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A Brief History of the Armenian Genocide

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A Brief History of the Armenian Genocide Social Education 69(6), pg 333–337 ©2005 National Council for the Social Studies A Brief History of the Armenian Genocide Sara Cohan “I am confident that the whole history of the human race con- tains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared with the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.” Henry Morgenthau, American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, 1913–1916.1 Who Are the Armenians? The Armenians are an ancient people who have existed since before the first century C.E. Armenia has gained and lost a tre- mendous amount of territory throughout its long and turbulent history. Boundaries of the past have extended from that of the present-day Republic of Armenia and through most of modern day Turkey. The name “Armenia” was actually given to the country by its neighbors; inhabitants of Armenia refer to it as “Hayastan” derived from the name Haik, a descendent of Noah (from the Bible), and “stan” which means “land” in Persian. The Armenian language is unique from other Indo-European languages, with its own distinct letters and grammar. Christianity is a deeply rooted aspect of Armenian history and culture. Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, in 301 C.E. This early Christian identity has greatly influenced Armenian culture, setting it apart from most of its neighboring peoples. The majority of Armenians belong to the Eastern or Western dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church, an orthodox form of Christianity. Although Armenia was at times a kingdom, in modern times, Armenia has been an independent country for only a 1919: An Armenian refugee woman and her son. few years. It first gained independence in 1918, after the defeat (Photo by Percival Richards/Hesketh Collection/Getty Images). of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, but this ended when Armenia was invaded by the Red Army and became a Soviet Early Massacres state in 1920. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, The Seljuk Turks began to inhabit Anatolia as early as the elev- Armenia was the first state to declare its independence, and enth century and by 1453 their descendants, the Ottoman Turks, remains an independent republic today. Armenia is a democ- had captured Constantinople (now Istanbul), firmly establish- racy and its borders only include a very small portion of the ing the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was a multina- land that was historic Armenia. tional state that incorporated several ethnic groups including O CT O BER 2 0 0 5 333 the Armenians. The Armenians were of decline, during which it lost territo- tions from tribal attacks, and the right to second-class citizens of the Ottoman ries to Russia, Great Britain, and new give evidence in Ottoman courts of law. Empire and while they were granted states created by nationalities that had Unfortunately these rights were never some freedoms, including the ability to once been part of the Ottoman Empire, granted as the Sultan was empowered practice Christianity, they were faced such as Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and by the treaty to serve as the protector with extra taxes and discriminatory laws Romania. Early in the century, Russia of the Armenians. This was in contrast extending to their participation in the had gained some of the eastern to the terms of the earlier Treaty of San justice system, government, and their Armenian provinces, including Tiflis, Stefano, which the Treaty of Berlin civil and property rights. which became a cultural center for replaced, and which had assigned the By the mid-1800s, as the idea of Russian Armenians. Russian Armenians Russians the responsibility of ensuring constitutionalism swept through Europe, became increasingly interested in sup- that the Armenians in Ottoman terri- some Armenians began to demand more porting Armenians within the Ottoman tory would gain more rights. The rea- rights, such as protection from corrupt Empire in their quest for human rights. son for the change was that the presence government officials and biased taxation. The newly created Ottoman Armenian of Russian troops in the region was of While most Armenians saw themselves political organizations received some concern to Great Britain and the other as members of the Ottoman Empire, support from Russian Armenians and “Great Powers” of Europe who wanted organized groups of intellectuals pro- Russia in their quest to gain equal rights to deter the expansion of Russia. tested the discriminatory laws, seeking under Ottoman law. After the Treaty of Berlin, Ottoman reform from the government, though not The Treaty of Berlin (1878) Armenians continued to protest discrim- an independent sovereign state. included a clause that would provide inatory laws and eventually the Sultan During the nineteenth century, the more rights for Ottoman Armenians, responded to these protests with mas- Ottoman Empire experienced a period including