"The Great Powers have grasped us by the throat. The government can't pay monthly salaries. All the public services are under the control of privileged foreign capital. It would be very easy for a patriot to go out of his mind."
Diary of Falih Rifki (Turkish journalist). Source: The First World War-Jihad
Diary of Falih Rifki (Turkish journalist). Source: The First World War-Jihad
"The Ottoman Empire during the 19th century was ravaged by wars along its frontiers and internal revolts. There were territories being torn from the Empire through the instigation and intrigues of the Great Powers" (Afetinen 14). After having enjoyed success as an empire for nearly 600 years the Ottoman Empire began diminishing by the 1800s. The Turks lost much of their territory due to European imperialism, lacked the education of the West, and were greatly behind in industrialization and technology. These, along with the Crimean War in which the Empire fought against Russia, greatly weakened the economy, the Turks began to depend too much on European financial aid, which put them greatly in debt.
By the late 1800s nearly 80% of the national income went to paying off the loans. The Empire only worsened when Abdul Hamid II became sultan in 1878. Before he came into power Sultan Mahmud II made an attempt at reformation to help his country, the changes proved too costly, however, and only served to weaken the empire even more until Abdul Hamid II finally removed the reforms. Hamid II was often referred to as “the Red Sultan, Abdul the Damned, or the Ogre of Yildiz” (Taylor 99) because he “ordered the slaughter of Armenians throughout the empire” where “ at least one hundred thousand men, women and children died”(Eboch 35) and insured the loyalty of his people by using “spies and secret police to control the country through fear” (Eboch 35). By removing the previous reforms, Hamid II began trying to restore the Empire to a despotic state, which he hoped would restore Turkish hegemony through force. Tired of the government violating their rights and using terrorism to control them the Turks finally revolted against the sultan. |
You waste the attention of your eyes,
the glittering labour of your hands, and knead the dough enough for dozens of loaves of which you'll taste not a morsel; you are free to slave for others-- you are free to make the rich richer. -A Sad State of Freedom by Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963) |