THE ARSENAL OF OTTOMAN MODERNITY: WORKERS, INDUSTRY, AND THE STATE IN LATE OTTOMAN ISTANBUL A dissertation presented By Akın Sefer to The Department of History In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the field of History Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts May 2018 1 THE ARSENAL OF OTTOMAN MODERNITY: WORKERS, INDUSTRY, AND THE STATE IN LATE OTTOMAN ISTANBUL A dissertation presented By Akın Sefer ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities of Northeastern University May 2018 2 This dissertation analyzes the connections between modern-state formation, industrial capitalism, and class formation in the late Ottoman Empire, focusing on the Imperial Arsenal of the Ottoman navy, the largest military-industrial site in Ottoman Istanbul. Based mostly on research in the Ottoman and British archives, it argues that capitalist class formation characterized the history of Ottoman modernity in the long nineteenth century. I begin with an analysis of how domestic and global processes pushed the Ottoman government to reorganize the production process in the Imperial Arsenal. Attempts to bring labor under industrial discipline, first by restructuring the traditional sources of labor, and then by militarizing the entire labor force through the employment of naval conscripts, faced persistent resistance by both Muslim and Christian subjects of the Empire, which eventually curtailed these reforms. I then analyze the role of the Industrial Revolution and the increasing political and economic connections with Britain in the transformation of the Imperial Arsenal, through technology and labor transfer. Technological transformation, under the supervision of British engineers, brought the migration of large numbers of European workers, mostly consisting of British mechanics, to the Arsenal in the mid-nineteenth century. I discuss how the experiences of migrant workers and their contentious relations with the Ottoman government integrated them into the making of capitalist class relations in this period. In addition, I demonstrate how resistance against militarization and contentious relations between civilian workers and the Ottoman state pushed the latter to launch vocational schools in the Arsenal with the aim of creating an industrial working class out of the poor children in Istanbul, who would replace first foreign, then all civilian workers. In the final chapter, I discuss how the Arsenal became a “modern factory”, committed to (re)produce not only the capitalist relations of production but also state-society relations in line with the modernist ideals of the state elites to convert Ottoman subjects to industrial citizens in the Tanzimat Era. 3 To Bengü 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would not have been able to survive the long and challenging process that has produced this dissertation without the support and encouragement of many friends and colleagues throughout my graduate years. First and foremost, I am, and will always be, indebted to Ilham Khuri- Makdisi, whose constant patience and dedication made this dissertation possible. Since the moment we met seven years ago, she has always been an endless source of support and inspiration as a colleague and mentor, a model intellectual, and a life-long friend. This dissertation owes much to our discussions with Laura L. Frader on labor history, to her advice and support during my application to research grants, and to her meticulous comments and critiques on the earlier drafts of this dissertation. I have been fortunate enough to work with Heather Streets-Salter, whose classes and advice contributed a lot to my formation as a historian and as a teacher, and who has always offered her continuous support that helped me finish this dissertation. I am also grateful to Cengiz Kırlı, whose class introduced me to nineteenth century Ottoman history during my MA years at Bogazici University, and who has continued to give his support and advice for this dissertation since then. I would like to thank the rest of the faculty at the History Department for their support throughout my years at Northeastern, particularly those whose classes I took or assisted, including Timothy Brown, Victoria Cain, the late Gerald Herman, Katherine Luongo, and Louise Walker. I also thank the department staff, Kirsten Bilas and Bonita Knipfer, who have always offered their help whenever I needed. Research for this dissertation was mostly made possible by the funds granted by the American Research Institute in Turkey, the Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations at Koç 5 University, and the Orient-Institut Istanbul. I would