34. Sultan of the Ottoman Empire II. Who is Abdulhamid? Who Is Not? (2)

Seeking to Extend Serbian and Montenegrin Borders:

Serbia gained autonomy in 1815. This autonomy was also confirmed by the Akkerman Treaty (1826) signed with the Russians and the Edirne Treaty. In 1835, Serbia's first constitution was adopted. In 1867, upon the withdrawal of Turkish troops from all fortresses in Serbia under pressure from Western countries, Serbia gained an apparently autonomous but de facto independent structure.

Although Montenegro was a sanjak attached to Shkodra, the rulers named Vladika were living a partial autonomy in the barren region where there was no need for military action for Ottoman domination. In 1852, with the support of the Russians, this autonomy became official as the Principality of Montenegro. The borders of Montenegro took its final shape in the documents signed as a result of the Ottoman-Montenegrin wars in 1858 and 1862.

Independent Serbia sought to expand its lands against the Ottoman Empire at the first opportunity it found. He declared war on the Ottomans. The war initially ended with the victory of the Ottoman armies. The attacks launched by the Serbs against the targets of Nis, Pirot and Sofia were stopped. Afterwards, Turkish troops counter-attacked and decisively defeated the Serbs at the Battle of Aleksinac on September 1, 1876. In the same year, when the Serbian defense collapsed completely and the Belgrade road was opened to the Ottoman army, Russia gave an ultimatum to the Ottoman Empire to stop the armed clashes between the two sides within 48 hours. The Ottoman Empire, which had to bow to Russian pressure, made a ceasefire. As of January 15, 1877, the first phase of the war with Serbia came to an end.

The Ottoman army was unsuccessful in the war that started with Montenegro on June 18, 1876. The Ottoman army, which was defeated in the Battle of Niksic on 18 July, had to retreat.

War on the Ottoman Empire by the Russians, who pretended to be the protectors of the Balkan Nation Movements:

In order to resolve the crisis that emerged in the Balkans and to regulate the administrative conditions of the provinces of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, the Shipyard Conference was held on December 23, 1876, in the Golden Horn shipyards in Istanbul, with the pressure of the European countries. Although the Constitutional Monarchy was declared on the same day, it had no effect on the decision taken by the Western countries. As a matter of fact, in this conference, independence decision was taken for Serbia and Montenegro, and autonomy for Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

When the Ottoman Empire rejected these decisions on January 18, 1877, Russia declared war on April 24, 1877. After the war with the Russians broke out, the battles with both Serbia and Montenegro resumed. At a time when the Ottomans concentrated almost all their troops on the war with the Russians, they remained on the defensive against the armies of these two countries with a small number of troops in Serbia and Montenegro and were defeated. While the Serbs captured Nis, Pirot and Vranje in 1878, the Montenegrins occupied Nikşic, Podgorica, Bar and Ülgün and landed in the Adriatic Sea.

As I explained in my previous article, the Ottoman Empire had to recognize the independence of Montenegro and Serbia with the Treaty of San Stefano and the Berlin Treaties signed in 1878, and also accepted that the lands lost during this war now belong to these two countries. In this period, when diplomatic relations with Montenegro began in 1879, a significant distance was covered in relations. Until the Balkan Wars, with the exception of minor border conflicts, the Ottoman-Montenegro relationship was calm and a war-free period was passed.

Leaving Cyprus to the British:

On March 3, 1878, the Treaty of San Stefano with the Russians was signed under very harsh conditions. These conditions did not suit the UK and France either. Thereupon, he intervened to correct the loss in the Balkans against the Russians with a new treaty. In return for this, in May 1878, he asked the Ottoman Empire for Cyprus. The United Kingdom wanted a treaty to be given Cyprus to them. Although the Ottoman Foreign Minister Saffet Pasha wanted to soften the demands of the United Kingdom, the British ambassador threatened the Ottoman Empire, saying that they could invade Cyprus by force if necessary. After this threat, the British pressure on the Ottomans was increased so that the treaty was concluded by the evening of June 3, 1878 at the latest. As a result of the pressures, the Ottomans accepted the treaty under the conditions demanded by the British.

