DOCSLIB.ORG

American Foreign Policy and the Ottoman State, 1774-1837, As Revealed in United States Documents

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
American Foreign Policy and the Ottoman State, 1774-1837, As Revealed in United States Documents AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND THE OTTOMAN STATE, 1774-1837, AS REVEALED IN UNITED STATES DOCUMENTS Thomas Jam.es Adams B.A., Kent State University, 1952 ... B.F.T., Thunderbird, The Garvin School oflnternational Management, 1953 M.S., San Francisco State University, 1961 Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1972 THESIS Submitted in partial satisfaction of The requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Liberal Arts at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO SPRING 2007 AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND THE OTTOMAN STATE, 1774-1837, AS REVEALED IN UNITED STATES DOCUMENTS AThesis by Thomas James Adams __, Second Reader Student: Thomas James Adams I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the thesis. 17 flf v: l 2c><.'1 ey - I Date Liberal Arts Master's Program 111 Abstract of AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND THE OTTOMAN STATE, 1774-1837, AS REVEALED IN UNITED STATES DOCUMENTS by Thomas James Adams Research Question and Statement of Problem What was the effect of American diplomacy on the Ottoman State, 177 4-183 7? Sources of Data Where ever possible American primary documents including those of the State Department, Annals of Congress, Memoirs ofJohn Quincy Adams, Papers ofJames Madison, Compilation ofthe Messages and Papers ofthe Presidents, Documents on American Foreign Relations, et al, are cited. Conclusions Reached American foreign policy slowly evolved to become more systematic and structured during and after the Revolutionary War. Following the War, Congress approved the French Alliance but in a few years overturned it and approved a British Alliance. The change was expressed by the John Jay Treaty that included attacks on President George Washington who supported it. In Washington's Farewell Address, he warned against European diplomatic entanglements while simultaneously recognizing that they may be needed from time to time. American foreign intervention grew apace during the wars IV with the Barbary Pirates which saw the development of the American Navy and the consulate corps as instruments of foreign policy. These all came to a head with the Greek War of Independence of 1821-1827. While American public opinion was heavily pro Greek, including demands by members of Congress to give direct aid to the Greek provisional government, President James Monroe opposed it. A resolution by Daniel Webster of Boston favoring the Greek cause was defeated in the House of Representatives despite the knowledge of the members that major supporters of noninvolvement were New Englanders in the slave trade and in the Smyrna-Canton opium trade. While some voted against Webster because of Washington's admonition, others used it as an excuse. The non-involvement policy later coalesced in the creation of the Monroe Doctrine. In 1774, prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, the United States sought formal diplomatic relations with the Ottoman State. From the initial contact with the Ottoman Empire by the United States Navy in 1800, these feeling were also expressed by Ottoman officials including the Sultan. Despite efforts by both parties, it was not until 1830 that a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation was finally signed by the Sultan and ratified by the United States. Committee Chair Katerina Lagos [o fm,;_)J J[JO'f · ate v Dedicated to the Memory of Two Ottoman Greeks, My Parents, Adamandios Adamandithis, of Aretsou, Asia Minor and Eleni Katsourou Adamandithou, of Smyrna, Asia Minor ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following for helping me with this work. To: Professor Katerina Lagos, the head of my committee, for guidance, helpful and cheerful suggestions, and insightful comments. Professor Speros Vryonis, Jr., for his friendship, his scholarship, and his inspiring spirit of scholarly zeal. The Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection at the University, which he personally assembled, aided my research enormously. Professor Vryonis is the embodiment of that most mysterious of Greek virtues, qnJ..,6nµo. Professor Jeffrey Brodd, Coordinator of the Liberal Arts Master's Program, for skillfully guiding me, even now, through the labyrinth of University requirements. The late Professor James Reid for his helpful suggestions and quietly encouraging support. That Jim passed away in the flower of his most productive years is a great tragedy. George Paganelis, Curator, Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection, for his virtually instantaneous response to my questions and for steering me to the best sources available. Stavros Stavridis, M.A., Research Scholar at the National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, who time and again provided new leads that helped my research. That