like to extend my gratitudes to all of the staff of these institutes. I would like to particularly mention the staff of the RCAC, where I spent nine months as a residential fellow, including Buket Coşkuner, Merve Demirbaş, Özge Ertem, Fırat Kaplan, and Akın Özarslantürk. In addition to these grants, the research funds of the History Department, including the Gillis Family Fund, allowed me to travel for short research visits during these years. During my research, I was fortunate to have many friends and colleagues around. I would like to thank all of my fellows at the RCAC, many of whom have become life-long friends, who not only made life fun, but also created an intellectually stimulating atmosphere that inspired many of the ideas and arguments in this dissertation. I am particularly grateful to Oscar Aguirre- Mandujano, Pınar Aykaç, Elvan Baştürk-Cobb, Hadi Hosainy, Mehmet Kentel, Nathan Leidholm, Kerem Tınaz, and Ayşe Hilal Uğurlu who have continued to share their ideas, materials, help and support to the very last minute of this dissertation. I would also like to remember the late Vangelis Kechriotis, whose ideas and encouragement at the very early stages of this project have continued to inspire me after his untimely death in 2015. I am also grateful to my fellows and colleagues who offered their ideas and friendship at the Orient-Institut Istanbul, particularly Melissa Bilal, Keri Miller, Gizem Tongo, and Richard Wittmann. I am indebted to many other people who shared their help, ideas and/or materials at various phases of the research and writing process, particularly to Yahya Araz, Yener Bayar, Uğur B. Bayraktar, Peter Cobb, Şükrü H. Ilıcak, M. Erdem Kabadayı, Cemal Kafadar, Seyfi Kenan, Seda Kula Say, Can Nacar, Nadir Özbek, and Tuncay Zorlu. I would also like to thank the staff of the various archives and libraries in Istanbul, Boston and London. I am particularly grateful to Cüneyt Böle and the other staff of the Naval Museum Archives in Istanbul, who made an otherwise challenging and lonely research process in a military archive easier and endurable. I 6 also owe much to the ideas that came out of our work with Ayşe Alnıaçık, Alpkan Birelma, Ebru Işıklı, Deniz Sert, and all other volunteers of the Labor Studies Group (Emek Çalışmaları Topluluğu) on working-class struggles and labor bibliography in present-day Turkey. We would not have been able to survive the challenging few years of our life, divided between Binghamton and Boston, without the presence and support of several friends. Canan Tanır-James Parisot in Binghamton; Sana Tannoury-Jeffrey Karam and Regina Kazyulina-Kirill Shubin in Boston, were our life support not only as friends and colleagues but also as neighbours in these cities. In Binghamton, life was bearable thanks particularly to Delal Aydın, Kaan and Seren Ayhan, M.Baki Deniz, Eren Karaca-Emre Akbaş, Ege and Sinem Özen, Babyrani Yumnam-Raju Huidrom, and all others of the Binghamton community. In the History Department at Northeastern, I would particularly like to thank the members of our Dissertation Writing Group, Jack Gronau, Regina Kazyulina, Elizabeth Lehr, Olivier Schouteden and Sana Tannoury-Karam, who read and commented on the earlier drafts of the dissertation chapters. I am also grateful to Feruza Aripova, Samantha Christiansen, Stacy Fahrenthold, Hüseyin Kurt, Malcolm Purinton, Nora Rasanen, Mikhail Rekun, and all other former and current fellows in the department who made life easier throughout my years at Northeastern. I am grateful to Serkan Ağar, Cihan Çobanoğlu, Yeliz Düşkün, Murat and Merve Kasapsaraçoğlu, and Aslı Orhon, whose love and friendship have continued to support me throughout all these years. I would like to thank my parents, Ergül and Adem Sefer, my brothers Emrah and Mustafa, and all other members of our larger families, for their constant care and support for us. This dissertation could not be possible without the presence of my love, partner, and soulmate, Bengü Kurtege-Sefer. Even in the last two and a half years, when she has faced all of the challenges of finishing her own dissertation and of delivering and raising a baby at the same 7 time, she has always been there with her never-ending love, encouragement, and support. Dedicating this dissertation to her could hardly be enough to thank her for what she has done for us. Nedim Barış, our dear son who joined us at the time I began writing this dissertation two years ago, has been a constant source of joy and love, making me survive this process. I only hope he will forgive me for the time I had to spend away from him throughout this period. 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS