on Tyre. Distinctive pottery showed sporadic visits followed by the full revival of the city around 1500 BC.
Around this same time the Minoan society on Crete was going through changes. The highly destructive volcano on Santorini erupted, and almost destroyed the Minoan civilization, but they managed to rebuild and hold on until violent earthquakes would later lead to their destruction. Invaders forced the Minoan leaders to flee, ending their civilization. This happened right around 1500 BC. About the same time the repopulation of Tyre occurred.
Phoenicians left Tyre at the same time people arrived on Crete to start the Minoan society. The arriving people brought eastern mediterranean (Lebanese, et.al) influences to that island. And when the invaders stormed Crete and the Minoans fled, the island of Tyre was repopulated. This should be enough evidence. But there is more.
Just as at Tyre, at Sidon, a comparable layer of sand was found in recent excavations of the city. The roughly 3 foot thick sand layer suggests Sidon was also abandoned for the several hundred years that the Minoan civilization was around.
The people who came to resettle Tyre and Sidon were not strangers to the land either. The people who came back to Tyre and Sidon carried the same characteristics and lifestyles of the Phoenicians who abandoned them. These people were Phoenicians.
There is one more major piece of evidence. Historical records have shown a puzzling anomaly: some sources stated that the Minoans dominated sea-trade at this time; while others said it was the Phoenicians who dominated sea trade at the same time. This is strange. Who could be correct? And if both societies sought to dominate the sea trade, surely there would be highly visible fighting between the two for that position.
Yet there is none recorded. Between the Egyptian records, and in the writings and records that came from Homer, Herodotus, and others, there has not been a single mention of confrontation between the 2 societies. No assertion was made of competition between them in any port, nor any alliances formed with land powers against the other.
Now contrast this with when the Greeks, 1,000 years later, would try try to establish themselves among the same seas as the Phoenicians. Their were constant clashes between the two civilization; such as competition in ports, clashes on Sicily, and outright naval warfare on the seas in the Persian Wars. This shows clearly what happens when two powers try to dominate the seas.
Yet the Minoans and Phoenicians never had even a hint of conflict between each other. The two civilizations did not fight each other because they were both members of the same family (not family as in a family, but you get what I am saying).
This is what the ancient story of Europa has been trying to tell us for 3,500 years. Europa was a Phoenician princess who came to Crete and gave birth to the Minoan civilization.
I'll add more if you guys would like me to continue.