The Vice Sultan: A. Henry Layard, Ambaseador to Constantinople, 1877-1880 Tekla Sylvia Doris Price A ?HESIS S TO THE FJEüMY OF GFRPSUIATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL mrrOF THE ~UIREMEEJTSFOR THE DE- OF MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF HIS?YIRY JULY, 1997 @ Tekla ~ylviaDoris Price National Library Bibliothèque nationale I*l of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Welf ington Street 395. nie Wellington ûttawaON KIAON4 OnawaON K1AON4 Canada Canada Your rile Votre m-ce Our He Notre rdf4rence The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microforni, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la fome de micro fi ch el^ de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownershp of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT In 1877 RUBS~~declared war on Turkey and in 60 doing risked upsetting the balance of power in Europe. Many British decision makers, including prime Minister Disraeli, were concerned that a Russian victory would result in the disposition of the Ottoman Empire which would have a negative effect on British prestige in hirope and threaten her position in India. Public pressure made it impossible for Britain to assist Turkey. Austen Henry Layard, Britaint s Ambaesador to Constantinople, working primarily on his own initiative, maintained Britain' s influence at the Porte during the mr and ensured for Britain and influential place at the table when the European powers negotiated the Treaty of Berlin which followed iii There are many people to whom 1 am indebted for their help, advice and encouragement during the research and writing of this thesis. Primary among them is my supervisor, Dr. John Ferris. 1 thank him sincereiy for his assistance, advice, moral support and for giving me the benef it of his legendaxy patience. 1 am grateful to my family and friends for their love, their encouragement and al1 the humour which kept me going. Finally, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Dr. Robert Buck, Prof essor Bneritus, University of Aiberta who introduced me to the ancient Greeks. Without his encouragement 1 would never have had the confidence to continue . This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my parents, Lilly and Arthur Price, with love and gratitude. TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval Page ....................................... ii Abstract ........................................... iii Acknowledgements .................................... iv Dedication ........................................... v Table of Contents .................................... List of Maps ....................................... vii ~ntroduction.,....................................... 1 Chapter One....... ................................... 8 Chapter 'hm.............................,............ 49 Chapter Three.. .....................................76 conclusion. ....................................... .134 Bibliography ....................................... 142 LIST OF MAPS Constantinople and the Straits .................... viii Bulgaria .......................................... viii The Black Sea .......................................ix Introduction Historians of nineteenth century British diplomat ic history have increasingly corne to ignore diplomats, and to overlook the contributions of diplomatic personnel in influencing political decisions both in Whitehall and in the capitale to which they were posted. Thi6 thesis will addrass this weakness and etrengthen aur understanding of one major diplomatic event by analysing the role of one ~ritishAmbassador who was assigned to represent Britain in Constantinople from 1877-1880. Austen Henry Layard served in this position during a period of extreme diplomatic crisis, specif ically the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 -7 8 and the subsequent controversial peace negotiations between the Eurupean Powers at the Congress of Berlin. This study will illuminate both these events and the British decisions which shaped them. During the f iret year of hi6 tenure in Constantinople, decision making in the British Government was in a state of chaos due to disagreements betwen the members of the government, including the Queen and prime Ministar, over whether British interests were best eenred by supporting Turkey, supporting Russia, or remaining neutral and supporting no-one. The consistency of policy was further distrupted by a volatile public opinion which swung from etrong anti-nirkish feeling to one in its favour. Consequently, Layard had to decide for himself how to represent Britaini s interests in Constantinople, - indeed, detemine their nature, and to act on his instincts to ensure the protection of those interests. Ultimately, Layardf s tenacity of purpose enabled him to shape the creation of policy in Whitehall and Westminster, which increased Britainrs prestige in Europe. Yet historians have given his contribution little more than a glancing mention, and no mrk ha6 specif ically addreesed it . The first chapter of this thesis describes the historical context of the Eastern Question throughout the nineteenth century and up to the outbreak of the 1877 war. European stateemen believed that the deteriorating ability of the Ottoman Sultans to control their vast mire could have a signficant impact on the Eumpean nations. They wished to ensure that no one nation would benef it disproportionately, thereby risking the eecurity of any others . Britain and Auetria were particularly concerned that Turkeyls collapse would be Ruhissiaf 6 gain. esp pi te clause XI of the Treaty of Paris of 1856 which prohibited the European powers from 3 interferhg in Turkeyr6 internd adminietrat ion, when an insurrection broke out in Bosnia -Henegovina in 187 6, Rus6 ia moved quickly to pressure Turkey for ref orms in that area and, with the co-operation of Austria-~ungary,made the question a continent -wide concern. Within a f ew months the insurrection had spread to Bulgaria where it was brutally suppressed. Stories of the methods employed by the Turks were published in European newepapers and were u6ed by the ~ppositionBritish ~iberalparty to embarrass the gwernment. They alleged that the gwernment and its Ambassador in Constantinaple, Sir Henry Elliot, a recognised Turcophile, had been too lax in putting pressure on the Porte to reform its treatment of its Christian subjects. After several unsuccessful attempts to mach an agreement for ref orm between the Porte and the European nations in which Sir Henry was again criticised for a lack of energy, ~lliotwas recalled to England and replaced by Austen Henry Layard. The second chapter provides a profile of Austen Henry ïayard, his character, his background and his experience; al1 of which combined perfectly to qualify him for the challenges which he muld face. layard spent his childhood with hi6 expatriat family in Italy, France and Switzerland. Hie boyhood experiencee and acquaintances prdded him with a liberal arts ec3ucation and liberal ideas of democracy. Pis a 4 young man, he travelled alone across the Ottoman Empire to Baghdad and, as a result of this experience, was given employment by Sir Stratford Canning, the legendary Ambassador to Constantinople. The knowledge that he gained in this apprenticeship and the friendships which he made, particularly among the young liberal Wrks, led hirn to have a great fondnees for and understanding of the 'Purks which were bath important factors in his diplomatie posting. Following hie years workhg in the Wassy, Layard embarked on an archaeological career in Mesupotamia. Hie published reports and the media stories cwering hie discovery and erxcavation of the site of the ancient city of Nineveh gave hirn a celebrity status in Britain. This prompted Prime Kiriister Lord Aberdeen to appoint him to the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Aff airs. Layard subsequent ly ran for and won a Parliamentary seat in the 1852 election. As a parliamentarian, Layard wae outspoken and apenly critical of the governent and the Prime ~inister'sconduct during the Crimean War. He worked hard with others to achieve administrative ref orm in government and was successful in moving government policy toward employment by merit in the civil sewice, rather than family connection alone. 5 Following hi6 years as a Parliamentarian, in 1869, Layard was appointed British Ambaesad~rto mdrid during a period of political unxest in Spain This appointment lasted until hi6 transier to ~onstantinoplein April 1877. Chapter three deals specifically dth Layardis tenure in Constantinople during the Russo-Turkish Tnmr; his contribution to the deci~ion~of the British govexnment; and his role in for~rulatingpolicy - directly by virtue of the information which he prwided to the government and indirectly via his secret correspondence with Prime Minieter Benjamin Disxaeli and Lord Lytton, the Viceroy to India. This section al60 deals with his influence at the Porte, both on the Sultan and on the ottoman MUiisters. Layard,