we "met" on the Internet, established a friendship there, and were finally able to meet in person, was a delight. Jack Smith of the Library's Interlibrary Loan Department for the timely handling of my many requests for material. Angelo Tsakopoulos and his family, for the gift of his Hellenic Collection to the University. Theodora Adams Highum, my sister, for an emergency job of copy editing. Shirle, my wife, for her usual first-rate job of copy editing and for only grumbling quietly through yet another writing project. And finally to the people of California for the 60+ Program that enabled me to again experience the thrill of systematically learning something new and to halt in some measure the process of mental aging (at least I hope so). vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication ........................................................................................vi Acknowledgments ...............................................................................vii Prologue ............................................................................................. ! A. French Designs in the New World ................................................ .4 B. The American National Style ...................................................... 5 C. Early America and the Ottoman State ............................................. 8 Chapter 1 The Beginnings of American Diplomacy ................................... 15 A. America's Interest in Free Trade ....................................... 16 B. The Withering of the French Alliance and the John Jay Treaty .... 17 C. Washington's Farewell Address ......................................... 19 2 America's Response to the Barbary States .................................24 A. The First Barbary War ....................................................27 B. The Second Barbary War ................................................ .46 3 The Greek War of Independenc~, the Monroe Doctrine, and the Beginning of America's Policy toward the Ottoman State ...... 51 A. The American Philhellenic Movement ................................. 55 B. First Diplomatic Feelers from the Greeks .............................. 58 C. The Genesis of the Monroe Doctrine ................................... 61 D. Daniel Webster's Resolution on Greece ................................. 66 E. Yankee Opium Trade: Smyrna to Canton, China ..................... 69 F. The Marquis de LaFayette and the Greek Cause ...................... 82 G. Failed Attempts at Greek Aid............................................. 84 H. America's Treaty with the Ottoman State ............................. 89 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 97 Bibliography ................. : .................................................................. 102 Vlll 1 PROLOGUE Early colonists of the United States believed that the country being forged was different from all others. Indeed, in 1630 John Winthrop, first Governor of Massachusetts, in his Model ofChristian Charity? wrote "for wee must consider that wee 1 shall be as a citty upon a hill. The eies of all people are uppon us [sic]." The phrase , "a city upon a hill," is filled with hopes, dreams, and also an admonition that Americans must conduct themselves in such a way as to continue to be the hope of mankind. This phrase has been used repeatedly by American leaders, from the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to President Ronald Reagan 350 years later.' The earliest New England settlements in the New World were theocracies formed to subjugate worldly activities. As John Winthrop put it, "We have entered into a Covenant with [God] for this work. ... lfwe should neglect the observation of these articles which are the ends we have propounded, and, dissembling with our God, shall fail to embrace this present world and prosecute our camall intentions, seeking great things for ourselves and our posterity, the Lord will surely breake out in wrathe against us; be revenged of such a [sinful] people and make us know the price of the breache of such a covenant [sic]."2 As new generations appeared, the spiritual message began to wane. "From the middle of the seventeenth century, the inhabitants of New England were frequently reminded by their ministers that 'New England is originally a plantation of religion, not a 1 John Winthrop, A Model ofChristian Charity. http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/winthrop.htm. (accessed November 1, 2006). 2 Ibid. 2 plantation of trade.' "3 As the new merchant class began to flourish, their tithes grew apace and cries warning of vanity and the sinfulness of luxury became more muted to the point where it "came to be admitted that wealth and prosperity might
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Creating a French Enemy in the United States During the 1790S Quasi-War and the 2003 Iraq War Diplomatic Crisis