fair taxation practices, protec- sacres. Massacres of the Armenians S OCIAL E DUCATION 334 began in the late nineteenth century under Abdul-Hamid II, the last of the Ottoman Sultans actually to rule the empire. The worst massacres during this time occurred from 1894-1896 after a tax protest by Armenians. They are now known as the Hamidian Massacres and some believe represented a foreshadow- ing of the genocide to come. During the Hamidian Massacres, 100,000 to 300,000 Armenians were killed in towns and villages through- out areas of the Ottoman Empire. Thousands of Armenians fled and found refuge in Europe and the United States. Some who stayed converted to Islam in order to save their own lives. The massacres caught the world’s attention because of their unique nature. Armenians were unarmed and adhered to the perimeters set forth by the Ottoman government. The massacres were publicized in newspapers through- out the world. The U.S. media paid par- ticular attention to the events. The New York Times as well as other news sources regularly published articles about the brutal killings, coverage that would con- Social Education tinue through the Armenian genocide. 188 Many American missionaries and of a participatory government in the the government lost out to a group pro- diplomats who worked throughout the Ottoman Empire. moting authoritarian rule and a radical Ottoman Empire witnessed the atroci- Armenians, Arabs, Greeks, Jews, policy of Turkification. ties firsthand and helped mobilize and Kurds had begun working with a In April 1909, Armenian hopes relief efforts. Aid for Armenian victims group of Turks to challenge the author- were dashed as Hamidian supporters in became the first international mission of ity of the Sultan. This group was known the city of Adana carried out a massacre the American Red Cross. as the Ottoman Liberals and the Turkish of Armenians as part of an attempt to re- Later during the genocide, a soci- coalition of the group adopted the name establish the power of the Sultan. Adana ety known as the Near East Relief “Young Turks.” They wanted to create a was heavily populated by Armenians would raise more than $100 million in modern state that represented inhab- and had at one time been part of assistance to Armenians; the funds col- itants of the Ottoman Empire more Armenian territory. Despite attempts lected saved countless Armenian lives equally and render the Sultan politi- at resistance, in the end almost 30,000 in the 1890s and during the genocide, cally powerless. In 1908, one of the Armenians were killed and nearly half which at the time represented more Young Turk groups, the Committee of the city destroyed. money than all the aid raised to help Union and Progress (CUP), marched on tsunami victims this year. While the Constantinople, and overthrew Sultan The Armenian Genocide funds collected saved countless victims’ Abdul-Hamid. The culprits of the Adana Massacre lives, it was the only aid Armenians Over the next year, the Ottoman were never punished and after 1909, would see. Empire developed a constitutional an extreme nationalist political move- government providing equal rights for ment promoting a policy of Pan-Turkism Hope to Despair all of its citizens. Ottoman Armenians (“Turkey for the Turks”) gained backing In 1908, Armenians and other minori- hoped that the new constitution would from Turkish populations throughout ties of the Ottoman Empire began to protect them from the violence they the Ottoman Empire. In addition, the rejoice in what promised to be a new endured under the Sultan. However, as Ottoman Empire, now known as the era of tolerance and the establishment time passed, advocates of liberalism in “sick man of Europe,” was weakened O CT O BER 2 0 0 5 335 by the loss of its lands in south-eastern campaigns that straddled territory inhab- ORGANIZATIONS: Europe in the Balkan Wars of 1912-13. ited by Armenians on both sides of the One of the Ottoman Empire’s great- border. The Ottoman Empire was badly The Genocide Education Project est enemies was Russia, as Russia was defeated by Russia in a campaign in the (www.genocideeducation.org) The Genocide Education Project constantly threatening the security of the winter of 1914-15, and the government is a nonprofit organization that Ottoman borders and controlled parts of then made the Armenian community a assists educators in teaching the eastern edge of the Ottoman Empire scapegoat for the military losses that had about human rights and geno- that was populated by Armenians. Since occurred at the hands of the Russians. cide, particularly the Armenian the Russians had advocated for Armenian By the spring of 1915, leaders of the genocide, by developing and reforms in the past and because the ruling party, the CUP, seized the oppor- distributing instructional materi- Russian army did have Armenians serv- tunity of a world preoccupied by war to als, providing access to teaching ing as soldiers, the Ottoman government erase the Armenian presence from almost resources and organizing educa- was concerned that Ottoman Armenians all Ottoman lands.
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