Partn 2, Şimdi daha iyiceyim (I am feeling better now) 1840-49
Map of Ottoman empire and puppets 1840, the empire is thankfully at peace
Abdulmejid with the wars of his father’s reign over, and his reforms now being implemented across the empire, follows a policy of peace in Europe, war in the Empire. There would be a war waged against Illiteracy, corruption, treason, and complacency within the empire. All aspects of the state and country would be looked at and remodeled along a more western line, and the goal of Ottomanism further forwarded.
As part of Ottomanism, Monuments to His father Mahmud “the reformer”
are built across the empire to create an Ottoman identity.
This would be a hard and painful road to take, many within the empire would attempt to hold it back, attempt to stop centralization and to halt progress but this would not be tolerated, there is no place for these people in the new Ottoman state.
The Ottoman industry lagged behind its western neighbors, not only that but the tools and expertise to industrialize were lacking and would be for a long time as such to start Ottoman industry prioritization of state funds into state-sponsored factories would have to happen. Although complex industries were as of now unable to be built, basic factories producing Liquor, Wine, and Canned food were possible benefiting the largely agricultural resources required for them. Several religious figures are quick to protest about the state sponsoring alcohol but with several members of cabinet drinkers, their protests fall on deaf ears.
In September 1842, a scare frightens the Ottoman administration and Foreign office, and a general mobilization order is given after it is noticed that a crisis in North Macedonia has been taken interest by the European great powers, however, it seems that none of them were quite that interested and the crisis dies out, much to the relief and perhaps humiliation of the Ottoman administration, as the mobilization order is withdrawn
The unneeded mobilization angers many in the empire, but the experience drawn from it allows better practice for later wars
War never the less was a constant factor for the Ottoman empire and in 1843 several border skirmishes and outright wars with the states in the East would occur, assured of European neutrality these wars were waged on a small scale, intended to secure Ottoman influence in the East. The Aftermath of the Oriental crisis had left much of western Arabia all but independent; Ottoman troops, therefore, were sent to re-establish Yemen and Arabia as Ottoman protectorates. Furthermore, the Ottomans waged a 3-month war against the Persians, forcing them out of Bahrain, with who they had currently been at war.
Although the Tanzimat reforms had aided in reducing the separatism in, directly held Ottoman land in the west, they had angered many in the east. the Kurds rose up in 1843, under a Bedr Khan who had united the Kurdish tribes and begun killing Christian subjects of the Sultan a direct response to secularisation the Ottoman state was going under. The army sent found itself bogged down, outnumbered, and incapable of effectively controlling the area, and only more troops allowed the rebellion to be crushed though it would not be until late 45 that the Area would be under full Ottoman control
In early 1845 trusting that the internal situation was handled by his cabinet and Grand Vizier Sultan Abdulmejid personally toured Europe, officially in search of allies and to reaffirm treaties with old allies, but personally, the Sultan also desired a break from ruling as well as to tour the countries he was modeling his own empire after. As such after an invitation to a music festival in Prussia, the Sultan and his favorite consort Servetseza Kadın, therefore, took the opportunity to travel Europe the first Ottoman Sultan to ever do so, only returning after 9 months away. The prestige that such a tour gave to the Sultan was enough to convince Europe and therefore the world that the Ottoman Empire was once more a great power capable of exercising influence on the world stage.
Although on holiday Abdulmejid did not fail in his stately duties, Prussia under its king Frederick William IV reaffirmed the alliance, and when traveling in Italy, he secured an alliance with Two Sicilies (though they had lost Sicily proper) during its war with the Roman state and France, Ottoman subsidies and the threat of intervention would consequently negotiate an end to that war with the Annexation of the Roman state, but with France receiving several guarantees and reparations. Upon returning Abdulmejid also began a policy of distancing the minor Balkan nations from the rest of Europe, Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro all had foreign backing but by distancing and alienating them from the Great powers the hope was to eventually reannex them into the empire.
The navy had long been neglected under Adbulmejid’s reign, underfunded, understaffed, and with no real purpose as the empire fought enemies at land, far from coast or ocean. This however was to change, if the empire was to fight any European power, a navy would have to be constructed to protect the coast and ferry troops. As such in 1846 and 47 two expansions of the Ottoman navy occurred, bolstering the fighting capability as well as the naval bases required to supply such a fleet. All in all the Navy would stand at 80 ships almost triple what it had been at the start of his reign.
The navy was not the only thing neglected, the Ottoman borders had grown and lay poorly defended, as such fortifications were built on the Russian and Austrian borders, as well as in all major cities. Furthermore, the experience gained in the false crisis over Macedonia also had taught the Ottomans much about mobilization, and as such military rail lines were built across the empire to allow the transport of troops quicker and in far larger numbers than ever before.
While the Ottoman empire grew its military capability it would seem the Austrians had not,
and had once again begun to fear their southern neighbor
Not all was well in the Empire however, although minor rebellions had occurred, the Balkans and Egypt had laid mostly content with Ottoman rule, in late 1847 this began to change and the Vali of Egpyt reported an increase in militancy amongst the locals, this was echoed across the Empire, with Serbian nationalists rising up, though too few in numbers to do anything.
With these troubles in mind, there were few who opposed Abdulmejid when he announced his plans for an Ottoman Senate and as such in November 1847 Abdulmejid I announced the first local elections to such a Senate. Although the thought of allowing the lower classes to vote crossed the Sultan and his advisor’s minds, eventually it was decided that the poor were far too uneducated and easily swayed by religious or mass movements to be trusted to guide the country. Nether the less the elections went off without a hitch and the first Ottoman Senate convened in April 1848, the ruling party had won much support for its liberal reforms and gained 78% of the vote.
The elections and the deployment of the majority of the Ottoman army in heated areas calmed most of the revolutionaries and by the year's end most said that the revolutionary atmosphere had passed. In other parts of Europe, they were not so lucky, in Prussia revolutionaries had to be fired upon to disperse, in France a revolution has placed another Bonaparte in charge, and in Austria, the Hungarians fed up with Austrian Tyranny have risen up much to the interest of the Ottoman empire.
In Apil 1849 Prussia called a conference of German states, in response to the failing situation in Austria, although not a german state the Ottomans were also invited to join, due to the alliance as well as its position in accordance to Austria. During the conference Prussian diplomats were able to convince others that Austria was no longer fit to rule its multi-cultural empire, nevermind Germany, and demanded that Austria accept Prussia as the leader of the German confederation, when Austria refused, Prussia declared war, calling the Ottomans in.