    Angles New Perspectives on the Anglophone World 10 | 2020 Creating the Enemy Cannibals, Monsters and Weasels: Creating a French Enemy in the United States during the 1790s Quasi-War and the 2003 Iraq War Diplomatic Crisis Hervé-Thomas Campangne Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/angles/408 DOI: 10.4000/angles.408 ISSN: 2274-2042 Publisher Société des Anglicistes de l'Enseignement Supérieur Electronic reference Hervé-Thomas Campangne, « Cannibals, Monsters and Weasels: Creating a French Enemy in the United States during the 1790s Quasi-War and the 2003 Iraq War Diplomatic Crisis », Angles [Online], 10 | 2020, Online since 01 April 2020, connection on 28 July 2020. URL : http:// journals.openedition.org/angles/408 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/angles.408 This text was automatically generated on 28 July 2020. Angles. New Perspectives on the Anglophone World is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Cannibals, Monsters and Weasels: Creating a French Enemy in the United States... 1 Cannibals, Monsters and Weasels: Creating a French Enemy in the United States during the 1790s Quasi-War and the 2003 Iraq War Diplomatic Crisis Hervé-Thomas Campangne 1 Countless U.S. presidents and leaders, including Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, have reminded Americans that France is their country’s “oldest ally” (Riché 2013; Seelow 2013; Obama 2015; Serhan 2017). Likewise, many a French official has underscored the unwavering and “natural” quality of the commitment between France and the United States (De Gaulle 1965; Mitterrand 1984; Macron 2018). Yet political scientists and historians often point to the cyclical nature of French-American relations (Duroselle 1978; Bozo and Parmentier 2007: 545).
    [Show full text]
  • UC Riverside UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC Riverside UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Greek Body in Crisis: Contemporary Dance as a Site of Negotiating and Restructuring National Identity in the Era of Precarity Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0vg4w163 Author Zervou, Natalie Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE The Greek Body in Crisis: Contemporary Dance as a Site of Negotiating and Restructuring National Identity in the Era of Precarity A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Critical Dance Studies by Natalie Zervou June 2015 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Marta Elena Savigliano, Chairperson Dr. Linda J. Tomko Dr. Anthea Kraut Copyright Natalie Zervou 2015 The Dissertation of Natalie Zervou is approved: Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside Acknowledgments This dissertation is the result of four years of intensive research, even though I have been engaging with this topic and the questions discussed here long before that. Having been born in Greece, and having lived there till my early twenties, it is the place that holds all my childhood memories, my first encounters with dance, my friends, and my family. From a very early age I remember how I always used to say that I wanted to study dance and then move to the US to pursue my dream. Back then I was not sure what that dream was, other than leaving Greece, where I often felt like I did not belong. Being here now, in the US, I think I found it and I must admit that when I first begun my pursuit in graduate studies in dance, I was very hesitant to engage in research concerning Greece.
    [Show full text]
  • Unit 3 the FEDERALIST ERA
    Unit 3 THE FEDERALIST ERA CHAPTER 1 THE NEW NATION ..........................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2 HAMILTON AND JEFFERSON— THE MEN AND THEIR PHILOSOPHIES .....................6 CHAPTER 3 PAYING THE NATIONAL DEBT ................................................................................................12 CHAPTER 4 ..............................................................................................................................................................16 HAMILTON, JEFFERSON, AND THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF THE UNITED STATES.............16 CHAPTER 5 THE WHISKEY REBELLION ........................................................................................................20 CHAPTER 6 NEUTRALITY AND THE JAY TREATY .....................................................................................24 CHAPTER 7 THE SEDITION ACT AND THE VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS ...........28 CHAPTER 8 THE ELECTION OF 1800................................................................................................................34 CHAPTER 9 JEFFERSONIANS IN OFFICE.......................................................................................................38 by Thomas Ladenburg, copyright, 1974, 1998, 2001, 2007 100 Brantwood Road, Arlington, MA 02476 781-646-4577 [email protected] Page 1 Chapter 1 The New Nation A Search for Answers hile the Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention debated what powers should be
    [Show full text]
  • Ioannis S. Chalkos the 1912 Ottoman Elections and the Greeks in the Vilayet of Adrianople
