Brief History of Reform Attempts in Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire was a cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic and multi-religious empire ruled by absolute monarchy.

OTTOMAN EMPIRE

The Absolute Ruler (Sultan)

Sultan Turcomans

From its establishment on, there was a tension between Sultan (the ruler) and Turcoman allies.

With the conquest of Balkan province, sultans found out that they could create a strong state

and a counter-force against Turcomans from among Christians.

• Sultan Murat I began the process of recruiting the brightest and most talented male youths among Christians in newly conquered lands, brought them to his capital and trained. They were converted to Islam.

• Through devshirme system, people became either soldiers (Janissaries) or administrators and officers in central and provincial government.

• However their positions of power and wealth could not be inherited by their children who were born Muslims.

• The system lasted until 18th century.

Devshirme (Collection, Gathering) System

Through Devshirme System

An independent, Ottoman landowning aristocracy which could be a counter force against Sultan was destroyed

Sultans created an autocracy more absolute than anything in Europe

Landed nobility was undermined by devshirme system in mid-15th century. Sultan’s monopoly of landed property prevented a class to emerge

Any other Class?

Non-Muslims (Greeks, Armenians and Jews, the most prominent ones) played an important economic and administrative role within the empire but they were not allowed for political power

Wealthy merchants (Muslim and non-Muslim) carried out economic functions like bourgeoisie but never acquired political power, no power to shape state and society in their own interest or image

Social and economic

structure was stable

No sector of economy (agrarian, commercial

or industrial) was permitted to become dominant and upset

the balance

Thus

16th Century-The Reform Idea

Created havoc in Ottoman society and

economy

1. Expansion of world economy with its centre

in Western Europe

2. Influx of gold and silver from Americas

3. Price revolution

Where to start?

ARMY

But this worked for a while since the problem was not

military in nature

Reform required fundamental changes in

society itself

Oppositions

• Conservatives backed by Janissaries and religious leaders/scholars refused the idea of reform which would undermine their position.

• There was no force in society: Neither a bourgeoisie nor landed aristocracy to which sultan could turn in order to counter the power of conservatives.

18th Century• Serious attempts to westernize the ruling class through import of

European furniture and fashion started. It was expected to create a new lifestyle!

• This westernization efforts had the impact of making a small but significant segment of Turkish society more open to Western ideas.

• Members of ruling class started visiting Europe, especially France.

• In 18th century, ruling family was reformist and Janissaries who were sufficiently powerful to depose reformist sultans were conservatives.

18th Century

Abondining Sultan‘s

absolutism

Ottoman society required classes based

on secure propoerty rights without fear of having their wealth

confiscated by the state

At the end of 18th century, the idea of

westernization transformed from

importing luxury goods to restructure the

society

The need to build a new state

19th Century

• Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839), a reformist sultan, abolished Janissary army and established new-style army (Nizam-i Cedid).

• Reformist were able to restructure the state but not the society because of a lack of class or social base for the new state.

• 19th century reforms brought the creation of new bureaucratic class more loyal to the state than the sultan and Ottoman dynasty.

19th Century Reformers

• New bureaucracts launched new programme of reform and reorganization. They saw Europe as their model and inspiration. For them, the reason for the success of Europe was the sanctity of private property and constitutional limitations on the authority of the sultan.

• They are also convinced that the only way for Ottoman Empire to survive was integration to world economy. (This idea was partially rejected by Unionist wing of Young Turks after 1908 and the Kemalist faction during republic. After 1945, it again became the prevailing view and continued until early 1990s).

1838 Anglo-Ottoman Commercial Convention

• This convention was the first step by 19th century reformers to destroy existing social and economic structures in order to make a way for new ones.

• Until this convention, Ottoman merchants and craftsmen were protected against European competition. After this, protectionism abandoned and foreign merchants permitted to engage directly in internal trade for the first time.

Change Came• In a short time, the empire had moved in direction to money economy

• It created demand for cash in rural areas

• 1839: Tax farming abolished and replaced by direct collection

• Sharp increase in commercial activity forced peasantry to produce more and more for the market

• Moneylenders emerged in rural areas, peasants became dependent on them and sometimes gave up their lands because of their debts

• In 1839 Noble Gulhane Rescript which promised guarantee and perfect security for life, honor and property was declared

• 1856 Imperial Reform Edict which promised equality in education and government appointments was declared

Opposition and 1st Constitution

• Young Ottomans, the first Muslim pressure group, opposed free-trade policies of the regime.

• In 1876 the 1st constitution of the empire was declared by the force of Young Ottomans. This constitution was seen as a voice of depressed classes seeking relief from free trade and ask for interventionist state.

