The Young Ottomans: Turkish Critics of the Eastern Question in the Late Nineteenth Century

ISBN-13: 9781848853331 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 320 str.

Nazan Cicek

Opis

The Eastern Question, as it was termed by the European Powers in the nineteenth century, was a debate primarily concerned with the issue of ""what to do with the Turk?."" The Ottoman Empire had become known as the ""sick man of Europe"" following its gradual decline since the eighteenth century, and its demise would be highly problematic for the crowned heads of Europe. This unique book focuses on the intellectual and political dynamics of the first Ottoman political opposition in the modern sense, the so-called ""Young Ottomans."" In the process it narrates an alternative version of the Eastern Question as experienced and told by its Eastern observers and critics. Nazan Cicek shows how an important section of the newly-rising semi-autonomous Ottoman Muslim Turkish intelligentsia in the second half of the nineteenth century effectively answered the alternative question of ""what to do with the West?.""

Spis treści

INTRODUCTION Europe’s ‘Eastern Question’ or the Turk’s ‘Western Question? Historical and Social Setting The Young Ottomans: The Quest for a Way Out The Triumvirate: Namik Kemal, Ziya Bey and Ali Suavi The Nexus: David Urquhart and the Young Ottomans CHAPTER 1: THE CRETAN INSURRECTION 1866-1869 Introduction Crete: The Half-Hearted Domain of the Sultan The Prelude to the Insurrection: Crete as the Theatre of the ‘Eastern Question’ The Opening of the Insurrection: Crete as the Arena of Foreign Intervention The Plea for Fairness: The Young Ottomans on the Cretan Affair Second Year of the Insurrection, the Sultan’s Visit to Europe and a New Stage of the Young Ottoman Opposition Conclusion CHAPTER 2: THE QUESTION OF EQUALITY BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND NON-MUSLIMS AND THE FOREIGN INTERVENTION INTO THE ‘DOMESTIC’ AFFAIRS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE Introduction Islahat Fermani and the Question of Equality Foreign Intervention in the Internal Affairs of the Ottoman Empire The Limits of the Ottoman’s Forbearance and a Debate on the Remedy: Usul-ü Mesveret or Civil Disobedience? Conclusion CHAPTER 3: THE FINANCIAL CRISIS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND THE YOUNG OTTOMANS Introduction Marvels of Progress, Political Economy and the Young Ottomans Finance Capital, Foreign Loans and the Ottoman Public Debt Ottoman External Borrowing and the Young Ottomans Awakening the Captain to the Danger: The Young Ottoman Appeal to the Sultan, the Extravagances of the Ruling Elite and the Broken Tacit Contract Conclusion CONCLUSION