UC Berkeley GAIA Books Title Smyrna's Ashes: Humanitarianism, Genocide, and the Birth of the Middle East Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5626s1fw ISBN 978-1938169-05-2 Author Tusan, Michelle Publication Date 2012-11-01 Supplemental Material https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5626s1fw#supplemental License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Smyrna’s Ashes Humanitarianism, Genocide, and the Birth of the Middle East Michelle Tusan Published in association with the University of California Press “Set against one of the most horrible atrocities of the early twentieth century, the ethnic cleansing of Western Anatolia and the burning of the city of Izmir, Smyrna’s Ashes is an important contribution to our understanding of how hu- manitarian thinking shaped British foreign and military policy in the Late Ottoman Eastern Mediterranean. Based on rigorous archival research and scholarship, well written, and compelling, it is a welcome addition to the growing literature on humanitarianism and the history of human rights.” kEitH dAvid wAtEnpAugh, University of California, Davis “Tusan shows vividly and compassionately how Britain’s attempt to build a ‘Near East’ in its own image upon the ruins of the Ottoman Empire served as a prelude to today’s Middle East of nation-states.” pAEtEr M ndlEr, University of Cambridge “Traces an important but neglected strand in the history of British humanitarianism, showing how its efforts to aid Ottoman Christians were inextricably enmeshed in impe- rial and cultural agendas and helped to contribute to the creation of the modern Middle East.” dAnE kEnnEdy, The George Washington University “An original and meticulously researched contribution to our understandings of British imperial, gender, and cultural history. Smyrna’s Ashes demonstrates the long-standing influence of Middle Eastern issues on British self-identification. Tusan’s conclusions will engage scholars in a variety of fields for years to come.” nAncy l. StockdAlE, University of North Texas Today the West tends to understand the Middle East primarily in terms of geopolitics: Islam, oil, and nuclear weapons. But in the nineteenth century it was imagined differently. The interplay of geography and politics found definition in a broader set of concerns that understood the region in terms of the moral, humanitarian, and religious commitments of the British empire. Smyrna’s Ashes reevaluates how this story of the “Eastern Question” shaped the cultural politics of geography, war, and genocide in the mapping of a larger Middle East after World War I. MichellE tusan is a professor of history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Berkeley Series in British Studies, 5 Smyrna’s Ashes The Berkeley SerieS in BriTiSh STudieS Mark Bevir and James Vernon, University of California, Berkeley, editors 1. The Peculiarities of Liberal Modernity in Imperial Britain, edited by Simon Gunn and James Vernon 2. Dilemmas of Decline: British Intellectuals and World Politics, 1945 – 1975, by Ian Hall 3. The Savage Visit: New World People and Popular Imperial Culture in Britain, 1710 – 1795, by Kate Fullagar 4. The Afterlife of Empire, by Jordanna Bailkin 5. Smyrna’s Ashes: Humanitarianism, Genocide, and the Birth of the Middle East, by Michelle Tusan Smyrna’s Ashes Humanitarianism, Genocide, and the Birth of the Middle East Michelle TuSan Global, Area, and International Archive University of California Press Berkeley loS angeleS london The Global, Area, and International Archive (GAIA) is an initiative of the Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley, in partnership with the University of California Press, the California Digital Library, and international research programs across the University of California system. University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2012 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Manufactured in the United States of America 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of anSi/niSo z39.48 – 1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper). Contents List of Illustrations vii Acknowledgments ix A Note on Maps xiii Introduction 1 1. Humanitarianism and the Rise of the Eastern Question 10 2. Mapping the Near East 40 3. Humanitarian Diplomacy 76 4. Missionary Philanthropy 96 5. The Armenian Genocide and the Great War 113 6. Smyrna’s Ashes 144 Epilogue: From Near to Middle East 175 Notes 185 Bibliography 223 Index 243 Illustrations FigureS “Smyrna’s Wall of Humanity” xiv 1. Gladstone Speaking at St. James’s Hall 19 2. Toppling the Tree of Turkish Rule 20 3. Graphic Coverage of the Eastern Question Conference 28 4. Punch’s “Old Crusaders!” 