    Ioannis S. Chalkos The 1912 Ottoman elections and the Greeks in the Vilayet of Adrianople: A view from the Greek Archives. The Young Turk governments of the Ottoman Empire (1908-18) are widely considered as a part of the latter’s modernization process.1 The reforms, which had been initiated in the midst of the 19th century, were aiming at the homogenization of the society under the principle of Ottomanism. This was an effort of the Otto- man administrations to attract the loyalty of all their subjects to a new “Ottoman Nation” so as to block the centrifugal tendencies threatening the very existence of the empire.2 However, there was an inherent dualism in this concept of egalitarian- ism promoted through the reforms: the millet system, the old classification of the Ottoman subjects in semi-autonomous religious communities governed by their own law, was preserved and gradually secularized resulting in the stimulation of the separatist nationalist movements.3 Regarding the Greek-Orthodox communi- ties, the Bulgarian ecclesiastical schism of 1870 and the resulting Greco-Bulgarian dispute over Macedonia had strengthened the Greek character of the millet (Rum millet) while the Greek Kingdom was gaining increasing control over its in- stitutions.4 Still the road to an open rift between the Greeks and their Ottoman context was a long one. Developments were shaped and evolved in a changing social and polit- ical landscape which was dominated by continuity rather than specific turning points. The examination of the 1912 Ottoman elections presents an excellent op- portunity for the exploration of this landscape.
    [Show full text]
  • Albanian Families' History and Heritage Making at the Crossroads of New
    Voicing the stories of the excluded: Albanian families’ history and heritage making at the crossroads of new and old homes Eleni Vomvyla UCL Institute of Archaeology Thesis submitted for the award of Doctor in Philosophy in Cultural Heritage 2013 Declaration of originality I, Eleni Vomvyla confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signature 2 To the five Albanian families for opening their homes and sharing their stories with me. 3 Abstract My research explores the dialectical relationship between identity and the conceptualisation/creation of history and heritage in migration by studying a socially excluded group in Greece, that of Albanian families. Even though the Albanian community has more than twenty years of presence in the country, its stories, often invested with otherness, remain hidden in the Greek ‘mono-cultural’ landscape. In opposition to these stigmatising discourses, my study draws on movements democratising the past and calling for engagements from below by endorsing the socially constructed nature of identity and the denationalisation of memory. A nine-month fieldwork with five Albanian families took place in their domestic and neighbourhood settings in the areas of Athens and Piraeus. Based on critical ethnography, data collection was derived from participant observation, conversational interviews and participatory techniques. From an individual and family group point of view the notion of habitus led to diverse conceptions of ethnic identity, taking transnational dimensions in families’ literal and metaphorical back- and-forth movements between Greece and Albania.
    [Show full text]
  • The Greek Genocide in American Naval War Diaries: Naval Commanders Report and Protest Death Marches and Massacres in Turkey’S Pontus Region, 1921–1922
    Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal Volume 14 Issue 2 Denial Article 14 9-4-2020 Book Review: The Greek Genocide in American Naval War Diaries: Naval Commanders Report and Protest Death Marches and Massacres in Turkey’s Pontus Region, 1921–1922 Thomas Blake Earle Texas A&M University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/gsp Recommended Citation Earle, Thomas Blake (2020) "Book Review: The Greek Genocide in American Naval War Diaries: Naval Commanders Report and Protest Death Marches and Massacres in Turkey’s Pontus Region, 1921–1922," Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 14: Iss. 2: 179-181. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.14.2.1778 Available at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/gsp/vol14/iss2/14 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Open Access Journals at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Book Review: The Greek Genocide in American Naval War Diaries: Naval Commanders Report and Protest Death Marches and Massacres in Turkey’s Pontus Region, 1921–1922 Thomas Blake Earle Texas A&M University Galveston, Texas, USA The Greek Genocide in American Naval War Diaries: Naval Commanders Report and Protest Death Marches and Massacres in Turkey’s Pontus Region, 1921–1922 Robert Shenk and Sam Koktzoglou, editors New Orleans, University of New Orleans Press, 2020 404 Pages; Price: $24.95 Paperback Reviewed by Thomas Blake Earle Texas A&M University at Galveston Coming on the heels of the more well-known Armenian Genocide, the ethnic cleansing of Ottoman Greeks in the Pontus region of Asia Minor in 1921 and 1922 has received comparatively less attention.
