1. Chapter 19 Part II: The Ottoman Empire and the West in the 19th Century
Similarities between China and the Ottoman Empire
Felt they did not need to learn from the West
Avoided direct colonial rule but were diminished in stature and influence
Attempted “defensive modernization”
Suffered a split in society between modernizers and traditionalists

2. “The Sick Man of Europe”
In 1750 the Ottoman Empire was strong and the center of the Islamic world; by 1900 it was known as the “sick man of Europe” due its decline in relevance and political and economic power
The Ottomans lost region after region to European powers during the 19th century: Britain, France, Austria, and Russian all annexed pieces of the Empire. Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania all gained independence

3. Some causes for Ottoman decline
Central authority in Ottoman empire weakened
Provincial authorities gained more power, limited empire’s ability to raise tax revenue
The military, especially the Janissaries, had become outdated and inferior to western armaments
The economy was hit hard by the development of Europe: bypassed Ottomans for spices from Asia, importation of cheap European manufactures harmed Ottoman artisans, foreign merchants gained immunity from Ottoman laws and taxes, government came to rely on western bank loans for revenue. Reached a state of dependency on European states

4. Reform and Opponents in the Ottoman Empire
The Ottomans attempted to engage in major reform going much further with its attempts than the Chinese did
Internal crises were lesser in scale than in China
There was no internal government crisis in the Turkish homeland
Population growth in the Ottoman Empire was stagnant so the problems the Chinese dealt with did not occur
Rulers were Turks and Muslim, not foreigners like the Qing in China

5. Reform in the Ottoman Empire
In the late 18th Selim III tried to establish new military and administrative initiatives
Sent ambassadors to Europe to study European methods
Imported European advisers
Established technical schools for training Ottoman youth
After 1839: more and more far reaching attempts at reform occurred

6. Tanzimat “Reorganization” Reforms
Emergence of organized attempt at reform known as “Tanzimat”
Beginning of extensive process of industrialization and modernization
Accepted that all citizens are equal before the law
Much new law mostly secular in nature
Introduction of secular education
Created some educational opportunities for women, mostly in the capital of Istanbul (Constantinople)

7. Tanzimat
Supporters of the Tanzimat reforms saw the Ottoman Empire as a secular or non-religious state.
Reform created a new group of educated men who urged the creation of a constitutional state in the Ottoman Empire. This group was called the “Young Turks”
This was a type of Islamic Modernism which accepted Western science and technology but not its culture or materialism

8. Reaction sets in
Sultan Abd al-Hamid II accepted a new constitution in 1876 limiting his powers. (The sultan was both head of Ottoman Empire and supposed head of Islam-Sunnis) . The constitution applied only to secular power
Almost immediately he suspended it as Russia invaded the Ottoman Empire in a war
Hamid II did not reinstate the constitution after the war.
Opposition to this centered around the “Young Turks” who were now numerous in civilian and military elite circles

9. Responses
The “Young Turks” advocated a militantly secular state, that is, one in which Islam would not dictate what actions the state should take, and in effect disestablished Islam as the religion of the empire. This was not particularly popular except among the elites.
These men also focused more on “Turkishness” than on Ottoman identity. Thought in terms of a Turkish national state
In 1908 a military coup gave the “Young Turks” real power: antagonized non Turk peoples of the Empire; stimulated Arab and other nationalisms in Ottoman territory; after World War I the Ottoman Empire disintegrated completely

10. Outcomes Comparing China and the Ottoman Empire
By 1900, both were “semi-colonies” of European powers
Both states were to give rise to new nationalist concepts of society
Chinese nationalists overthrew imperial system in 1911, Ottomans in 1920.
Chinese nationalists completely rejected Confucian cultural norms; Turks, while creating a secular state, retained much of Islamic culture and religion in the new Turkish state.