Question: To what extent was the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 “revolutionary”? Your essay should compare and contrast the reforms of the Young Turks with those of early Ottoman Sultans and explain whether the Young Turks
19 Oct 2022,1:36 AM
To what extent was the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 “revolutionary”? Your essay should compare and contrast the reforms of the Young Turks with those of early Ottoman Sultans and explain whether the Young Turks ushered in a new type of politics or represented the continuation of a longer pattern of reform dating back to the beginning of the 19th century.
Crowd assembled to hear the proclamation of the restoration of the constitution after the Young Turk Revolution, Ottoman Empire, July 24, 1908
The Young Turks emerged before the 1908 Revolution as an opposition movement against the autocratic leadership of Sultan Abdulhamid II (d. 1918), which subsequently governed the Ottoman Empire between 1908 and 1918. The moniker “Young Turks” was given by European onlookers and elided the true diversity of opposition to Abdulhamid, which included Jews, Albanians, Arabs, Greeks and Armenians in its early period. Notably, it was not a nationalist movement; rather, the Young Turks sought to preserve the Empire and the institution of the sultanate, though to institute significant reform. They emphasized a positivist program of scientific advancement, the need for a modern state, and elite rule.
In 1878, Abdulhamid II dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution proposed two years earlier and initiated thirty years of autocratic rule. In 1889, medical school students formed the Association for the Union of Ottomans, later the Committee for Union and Progress (CUP). In 1907, an association of military officers and government officials under the auspices of the Ottoman Freedom Society joined the CUP and quickly became the ruling faction. The following year, the CUP’s military members renounced loyalty to the sultan and engaged in guerilla warfare in nearby mountains. To appease the political opposition, Abdulhamid reinstituted the 1876 constitution.
With the reinstatement of the Ottoman parliament, two factions emerged within the CPU: unionists and liberals. Unionists, supported by Islamic nationalists, supported a strong central state to institute modernizing reforms. Liberals leaned towards decentralization and autonomous rule that would benefit non-Muslim and non-Turkish Ottomans. Multireligious and multinational Ottomanism was pursued as a compromise, but following a 1912 military coup, liberals ascended to power. Notably, any opposition to their reforms was characterized as “religious fanaticism,” which was later picked up by nationalists as a means of silencing and sometimes criminalizing opposition.
As Muslims fled from the Balkans during the wars of independence, demographic changes shifted the character of the Empire, and unionists took over, eliminating their liberal opposition. Unionists promoted population homogenization policies known as Turkification, which undergirded episodes of massacre and forced migration of Armenians, Kurds, Greeks, and others, and promoted Turkish linguistic and cultural identity as a means of unifying and streamlining Ottoman governmental, religious, education, and other institutions. At the same time, unionists promoted pan-Islamism as an appeal to Arab Muslims to the south. With the 1916 Arab Revolt, Arab nations fell away from the Empire and were distributed between the British and French after the First World War.
The Young Turk era ended in 1918 with the war of independence. The subsequent Republic of Turkey inherited the political and social infrastructure of the Young Turk government.
(Material from: https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/faq/young-turks)
In class, we will focus on the 1908 Constitution and different historiographical interpretations of the Young Turk Movement before WW1.
Reading:
A History of the Modern Middle East, Chapter 8, pp. 124-134.
Use this source to understand the history of the Young Turks.
Proclamation for the Ottoman Empire 1908 .pdf
We will start the class by reading this primary source. We will compare the document with the Tanzimat Reforms discussed on Sunday.
Historiography of the Young Turks.edited.pdf
At the end of class, we will discuss the two historiographical interpretations of the Young Turks in this document.
Expert answer
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 was primarily a revolt against the autocratic rule of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. It was not a complete overhaul of the Ottoman political system, nor did it bring about radical social change. The revolution did, however, pave the way for a more representative and democratic form of government in the Ottoman Empire.
In contrast to earlier uprisings in the Ottoman Empire, which were often led by religious or ethnic minorities seeking greater autonomy, the Young Turk Revolution was a largely secular movement. Its leaders, who were mostly young military officers, wanted to modernize the Ottoman Empire and make it more like Western European nations. They also hoped to end the corrupt and inefficient rule of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
The Young Turk Revolution began in July 1908, when a group of military officers staged a coup d'état and deposed the Sultan. The new government that was established promised to introduce reforms and to hold elections for a representative assembly. In 1909, the first free and fair elections in Ottoman history were held, and the Young Turks won a majority of seats in the assembly.
Although the Young Turk Revolution did not bring about radical change in the Ottoman Empire, it did mark the beginning of a new era in its history. The empire would go on to experience further turmoil and change in the years ahead, but the principles of democracy and reform that were established during the Young Turk Revolution would help shape its future.
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 was a pivotal moment in Ottoman history. The revolution saw the rise to power of a new generation of leaders, who sought to modernize and westernize the empire. The reforms enacted by the Young Turks were far-reaching, and included changes to the education system, the legal system, and the civil service.
While the Young Turk Revolution did bring about significant changes to the Ottoman Empire, it was not entirely revolutionary. Many of the reforms enacted by the Young Turks had been proposed by earlier Ottoman rulers, including Sultan Mahmud II. The Young Turks simply built on these earlier reform efforts.
Nevertheless, the Young Turk Revolution represented a break from tradition in many ways. For example, it marked the
Stuck Looking For A Model Original Answer To This Or Any Other
Question?
Our skilled experts only need your instructions and deadline to help you produce an original and flawless paper.
Place Order Now
Customer ID: 100351