• On the opposite, people who benefited from the free trade policies of the regime were seeking a weak and non-interventionist state. This dichotomy was non-solved in 19th century and has lasting legacy in present times.

A class issue again• 19th century new bureaucracts tried to create a social base in Ottoman society.

They gave emphasis on landholders who were bulk of the state revenue, largely Muslim and Turkish and potentially reliable source of political power.

• In 1838 Convention, landholders were given greater freedom. The Porte gave up its purchasing monopoly and allowed them to sell their products directly to foreign buyers.

• It led to the commercialization of agriculture that landholders prospered a lot. Thus, in 1876 landholders emerged as an interest group!

• All the reform attempts in 1839, 1856 and 1876 were steps in recognition and legalization of private property, which was a turning point in Turkish political and economic history.

Abdulhamid II (1876-1909)

• Sultan Abdulhamid shelved the 1876 constitution and abolished all free-trade activities of the empire.

• Against his policies, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) was established as a secret society in 1889 by young army members.

• This group, better known as Young Turks, restored the constitution in 1908 and ruled the empire until its end in 1918.

CUP

Radical Reformers (Unionists)They were from lower middle

classes of society. They inspired by the example of Germany and Japan and asked for union and

progress in the empire. According to them, not only the political

system but also the society had to transform. Empire should be a

part of Europe but as an independent state. They were

relied their organizational strength in the army and society

at large.

LiberalsThey were from the upper

classes of Ottoman society and well-educated, westernized and

cosmopolitan. They were Ottomanist and believed that

Britain should teach empire the parliamentary system (The same policy with Anglophile statesmen

of the Tanzimat era who also sought Turkey‘s salvation within the world system dominated by

Western Europe). They supported high bureaucrats in

the Porte.

Against Unionist Wing of CUP

• The army was largely conservative, reactionary against Unionists and asked to restore Abdulhamid power.

• In 1912, liberal wing of CUP attempted to oust the pro-Unionists cabinet and placed liberals in power but because of the Balkan wars (1912-1913) it did not happen.

31st of March Incident

• Liberals tried to end the ruling power of Unionists in 1913 by using Islamist discourse against them (their argument was the Unionists were godless and atheists).

• They massacred Armanians in Adana in order British and French armies to interrupt and oust the Committee.

• For the first time, religion was massively exploited for political ends.

Unionists were in Power • 1913, Unionists achieved to take power and immediately

eliminated all other factions in the army. Many members of the army who were against them retired and the army was converted into an instrument of Unionist policy.

• The government and army passed into the hands of the same class.

• Unionists introduced the idea of union and progress and committed to constructing a capitalist society out of existing order. They struggled for the creation of new classes among Turks especially bourgeoisie. They started to create a national economy in 1908 and brought Turkey into the age of capitalism. The Republic adopted the same policy in 1930s paving the way for the triumph of bourgeoisie in 1950s.

After 1913

• Balkan wars, independence movements had changed the structure of population within the empire. Turkish population became more prominent. However, Islam not nationalism received the most emphasis since most Turks still viewed themselves primarily as Muslims and attached to Ottoman dynasty. Thus, Islam was an important factor in Unionist foreign policy as war approached.

• Unionists decided to enter First World War beside Germany and in 1918, at the end of war, Ottoman empire was severely defeated.

A New Empire, State, Mandate?

After the defeat, CUP fled the country

1919 Greek invaded Anatolia

Britain supported the Sultan to

establish their influence

After the collapse of CUP, most officers

followed Sultan

The Sultan signed Treaty of Sevr in

1920 which meant the dead of empire

Towards a Nation state

• After treaty of Sevr was signed by last sultan Vahdettin, the army was in dilemma again. Officers supporting sultan turned their back again and former Unionists started to define themselves as nationalists and became eager for resistance movements.

• The army went for patriotic-nationalist identity rather than traditional dynastic one. But what would be the regime? A constitutional regime with caliphate, a mandate of USA?

Republic of Turkey• Former commander in Ottoman army, Ataturk became the prominent

leader of this period. He was appointed as Inspector General of Armies of Anatolia and achieved to gather all armed forces in Anatolia under one umbrella as Association of Defence of the Rights of Anatolia and Rumeli.

• In 1920, Ataturk declared a new Grand National Assembly in Ankara that was independent from Ottoman dynasty.

• Nobody was expecting a secular, nationalist republic out of Ottoman Empire, a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society because Islamic discourse was very well used by nationalists to unite all communities (Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Lazes, Circassians) during nationalist war. However, after first world war, Turkey had a small, immature bourgeoisie and according to Ataturk himself, that was sufficient to establish a secular republic which would have rapid progress towards modernity. 23 October 1923, Turkish Republic was officially declared.