32 5. British Cabinet Council Meeting on the Eastern Question 33 6. Latham’s “Ethnographical Map of the World” 44 7. Campbell’s Map of Christian Races 46 8. Stanford’s Map of the Treaty of San Stefano 50 9. Stanford’s Map of the Treaty of Berlin 51 10. Mitchell’s Map of the Treaty of Berlin 52 11. Stratford de Redcliffe’s Map of the Treaties of San Stefano and Berlin 54 12. Johnston’s Map of the Near Eastern Question 56 13. Miller’s Map of the Near East 60 14. Hogarth’s Ethnographical Map of The Nearer East 62 15. Gleaner, “Moslem Box” Map 69 16. Harmsworth Atlas: The Near East 72 17. One of Lady Strangford’s Hospitals 86 18. Burgess Oversees Workers at Her Factory 104 19. Burgess’s Orphan “Angels” 107 vii viii / Illustrations 20. Times Advertisement for Auction of Souls 141 21. Smyrna Ablaze 145 22. Patrolling Smyrna Harbor 149 23. Smyrna Refugees 151 24. Smyrna Evacuation Order 171 25. Sykes’s Map of the Near East 177 26. Harmsworth Atlas: Oriental Industries 180 27. Times Atlas Map of Persia, 1922 182 28. Simpson’s Map of the Near East 183 TaBle 1. Coverage of the “Eastern Question” in the Mainstream Periodical Press 17 Acknowledgments It is with much appreciation that I acknowledge the people and insti- tutions that made this book possible. A sabbatical and Research Development Award from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, provided support for the initial research and writing. Funding was also pro- vided by a Curran Fellowship from the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals, University Faculty Travel Committee, and the UNLV History Department Travel Committee. A fellowship from the Black Mountain Institute provided support to revise the manuscript. The book started as a story of the maps that I found myself obses- sively collecting on my research travels. Peter Mandler’s invitation to Cambridge University to present at the Modern History Seminar gave me an early opportunity to talk about “Mapping the Middle East.” Peter also kindly agreed to read the entire first draft of the manuscript and provided critique and encouragement. Tom Laqueur generously sup- ported this research with invitations to present at the Berkeley/Stanford British History Seminar, where I had another opportunity to talk about my maps. Later, Tom invited me back to lecture on and discuss the proj- ect at the Berkeley Scholars Workshop. Peter Stansky encouraged me in my interest in Gladstonian liberalism and gifted me hard-to-find books that I needed for my research from his private library. I also appreci- ated the opportunity provided by Stephan Astourian and the Armenian Studies Program and the Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies at Berkeley to lecture on my research. Parts of the project have been presented at national and regional meetings of the North American Conference on British Studies and at the “Empire State of Mind” confer- ence at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. The Black Mountain Institute ix x / Acknowledgments Seminar offered a venue to present an overview of the completed project and I thank the graduate students, colleagues, and fellow fellows, Uwem Akpan, Daniel Brook, and Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, who participated. Thanks go to my colleagues, students, and friends who have sup- ported my work over the past several years. Kelly Mays gave me the gift of her keen insight in our discussions of the manuscript and her friend- ship. At BMI, Carol Harter provided an intellectual home and Richard Wiley gave timely and thoughtful advice about writing. Erika Rappaport offered her support and provided an early opportunity to write about an old story, the Eastern Question, in a new way for History Compass. Deb Cohler, Jordanna Bailkan, Anne Stevens, and Elizabeth Fraterrigo offered wise counsel and many kindnesses at different points in the process. In London, Claire Sibthorpe, Murali Shanmugavelan, Miranda Wallace, and Corey Cook provided me with friendship and good company. Others who read parts of the project and offered me the benefit of their expertise include Peter Holquist, Dennis Dworkin, Lawrence Klein, Greg Hise, Colin Loader, Paul Werth, David Tanenhaus, and Andy Fry. Thanks to the graduate students in my Human Rights seminar for reading parts of the manuscript and offering me their perspective. Thank you to Nathan MacBrien, who helped foster me through the editing and publication process. My parents, Bill and Elizabeth Tusan, and in-laws, Donald and Martha Muelrath, offered encouragement each in their own way and it was my father-in-law who one day over dinner suggested the subtitle for the book.