Decline of Ottoman empire

• What is the counterclaim to German foreign policy leading to WW1?


  Decline of the Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman failures to gain power in Europe


  - Siege of Vienna in 1529

  --- Habsburg empire victory

  - Lost dominance in Mediterranean to Spain and Italy in 1571
• What is key to the Ottoman empire?

  conquest and control

  - attention not focused on infrastructure and industry
• Political issues facing the Ottoman Empire


  - Sultans were weak and ineffectual

  - Increase in nationalism across empire

  - Ottomans failed to address nationalism

  --- Political reforms fail in Balkans

  -- -In 1880s, Pan-Islamism was attempted to keep Arab territories

  --- Rise in Turkish nationalism in 1908
• Young Turks


  - political reform movement that favored replacement of Ottoman Empire's absolute monarchy with constitutional government

  - By 1908, the challenges of nationalism have come home to the center and you have gotten this nationalist movement

  - They want to brand the empire as a turkish nationalist empire
• Why is Europe interested in the Ottoman Empire

  - Britain and France wanted ports

  --- Key strategic ports

  - Brits wanted to secure Afghanistan

  --- Gateway to India

  --- Afghans had a close relationship with the Ottomans

  - Economic Aims

  --- Huge oil discovered in Persia in 1900
• Why did Russia want Constantinople


  - The Holy Lands

  - Wants to recreate Byzantine Empire

  - Wanted influence/control in the Balkans

  - They want it to be an orthodox church center

  - But really it's about warm sea ports
• Crimean War


  October 1853 - February 1856

  - Russian war against Ottomans for control of the Black Sea; intervention by Britain and France cause Russia to lose; Russians realize need to industrialize.

  - prevent Russian expansion and protect India

  - ultimately proved the growing weakness of the Ottoman Empire.

  - Islamics in control of the Holy Lands

  - Other religions feel persecuted

  - Russians claim Ottomans are doing nothing to protect Christians in the Holy Land

  - Alexander II rises to power in the midst of war

  --- Wants wide-ranging reforms to modernise

  - At time, Russian slavery is based on class - holds back modernisation (abolished in 1861)

  - Russian communicated is terribly

  - All communication has to go through France
• Russo-Turkish War


  1877-1878

  - origins in rise in nationalism in the Balkans as well as in the Russian goal of recovering territorial losses it had suffered during the Crimean War, reestablishing itself in the Black Sea, and following the political movement attempting to free Balkan nations from the Ottoman Empire.

  - As a result of the war, the principalities of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, formally proclaimed independence from the Ottoman Empire.

  - Organised uprising and revolt against Ottomans (1875-1877)

  Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro

  - Ottoman reprisals: 10,000 Bulgarians slaughtered in 1876

  --- Ottomans are using more and more brutality to crush revolt

  --- Armed death squads

  --- Prompted Russians to intervene.

  - April 1877 Russia declared war on Turkey, had secured A-H neutrality with promise to respect interests in the Balkans.

  - 11 months later - Russian victory.

  - Creation of huge Bulgaria

  - Liberation of the Balkans

  - The problem is, AH, Britain don't like it

  - Russian victory 1878: Imposed severe San Stefano Treaty on the Ottomans.
• Organised uprisings against the Ottomans in the Balkans


  1875-1877

  - Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro

  - All declare independence after Russo-Turkish war
• San Stefano Treaty


  1878

  - Russia's creation of Greater Bulgaria

  - Alarmed Britain, France, A-H

  --- New Bulgaria could become Russian satellite

  --- seen as attempt to set up a 'Balkan client state' with strategically important Aegean coastline.

  - Historian M.S. Anderson

  --- "Fullest practical expression ever given in Russian foreign policy to the Pan-Slav Ideal"

  Aftermath:

  - Britain sends fleet to Turkish waters, recalled troops from India

  - Britain says Russia has two options:

  --- War

  --- Revision of San Stefano
• Congress of Berlin


  1878

  - A-H suggests a congress in Berlin to prevent war

  --- Germany's Bismarck would mediate - he wants peace

  - Led to revision of San Stefano treaty - Treaty of Berlin

  - All powers accept

  - a hostage situation for Russia. They need to do this or war

  - Russia angered- believed Bismarck would support them, but he did not. Also they've won the war and are being told they're not ALLOWED to win the war

  
  

  Impact:

  - Bulgaria divided into 3 parts

  - Core state of Bulgaria was self-governing - but still under turkish control and not independent

  - Romania, Montenegro, Serbia recognised as independent

  - Strategic province of Macedonia kept by Ottomans

  - A-H given right to occupy (can have troops for homeland security) but not annex Bosnia and Herzegovina

  --- this is the ONLY concession Russia gets

  - Ottoman Empire limps on

  - British/French influence in Mediterranean increases

  - Bismarck had succeeded in goal of preventing another conflict but dangerous - collapse of his alliance with Russia and Austria

  - rise in Balkan nationalism

  
  