    [Show full text]
  • Gianna to Accept L100 Award at Conference Fox Films President
    O C V ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ Bringing the news ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ to generations of ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915 The National Herald Greek Americans A WEEKLY GREEK AMERICAN PUBLICATION c v www.thenationalherald.com VOL. 11, ISSUE 529 December 1, 2007 $1.00 GREECE: 1.75 EURO Gianna To Convicted Greek American Spy to Complete his Parole in Greece Accept L100 After 14 Years of Federal Prison and House Award At Arrest, Steven Lalas Reunites with his Family By Evan C. Lambrou telligence officers whenever he Special to The National Herald traveled to northern Greece to see Conference his family in Kavala. He continued NEW YORK – Steven J. Lalas, a for- to disseminate information after be- mer United States embassy employ- ing transferred to the U.S. Embassy Behrakis Invites Greek ee turned Greek spy, returned to in Athens in 1990. Greece last Sunday, November 25, Mr. Lalas, a native of New Schools To Apply For to serve the remainder of his parole Hampshire, came under suspicion after spending almost 12 years in following a conversation between Leadership 100 Grants federal prison, ending a spectacular someone from the Greek Embassy espionage affair between the two in Washington and a State Depart- By Theodore Kalmoukos countries. ment official in February 1993. Special to the National Herald The issue is now referred to High-ranking Greek diplomats ap- Greek judicial authorities, which parently boasted of being well in- BOSTON, Mass. – The Archbishop will determine the terms of the ad- formed of U.S. plans for the Balkans Iakovos Leadership 100 Endow- justment to Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Study Guide Academic Year 2015-2016
    SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND CULTURAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, ARCHAEOLOGY & CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT Study Guide Academic Year 2015-2016 DHACRM Study Guide, 2015-16 2 Table of Contents The University of the Peloponnese ........................................................................................... 6 Department of History, Archaeology & Cultural Resources Management ................ 8 Undergraduate Studies at DHACRM ....................................................................................... 12 Overview of Courses by Semester, No. of Teaching Units & ECTS .............................. 13 IMPORTANT NOTES! .................................................................................................................... 21 Course Guide .................................................................................................................................... 22 CORE COURSES ....................................................................................................................... 22 12Κ1 Ancient Greek Philology: The Homeric Epics - Dramatic Poetry ........... 22 12Κ2 Introduction to the Study of History ................................................................. 22 12Κ3 Introduction to Ancient History ......................................................................... 23 12Κ5 What is Archaeology? An Introduction ............................................................ 23 12Κ6 Prehistoric Archaeology: Τhe Stone and the Bronze Age ......................... 24 12K8 Byzantine
    [Show full text]
  • Blood Ties: Religion, Violence, and the Politics of Nationhood in Ottoman Macedonia, 1878
    BLOOD TIES BLOOD TIES Religion, Violence, and the Politics of Nationhood in Ottoman Macedonia, 1878–1908 I˙pek Yosmaog˘lu Cornell University Press Ithaca & London Copyright © 2014 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2014 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2014 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Yosmaog˘lu, I˙pek, author. Blood ties : religion, violence,. and the politics of nationhood in Ottoman Macedonia, 1878–1908 / Ipek K. Yosmaog˘lu. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8014-5226-0 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8014-7924-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Macedonia—History—1878–1912. 2. Nationalism—Macedonia—History. 3. Macedonian question. 4. Macedonia—Ethnic relations. 5. Ethnic conflict— Macedonia—History. 6. Political violence—Macedonia—History. I. Title. DR2215.Y67 2013 949.76′01—dc23 2013021661 Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu. Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Josh Contents Acknowledgments ix Note on Transliteration xiii Introduction 1 1.
