Chapter 7 - The Decline of Ottoman Empire

Question 1

What happened in 1889?

Answer 1

Origins of the Young Turk movement

Question 2

What happened in 1897?

Answer 2

The Greco-Turkish War

Question 3

What happened in August 1903?

Answer 3

Ilinden uprising in Macedonia

Question 4

What happened in 1907?

Answer 4

Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) of the Ottoman Empire was formed

Question 5

What happened in July 1908?

Answer 5

Beginning of the Young Turk revolution

Question 6

What happened on 5th October 1908?

Answer 6

Bulgaria proclaims full independence from Ottoman Empire

Question 7

What happened on 6th October 1908?

Answer 7

Annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary

Question 8

What happened in April 1909?

Answer 8

Conservative counter-revolution against the Young Turks

Question 9

What played a key role in hastening the decline of the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 9

The Great Powers of Europe - they gained influence and control over Ottoman lands and pursued their own economic interests in Turkey

Question 10

What contributed to the destabilisation of peace in Europe?

Answer 10

The decline of the Ottoman Empire and the consequences of the Young Turk revolution 1908

Question 11

What ensured that the Ottoman Empire had remained a significant trading partner in the 19th century?

Answer 11

Its geographical location as it was on lucrative routes to India and China, however, there had been little effort made to modernise industry in its territories.

Question 12

What came from the railway boom of the 1850s?

Answer 12

The Ottoman Empire became a focus of international rivalry as European investors and financiers sought to profit from railway building in the region. In the 1890s, Germany’s increased interest in Turkey led to plans for a railway from Berlin to Baghdad

Question 13

What highlighted the weak economic state of the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 13

The “opening up” of the Ottoman Empire to foreign investment highlighted its weakened economic state compared to the Great Powers of Europe, and the Ottoman economy was heavily in debt to British and French creditors, partly as a result of the Crimean War

Question 14

Who was Abdul Hamid II?

Answer 14

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire between 1876 and 1909. The Hamidian regime was increasingly unpopular and Hamid earned the nickname of the “Red Sultan” on account of his repressive policies and severe treatment of rebels. The Young Turk revolution severely undermined Abdul Hamid’s rule, and he reluctantly gave up his absolute power by restoring the 1876 constitution, but the leaders of a counter-coup in 1909 decided to remove him completely

Question 15

What kind of Empire was the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century?

Answer 15

An autocracy

Question 16

Give an example of Sultan Abdul Hamid II’s severe treatment of rebels

Answer 16

The Armenian massacres of 1894-1896 - triggered by the Sultan’s suspicion of Christian Armenian nationalists in the region, and though estimates of the death toll vary, it is likely that around 200,000 Armenians were killed under the Hamidian government

Question 17

What was the result of the Armenian massacres 1894-1896?

Answer 17

The attention of the Great Powers was attracted, and it led to further fears that the Ottoman Empire would be dismantled by foreigners who believed that the Turks were incapable of running their empire fairly and justly

Question 18

What was another feature of the Sultan’s autocratic rule in relation to education?

Answer 18

It stifled intellectualism - the Empire did not have a university until 1900 which encouraged intellectuals to study in Western European institutions, exposing them to the ideals of parliamentary government and written constitutions

Question 19

What happened in the future regarding these “students in exile”?

Answer 19

Many of them later joined reformist opposition groups, such as the Young Ottomans, a forerunner of the Young Turks, which emerged in the 1860s. In 1876, their influence bore fruit when Sultan Abdul Hamid granted a constitution, but this was quickly overturned and the Empire returned to autocratic rule

Question 20

What is intellectualism?

Answer 20

The pursuit of intellectual development and learning; academic, scientific, and cultural study are signs of intellectualism

Question 21

Describe the First Constitutional Era 1876-1878

Answer 21

The Young Ottomans believed in Western style liberal democracy with a representative parliament. They also advocated “Ottomanism”, the equal treatment of all citizens of the Ottoman Empire, regardless of nationality. Although reformists persuaded the Sultan to grant a constitution in 1876, which allowed an elected parliament and religious freedom and removed many aspects of censorship, he quickly dissolved the first parliament. In 1878 the constitution was suspended, ended the short-lived First Constitutional Era

Question 22

What was the general feeling in the Ottoman Empire by 1900?

Answer 22

The Turkish intellectuals and liberals were increasingly disaffected, however, there was disunity among those who opposed the Sultan’s rule. Some wanted an emphasis on social reform and insisted that all Ottoman subjects should have equality, while others wanted pan-Turkism.

