The "Sick Man of Europe" 1600s - 1938 Ottoman Empire

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

The Luxurious Lifestyle of the Sultans in Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Harem

Reasons for Decline Internal Less centralized Urban riots, rebellion Increased crime Armies deprived of needed resources Corruption Inflation and rising unemployment Social unrest in part because of decline in craft industry Ineffective leaders Less severe Less sensitive to public opinion Low quality Ending of fratricide led to unprepared leaders

Reasons for Decline External Ottoman possessions irresistible to neighbors Unrest by Christian people in Balkans No longer a threat to Austria-Hungary Competition for trade from Americas, India, and the Far East Development of other trade routes Loss of territories Economic dependence on European political rivalries

Loss of Territory 1683 failure to capture Vienna 1699 Hungary lost to the Ottomans Empire lasts two more centuries because of balance of power Sauds in Arabia French in Algeria 1830 Greek Independence 1854-1856 Crimean War points out weaknesses of empire

Greek War for Independence: 1821-1832

The “Sick Man of Europe”! Crimean War: 1854-1856 The “Sick Man of Europe”!

Attempts at Reform 1856-1876 Hatt-I-Humayun Purpose—national citizenship for all within empire Abolished civil authority of religious hierarchs Equality before the law guaranteed Eligibility to public office without regard to religion Army open to Christians and Muslims Tax reform Abolition of torture Prison reforms End of corruption of public officials Increased tension with ruling elite

Reforms Fail Resistance against such radical changes Few Turks with skill or experience Sultan Abdul Aziz recklessly overborrows Sultan deposed 1876 Midhat Pasha-reform minister New constitution 1876 1877 Turkish Parliament meets

Abdul Hamid II Midhat gone Parliament gone Constitution gone Paranoid about anything he could not understand Tried to impose absolutism Restricted civil liberties Continued to push for westernization in some areas

Young Turks lived in exile plotting revenge Determined to restore Constitution of 1876 1908 coup with military support Sultan figurehead Infighting among officers who led coup Wars in Balkans

The Young Turks Program Pushed for reforms  basic democratic rights: freedom of speech. freedom of assembly. freedom of the press. Problem of nationalism within (heterogeneous empire).

Massacres 1876 and 1915

Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878 Pan-Slavism Insurrection Bosnia 1875 and Bulgaria 1876 Russia declares war Treaty of San Stefano jingoism

Egypt and Suez Canal

The Ottoman Empire in 1914

Two Armed Camps Allied Powers: Central Powers:

World War I Alliances: 1914-1918

Europeans Carve Up the Ottoman Empire After WWI

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) Republican People’s Party Goals: National Assembly nationalism (“Turkification”). state-controlled economy secularism reform 1924  abolished the caliphate.

Atatürk’s Reforms “Turkify” the Islamic faith Translate the Qur’an into Turkish. Secular education. Ministry of Religious Affairs abolished. Sharia courts closed  new secular courts. Western-style clothing Forbid the wearing of the fez  Western-style men’s suits. Attacked the veiling of women.

Atatürk’s Reforms Adoption of a Surname. Language Reform: Roman alphabet replaced the Arabic script. Literacy in new alphabet required for government positions. State Socialism: State banks established to finance government-controlled businesses. Adoption of a Surname.