Transcript XII. The Great Powers and the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century

The Great Powers and the Ottoman Empire
in the 19th century
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In the political history of the weakening Ottoman Empire,
the 19th century has been the “longest” century.
Realizing that the Empire was no more able to shape its own
fate, the Ottoman monarchs and the newly risen political
institution in the Ottoman state, the Sublime Porte (Bab-ı
Ali) and Ottoman political élite sought to achieve the
survival of the Empire according to a new foreign policy
doctrine: the European “balance of power”.
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France had been for centuries the main partner and
sometimes ally of the Ottoman Empire in Europe.
However, during the Napoleonic Wars, it have occupied
the Ottoman province of Egypt and, at the end of the
same era, lost its “greatest great power” status in the
European politics.
Like in the earlier century, in the 19th century, the
Russian Empire was to be the “most dangerous” Great
Power for the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans were to
fight Russia in four different occasions during the
century: 1806-1812, 1828-29, 1853-56, 1877-78.
The Russian tsar, Nicholas I was to name the Ottoman
Empire “the sick man of Europe” in 1853, just before the
Crimean War.
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Unfortunately for the Ottoman Empire, at the end of
the Napoleonic Wars, Russia has emerged as the
“greatest land power” – replacing France - among the
five existing Great Powers (Britain, France, Russia,
Prussia, Austria). The Empire of the Romanovs was to
stay as such until the appearance of a united German
Empire in the European political scene in 1871.
The Habsburg empire of Austria was anxious about its
leading position in the “German” central Europe versus
the rising force of the Prussian state of the House of
Hohenzollern.
Moreover, Austria was looking forward to enlarging its
territories in the Balkans at the expense of the the
Ottoman Empire.
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Prussia, overrun by the Napoleonic France at the
beginning of the century, was to build up and
restructure its reputated military power. While doing so,
the state of the Hohenzollern was not to provoke its
giant neighbor in the East, Russia.
The main concern of the Prussian crown was to achieve
the German unification at the expense of the traditional
“big brother” of the German world, Austria.
For Prussia, the fate of the Ottoman Empire, the
“Eastern Question”, was not at all a part of the foreign
policy prorities.
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Britain was left in the 19th century as the only able and
willing power to protect the Ottoman Empire. It had
the confirmed mastery of the seas at the end of the
Napoleonic Wars and wanted definitely to see the
Turkish Straits at the hands of a weak and friendly
Ottoman Empire rather than the mighty Russian
Empire.
Britain was anxious about the Russian military power
after the fall of Napoleonic France and considered
Russia as the future power to struggle with.
Britain, together with the Second French Empire of
Napoleon III, went as far as fighting on the side of the
Ottoman Empire in the Crimean War 1853-56.
Attention
Britain was to play the role of protector of the Ottoman
Empire and to be the main actor of the Sublime Porte’s
balance of power policy in the 19th century until the
Berlin Conference of 1878!
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At the beginning of the 19th century, the then Sultan
Selim III was a reformer ruler, he believed in the
necessity of large –scale reforms for the survival of the
Empire.
However, his “New Order” (Nizam-ı Cedid) was
genuinely disliked by the janissary military clan and the
reformer Sultan was dethroned in 1808, in the middle of
the Russo-Ottoman War of 1806-12, by a revolt of the
latter.
In July, 1808, Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, the influential
feudal ruler (ayan) of Rusçuk invaded Istanbul by his
personal forces numbering 15.000 troops.
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It was too late to save the ill-fated monarch but the
revolt was suppressed and Mahmud II was enthroned
under the protection of Mustafa Pasha, the new grand
vizier.
As an initiative of the new grand vizier, Sened-i Ittifak
(Bill of Alliance) was signed between the monarch and
the provincial rulers (ayans). It was a late constitutional
chart in the Ottoman Empire - and also proved the
weakness of the central government.
In a further revolt of the janissaries, the reformer grand
vizier was killed and the Sultan had to give concessions
to the former, such as the abolishment of the new model
army “Sekban-ı Cedid”.
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In the Greek Rebellion starting in 1821 in Pelloponnesia
(Morea), the janissary troops proved to be unefficient
once again.
In their revolt of June 1826, the loyal troops of
Mahmud II and the people of Istanbul fought together
the janissaries and anhilated this old military clan.
However, the annihilation of the janissary clan did not
help the suppression of the Greek Rebellion in Morea.
The modern Egyptian land and naval forces of Mehmet
Ali Pasha, led by his son Ibrahim Pasha in Greece,
achieved to suppress the rebellion, however, in 1827, the
combined fleets of Britain, France and Russia destroyed
the joint Ottoman-Egyptian-Algerian fleets at
Navarino.
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After this foreign intervention of the Great Powers, the
rebellion restarted with a great élan and succeeded.
Moreover, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire
in 1828 and its armies reached Edirne in the west and
Erzurum in the east.
In September 1829, the Edirne Treaty recognizing the
independence of Greece was signed between the Russian
and Ottoman empires.
The following year, the defeated France of the
Napoleonic Wars, occupied Algeria which had formerly
lost its fleet in Navarino.
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In 1831, Egyptian armies of Kavalalı Mehmed Ali
Pasha led by his son claimed and occupied the Syrian
and Palestinian provinces of the Ottoman Empire as a
compensation of their losses in Navarino.
The advancing Egyptian forces defeated the Ottoman
troops in several battles and reached Kütahya in
Anatolia.
Mahmud II invited Russian troops to Istanbul in order
to protect his capital from his rebel governor.
Anxious about the stunning successes of Mehmed Ali
and Russian intervention, Britain and France enforced
the Treaty of Kütahya in April 1833 to the conflicting
sides.
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Accordingly, Mahmud II had to leave the governorships
of the provinces of Hedjaz, Syria, Palestine and Adana
to the autonomous governor (Hidiv) of Egypt, Mehmed
Ali Pasha.
In July 1833, the Ottoman and Russian empires signed
the Treaty of Hünkar Iskelesi promising Russian help
against Egyptian threat and restricting the passage of
the foreign ships from the Straits according to the
interests of the Tsar.
However, in August 1838, in order to win its support
against his rebel governor, supported to some extent by
France, Mahmud II gave large commercial privileges to
Britain.
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On 21 April 1839, Mahmud II restarted his war on
Mehmet Ali Pasha, however, his army was defeated at
the battle of Nizip.
Fearing from the implementation of the Treaty of
Hünkar Iskelesi, Britain and France intervened quickly
and this time returned the governorships of the province
of Hedjaz, Syria, Palestine and Adana to the Ottoman
crown.
The new and young Sultan Abdulmedjit under the
pressure of a handfull statesmen and Great Powers
proclaimed the “Imperial Edict of Reorganization”
(Tanzimat) on November 3, 1839.