Question 23

How did opposition begin growing in the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 23

Damascus and Salonika became centres of opposition to the Hamidian regime, and as opposition grew, the Sultan deployed up to 40,000 agents in Macedonia to limit the spread of such groups. In 1903, events in this region were to highlight the vulnerability of the Sultan’s rule and the potential violence of competing national identities

Question 24

What is pan-Turkism?

Answer 24

A movement advocating the union of Turkish speaking peoples within and outside the borders of the Ottoman Empire

Question 25

How did the increasing loss of territory in the Balkan region contribute to the decline of the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 25

Greece was the first Balkan state to gain independence after the war between 1821-1832, though the Serbs had been fighting for release from Turkish control since 1804. In the Treaty of Berlin 1878, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Romania were recognised as independent states, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were occupied and administered by even though they officially still belonged to the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria was granted internal autonomy but it remained under Ottoman suzerainty

Question 26

What is suzerainty?

Answer 26

A status under which a country has control over its own domestic affairs, but its foreign policy is under the influence of another state, to which it owes formal allegiance

Question 27

What were the two problems the Balkan region faced as nationalist feeling within each state grew in the 19th century?

Answer 27

How to push back Turkish control altogether and how to peacefully settle strong tensions and rivalries between the Balkan countries themselves

Question 28

How did the increasing military strength of the Balkan states begin to pose another threat to the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 28

Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria were growing in wealth and population and therefore military strength. Bulgarian foreign policy became more aggressive in response to a long time of struggle against Ottoman rule, and its governments were more militaristic in character. The Greeks were developing their navy, but a war against Turkey in 1897 ended in humiliation

Question 29

What were the results of the Greco-Turkish war 1897?

Answer 29

The European Powers, as influenced by pro-Greek Britain, were unwilling to allow Turkey to profit from the Greek defeat, and so they ensured that Greece lost no territory to its former rulers. Despite the Ottoman Empire militarily having the upper hand in the Greco-Turkish War, this was one of many examples of European leaders intervening to ensure the Empire did not regain its Balkan losses

Question 30

How did Macedonia give problems for the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th Century?

Answer 30

- It was the only region of the Balkans still under full Ottoman control - It was home to Turks, Jews, Greeks, Albanians, Bulgarians and Serbians, and so there were many states keen to foster nationalism in Macedonia so that they could secure more territory for themselves by encouraging its dismantling - Religious divisions further destabilised the region - in laying claim to Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia could present themselves as co-religionists to the Christian peoples in Macedonia desiring independence from the Ottoman Empire

Question 31

What was Sultan Abdul Hamid's response to the problem of Macedonia?

Answer 31

He aimed to maintain the loyalty of the Muslims of the region while seeking to "divide and rule" the Christian population

Question 32

What was the uprising of Macedonians known as?

Answer 32

The Ilinden Uprising

Question 33

When was the Ilinden Uprising?

Answer 33

August 1903

Question 34

What happened to the Ilinden Uprising?

Answer 34

They were brutally crushed by the Hamidian regime

Question 35

What did Russia and AH create in November 1903 in response to the violence in Macedonia?

Answer 35

The Murzsteg Agreement

Question 36

What did the Murzsetg Agreement 1903 do?

Answer 36

Non-Ottoman officers from foreign countries were dispatched to Macedonia to keep the peace impartially, blurring the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire's political authority in the region as well as highlighting the Sultan's lack of international strength, hastening its decline

Question 37

What were the long term reasons for the Young Turk Movement in the opinion of Turk intellectuals and liberals?

Answer 37

- The range of problems faced by the Ottoman Empire caused increasing disaffection amongst Turk liberals and intellectuals, who were frustrated by the Empire's increasing loss of territory and influence, most severely as a result of the Treaty of Berlin, which dramatically decreased "Turkey in Europe" - The liberals and intellectuals also viewed the increasing foreign involvement in the Empire's finances as a sign of its inherent weaknesses, but rather than blaming the European powers for their role, they saw the repressive policies of the Hamidian regime as the greatest cause of Ottoman decline

Question 38

What did the Sultan's opponents believe about nationalism?

Answer 38

Nationalism was a threat to every European empire at the start of the 20th century, but the Sultan's opponents believed it would pose less danger to the Ottoman Empire if the wide range of nationalities within it were represented in a Western-style parliament.

Question 39

What did the Sultan's opponents call for as a result of their view of nationalism and why?

Answer 39

They advocated the revival of the 1876 constitution which they hoped would lead to a more efficient and representative government, much better placed to maintain the loyalty of its peoples

Question 40

What is the Macedonian Question?

Answer 40

The threats of rebellion against the Ottomans as seen during the Ilinden Uprising

Question 41

Who were the millats?

Answer 41

The range of nationalities in the Ottoman Empire

Question 42

What two major problems of the Ottoman Empire did the Macedonian Question highlight?