    [Show full text]
  • John Adams and Jay's Treaty
    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1963 John Adams and Jay's Treaty Edgar Arthur Quimby The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Quimby, Edgar Arthur, "John Adams and Jay's Treaty" (1963). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 2781. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/2781 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JOHN ADAMS AND JAT'S TREATT by EDQAE ARTHUR QDIMHr B.A. University of Mississippi, 1958 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY 1963 Approved by: Chairman, Board of Examiners V /iiC ^ c r. D e a n , Graduate School Date UMI Number; EP36209 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT UMI EP36209 Published by ProQuest LLC (2012). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Relations Between the Greeks and the Young Turks
    A. J. P AN AYOTOPO ULOS EARLY RELATIONS BETWEEN THE GREEKS AND THE YOUNG TURKS This paper deals with the relations of the Greeks and the Young Turks before the July revolution in 1908. My intention is to indicate that the Young Turks had undertaken the initiative to contact the Ottoman Greeks and the representatives of the Greek Kingdom and ask their cooperation for the establishment of the constitutional regime; however, the Greeks responded with considerable cautiousness. The Sultan’s men also made an attempt to associate themselves with the Greeks in order to get information about the Young Turks, but the Greeks were equally reserved towards them. There are three points, which I would like to suggest: First, the Young Turks tried to establish relations with the Greeks, second, the Greeks were hesitant to accept the Young Turks’ proposals, and third, the July revolution did not take the Greeks by surprise, which means that they should have adopt­ ed A concrete policy towards the new regime. Most of the information on which this paper is based on is from primary sources, i.e. Greek consular reports kept with the Historical Archive of the Greek Foreign Ministry. The Young Turkish Committees which were active in Paris, had establish­ ed certain relations with the Greeks as early as February 1902, when they held A Congress in the French capital. More than forty delegates arrived in Paris to participate at the Congress1, despite the protests of the Ottoman Ambassador in Paris Munir bey. Prince Sabaheddin, defending the cause of the conference as well as the participants, wrote to the French Foreign Minister Delcassé that those who defied the Sultan’s power and bribes2, would not be frightened by any “procédé d’in­ timidation puérile”3.
    [Show full text]
  • Ottoman History of South-East Europe by Markus Koller
    Ottoman History of South-East Europe by Markus Koller The era of Ottoman Rule, which began in the fourteenth century, is among the most controversial chapters of South-East European history. Over several stages of conquest, some of them several decades long, large parts of South-Eastern Europe were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, or brought under its dominion. While the Ottomans had to surrender the territories north of the Danube and the Sava after the Peace Treaty of 1699, the decline of Ot- toman domination began only in the nineteenth century. Structures of imperial power which had been implemented in varying forms and intensity in different regions were replaced by emerging nation states in the nineteenth century. The development of national identities which accompanied this transformation was greatly determined by the new states distancing themselves from Ottoman rule, and consequently the image of "Turkish rule" has been a mainly negative one until the present. However, latest historical research has shown an increasingly differentiated image of this era of South-East European history. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Military and Political Developments 2. The Timar System 3. Ottoman Provincial Administration 1. Regional Differences in the Ottoman Provincial Administration 4. Islamisation 5. Catholic Christianity, Orthodox Christianity and Judaism 6. Urban Life 7. Appendix 1. Bibliography 2. Notes Indices Citation Military and Political Developments The Ottoman Empire had its roots in North-West Anatolia where in the thirteenth century the Ottoman Emirate was one of numerous minor Turkmen princedoms.1 The expansion of territory started under the founder of the dynasty, Osman (ca.
    [Show full text]