  Historian WIlliam L Langer

  - Russia could hardly have been more effectively checked, even by war

  - super humiliating

  
  

  
  

  Slav nationalists criticise congress

  - Tsar describes congress as "a coalition of the European powers against Russia under the leadership of Bismark"
• Successes and Failures of the Berlin Congress 1878


  Successes:

  - No war

  
  

  Failures:

  - Russia is angered and humiliated

  - Ended alliance between Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary

  --- No Dreikaiserbund

  - reshuffling of alliances in Europe

  - unleashes alliances

  - unleashes triangle of fire in the east

  - Led to establishment of Triple Alliance in 1882

  - Congress failed to address Pan-Slavic nationalists' demands

  - Balkans left very unstable

  - unleashes nationalism and terrorism

  - Claim of Slavs in Balkans lead to wars and terrorism (1908; Balkan Wars 1912 & 1913; Assassination Franz Ferdinand 1914)

  - Eventually leads to war in 1914
• Economic Issues faced by the Ottoman Empire

  Ottoman Empire's economy failing

  --- Sell assets to Europeans

  - Anglo-Persian Oil Company 1908

  --- Nationalists enraged that resources 'sold off' to Ottman elites

  - Suez canal 1869

  - Territories lost in Berlin

  --- France takes Tunisia, Britain takes Cyprus, Italy wants Tripoli (Libya)

  - Italo-Turkish war 1911
• Suez Canal


  - Suez Canal (1869)

  --- Direct access to Persian oil

  --- Don't need to sail around Africa

  --- Prevents run-ins with pirates

  --- Cuts time

  --- Massive engineering investment

  --- Britain stations troops for security of canal

  --- Britain increasingly having a hand in Egypt
• Italo-Turkish War


  1911

  - In 1911, Italian nationalists call for invasion of Libya. Also calls to take Albania

  --- Britain and France back them while Germany doesn't

  --- Attempt to weaken Triple Alliance

  - Italy declares war on Ottoman Libya- 29 September 1911

  --- Ottomans defeated and sign treaty of Ouchy (18 October 1912)

  --- AKA First Treaty of Lausanne

  - Results of Italo-Turkish war:

  --- Balkans see how weak and easily defeated Ottomans are

  --- Balkan league attacks during war 1912
• Summary of reasons of the decline of the Ottoman Empire and WW1


  Long Term

  - Crimean War (1853-1956)

  - Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878)

  - Congress of Berlin

  
  

  Short Term

  - Kaiser Wilhelm II visits in 1889

  --- Announces himself as protector of muslims

  - Italo-Turkish War 1911

  --- Italy gains Libya

  --- Kick in the stomach as Germans side with A-H

  - Balkan Wars (1912/1913)

  Trigger:

  --- Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
• Historian Richard J Evans on the decline of the Ottoman empire


  - unleashed Balkan nationalism - Serbia

  - Serbian nationalism and expansionism were profoundly disruptive forces in long term

  - Serbian involvement with Black Hand terrorists was trigger.
• Fay & Barnes on Russia & response to decline of the Ottomans


  - Russian nationalism & pan-Slavism

  - Russian expansion of empire, warm sea-ports
• Fritz Fischer & John Rohl - counterclaim


  - Fischer - Germany pursue war in line with nationalist ideology & in pursuit of economic / imperial ambitions

  - Rohl - highlights nature of navy and need to break encirclement in order to gain empire
• Ottomans aims in WW1


  - Abdul Hamid overthrown in Young Turk rebellion 1909

  - Mehmed V sultan 1909-1918. Germany initially did well in war on the land

  - Hostility to Entente:

  - Russian threats to territory

  - Debt to Britain and France

  - British and French companies own Ottoman resources

  - Rally people behind a failing regime
• Results of WW1 for Ottomans


  - Mehmed VI 1918 - 1922

  - Ottoman empire collapses

  - Treaty of Sevres 1920 - territory divided between victors

  - Holy Land occupied by Britain and France

  - Treaty of Lausanne July 1923

  - Caliphate abolished in 1924
• Problem with Pan-Islamism


  - in 1880s, Pan-Islamism was attempted to keep Arab territories

  - Instead of panslav and race nationalism, they do a religious islamic unifying force

  - Problem is that balkans aren't mainly islamic
• Why do Brits not like the Russians at the time?


  - Britain does not have land forces like the russians do

  - Afghanistan is between Russia and India

  - If they take it, not only can they go into India, but the Persian Gulf, which is rich in oil
• At the end of the Congress of Berlin who does Italy want and why is it problematic?


  Tripoli (libya)

  - problematic to attack in 1911

  -Italy is in the triple alliance

  -This would cause a schism

  -Germany attacks Morocco to try and cause a schism between britain and france, so they do it back

  - They use italy to try and disrupt the triple alliance

  - Kaiser calls himself the defender of Muslims

  - The kaiser decides in the 1880s that he is going to form a bond with the Ottomans

  - Only Germany has tried to not abuse Ottomans decline