Answer 42

1. The Sultan's fierce and brutal response to the Ilinden revolt highlighted the cruelty of his policy towards the millats 2. The harsh actions of the Sultan attracted international attention

Question 43

What did the first major problem of the Ottoman Empire as highlighted by the Macedonian Question lead to?

Answer 43

It bred more determined and ambitious nationalist groups and revolts, e.g. Serbian nationalists increased their guerrilla activities in Macedonia, convinced that its people must be freed from Ottoman oppression

Question 44

What gained more urgency after the Macedonian Crisis according to liberal Turks?

Answer 44

The need to gain the loyalty of Ottoman subjects through a representative parliament

Question 45

What did the second major problem of the Ottoman Empire as highlighted by the Macedonian Question lead to?

Answer 45

Resulted in further loss of Ottoman control and influence in the Balkans, as exemplified by the Murzsteg agreement. The Sultan's opponents blamed him for allowing and inadvertently encouraging the dismantling of the Empire by foreign powers who seemed convinced of Turkey's inability to rule their empire fairly. Additional pressure on the Sultan came from disgruntled army officers stationed in Macdeonia, who often went months without pay

Question 46

What were two of the different political views on the best future for Turkey amongst the emigres?

Answer 46

- Some believed that the Empire should be divided along ethnic and religious lines - Others believed that the Empire should be retained with a strong government in central control

Question 47

What is an emigre?

Answer 47

A person who has fled their country for fear of oppression

Question 48

Who was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938)?

Answer 48

Born in Salonika and entered the military - a key player in the Young Turk Revolution and led a nationalist revolution in 1919 in opposition to the peace treaty imposed by the Allies. Following the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, Ataturk established a one-party secular republic in Turkey, which he ruled until his death in 1938. He secured the title of "Father of the Turks"

Question 49

What did Mustafa Kemal do in 1906?

Answer 49

He was instrumental in founding a secret society in Damascus called "Vatan", which merged with existing reformist and nationalist, leading to the formation of the CUP (Committee of Union and Progress) in 1907 and a meeting of Ottoman emigres in Paris in December 1907, though this achieved little agreement on how to achieve their aims

Question 50

What was one factor which finally stirred the CUP into action?

Answer 50

A meeting by the Entente powers in Reval (modern day Estonia), in which they discussed further intervention in Macedonia to help calm the region, which made the Young Turks fear the imminent loss of further territory if they remained inactive

Question 51

When and where did the Young Turk Revolution begin?

Answer 51

1908 in Salonika

Question 52

How did the Young Turk Revolution begin?

Answer 52

With an army mutiny, triggered by long term frustration of the Turkish troops stationed there who had been unpaid for months. This action was spontaneous in nature, rather than planned by the Young Turks, but the chaos it unleashed played directly into their hands

Question 53

What happened on 6th July 1908?

Answer 53

Rebel soldiers and their officers demanded the restoration of the 1876 constitution, prompting further mutinies across Macedonia, and by 21st July, the rebels had control of most of the region. A march on Constantinople itself was threatened if their demands for the restoration of the 1878 parliament were not addressed, giving the Sultan little chance but to yield, which he did three days later.

Question 54

What was happening in the streets of Istanbul by the end of July 1908?

Answer 54

They were filled with joyous citizens who expected the revolution to instigate a glorious new era for the Empire. Slogans from the French Revolution over a century earlier were adopted and proclaimed, chiefly "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity". The ideal of equality and brotherhood amongst all Ottoman peoples was extremely popular, and in Salonika, national groups who had been rivals and even enemies weeks earlier now seemed happy and willing to lay their hostilities aside for the greater cause of the revolution

Question 55

What was the overwhelming result of the November 1908 election?

Answer 55

It produced an overwhelming result in favour of the CUP which won every seat except one

Question 56

What was the problem with this result in Nov 1908, however?

Answer 56

The Young Turks faced severe problems before being able to form a government as they remained inexperienced and disunited - there was much internal disagreement on what action they should take next. Meanwhile, the Sultan, though now a constitutional monarch, remained as Head of State and could rely on the support of Muslim religious conservatives to challenge the new secular regime

Question 57

What kind of political system did the Ottoman Empire have between 1908-1920?

Answer 57

A constitution - this period is known as the Second Constitutional Era, and it was formed along the lines of Western Parliament. Upper House = The Senate - made up of officials appointed by the Sultan, Chamber of Deputies = elected representatives. Together the two houses made up the General Assembly.

Question 58

What was the state of political belief in the Ottoman Empire by 1909?

Answer 58

The issues of the Young Turk government were still unresolved, and liberal opinion was now alienated by an increasing shift towards Turkish nationalism

Question 59

What happened in Constantinople on 12th April 1909?

Answer 59

Conservative Muslims led an uprising against the Young Turk government, which was replicated across Turkey - this became known as the 31st March incident as the Ottoman calendar ran several days behind that of Europe

Question 60

What happened on 23rd April 1909?

Answer 60

The counter-revolution was quashed by Macedonian forces which occupied the Turkish capital and deposed Abdul Hamid, who was sent into exile

Question 61

Who succeeded Sultan Abdul Hamid in 1909?

Answer 61

His brother, Mehmet V

Question 62

What was the state of government after the deposition of Abdul Hamid?

Answer 62

The CUP was left in control of government, led by Ahmed Riza (President of the Chamber of Deputies and the Upper House) and Hilmi Pasha as grand vizier after he adopted a more militaristic and nationalist character. "Ottomanism" was advocated

Question 63

What is the "grand vizier"?

Answer 63

A long established position in the Ottoman government, roughly equivalent to a British PM

Question 64

What is "Ottomanism"?

Answer 64

All peoples of the Ottoman Empire should remain loyal to it regardless of their own culture and nationality

Question 65

What was the eventual outcome of the Young Turk revolution?

Answer 65

The reality of the new regime fell far short of the high expectations of its inception - within 3 years, many of the repressive policies of the Sultan's rule were in force again, the secret police returned, non-Muslims faced oppression, and freedoms were restricted

Question 66

What law was passed in August 1909?

Answer 66

The Law of Associations

Question 67

What did the 1909 Law of Associations do?

Answer 67

Banned any political organisation founded on the basis of ethnicity or nationalism

Question 68

What did the 1909 Law of Associations highlight?

Answer 68

How the advocates of government centralisation of the Empire under Turkish nationalism had prevailed instead of Ottoman brotherhood. It was believed, especially after Abdul Hamid's attempted counter-coup, that decentralisation and increased powers for the different ethnicities within the Empire would only weaken and hasten its collapse

Question 69

What were things looking like for the erosion of the Ottoman Empire by 1909?

Answer 69

Previously, the revolutionaries had blamed the Sultan for the disloyalty of the millats and the erosion of the Empire's authority by foreign powers, but the Young Turks also proved incapable of preventing nationalism from threatening the Empire's existence

Question 70

How did Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria view the Young Turk movement?

Answer 70

They viewed it as a symptom of Ottoman weakness, even in 1908 at the height of people's hopes for the revolution, and sought to capitalise on this

Question 71

When did Bulgaria proclaim full independence from the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 71

5th October 1908

Question 72

Why had Bulgarian activists played a prominent role in the Illinden Uprising and the whole Macedonian Question?

Answer 72

Bulgarian ministers were concerned that Macedonia would no longer receive the attention and protection of the Great Powers - the Bulgarian diplomat in Constantinople, Ivan Geshov, argued that Bulgaria needed to take action sooner rather than later on 1st August 1908, leading the Bulgarians to declare full independence from the Empire

Question 73

What caused Bulgaria to finally declare independence from the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 73

Though shrinkage of European Turkey had caused the Young Turk Movement, the instability the revolution had brought Istanbul encouraged Bulgaria to rid itself from Turkish rule

Question 74

How did Bulgaria declare independence from the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 74

- On 5th October 1908, Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria proclaimed himself Tsar - Ferdinand mobilised around 110,000 men - rumours reached Constantinople that full military prep was underway in case of a hostile Turkish reaction to the declaration of independence

Question 75

What was the Ottoman Empire's reaction to Bulgaria's independence?

Answer 75

They realised that they were at risk of a humiliating defeat if they engaged Bulgaria's strong and efficient army and put up little diplomatic resistance

Question 76

What led Greece to fulfil its expansionist aims after the Young Turk revolution?

Answer 76

- The Greco-Turkish war 1897 - triggered by Greek involvement in nationalist movements in Crete, and Greece hoped to reverse their failure to secure enosis (union) with the island whilst Istanbul was distracted by internal difficulties - The Bulgarian declaration of independence and the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina encouraged the Greeks to act

Question 77

When did Crete declare its formal union with Greece?

Answer 77

October 1908

Question 78

What was the result of the Ottoman Empire becoming increasingly influenced by Turkish nationalism?

Answer 78

- The Balkan states began to become more alienated from Turkish nationalism - The Macedonian Question remained - Governments in Bulgaria and Serbia were increasingly militaristic with more aggressive foreign policies - The further decline of Turkey in Europe made the issue of continued Turkish rule in Macedonia a more urgent anomaly and exposed the Balkans to the ongoing rivalry in the region between AH and Russia