The agreement between the Ottoman Empire and the United Kingdom, which envisaged a change in the administration of Cyprus, was signed on 4 June 1878. On July 7, 1878, an order was issued allowing the British to land troops in Cyprus. Thus, the British, who landed soldiers in Cyprus on 12 July 1878, lowered the Ottoman flag in Cyprus and hoisted their own flag instead. Although it was said by the British that it would be "temporary", Cyprus was completely left to the British. The Berlin Treaty, which had better conditions against the Russians in return for this 'forced bribe' given to the British, was signed on 13 July 1878.

Two years after the surrender of Cyprus to the British, in 1880, by the Order of the Knights of the Golden Fleece, II. Abdülhamid was awarded the knighthood.

In the meantime, France took advantage of the depression of the Ottoman Empire and took action on Tunisia, citing some border incidents as a reason. French troops entered Tunisia in early 1881. France, which signed the Bardo Treaty with the Tunisian Bey on May 12, 1881, announced that it had taken Tunisia under its protection. II. Midhat Pasha, whom Abdulhamid wanted to have arrested, took refuge in the French Consulate in Izmir five days after the signing of the Bardo Treaty. II. Abdulhamid also wanted Midhat Pasha to be handed over. II. France decided to hand over Midhat Pasha, as defying Abdulhamid's request could hinder and delay France's policy of seizing Tunisia. Thus, Mithat Pasha surrendered to the Ottoman Government.

France's quick surrender of Midhat Pasha, II. He helped Abdulhamid soften. II. This change in Abdulhamid's policy accelerated the development of the Tunisian problem in the interests of France and facilitated the withdrawal of Tunisia from the Ottomans. As a result of the Treaty of Mersâ signed on 8 June 1883, Tunisia officially came under the French administration. Thus, the Ottoman Empire had to give a piece of land like Tunisia, which was mostly Muslim, to the French.

In the same period, some circles in Egypt were quite reactive to foreign intervention. Upon some developments, İsmail Pasha formed a government composed of Egyptians, but after the pressure of England and France, II. İsmail Pasha was dismissed by Abdülhamid. Despite this, Urabi Pasha started to lead the Egyptian revolt that did not subside. Thereupon, England attacked Alexandria. Then, on September 13, 1882, the supporters of Urâbî Pasha and the British army came face to face in Tellülkebir. The British Forces, which were victorious as a result of the battle, occupied Egypt de facto. Thus, the Ottoman Empire lost another important piece of land.

The Ottoman Empire lost approximately 1,600,000 square kilometers of land during the reign of Abdulhamid II. This number is more than twice the area of ​​the Republic of Turkey.

Duyun-u Umumiye II. Abdulhamid Treasure Collapsed:

Foreign debt problem that started in 1856 II. From the first year of Abdülhamid's accession to the throne, he began to have a headache. The Sultan, who was dealing with the Serbian, Montenegrin and later the Russian army, could not develop a measure to fix the financial system that was deteriorated due to the wars. The inextricable situation of foreign debts led to the establishment of Düyun-u Umumiye in 1881. Düyun-u Umumiye was controlled by the two biggest creditors of the Ottoman Empire, France and England. There were representatives of England, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary in the administration of Düyun-u Umumiye, which was in a position to manage almost all the finances of the Ottoman Empire. The authority to collect some taxes was left to the Düyun-u Umumiye. Thus, the Ottoman Empire II. During the reign of Abdulhamid, it also lost its economic independence. With the establishment of the Düyun-u Umumiye administration, a significant part of the debts of the Ottoman Empire was erased at the beginning, but in 1881 II. Until Abdülhamid's dethronement in 1908, a total of 12 debt agreements were signed with European states and therefore foreign borrowing continued.

Did Abdulhamid Deserve to Become a Red Sultan?

A French cartoonist who described Abdulhamid II as the "Armenian Butcher", He portrayed Abdülhamid as the "Red Sultan" and made the cover of Le Rire magazine. Although it does not deserve this definition, which is rosewood in our language today, II. This has caused Abdülhamid to take place in our literature as the Red Sultan.

As per the Berlin Treaty, in order to prevent the Armenians in Eastern Anatolia from turning to the Russian protectorate, it was obligatory for the Ottoman Empire to make some reforms to improve the situation of the Armenians in this region. After the Abdülhamid administration postponed these reforms and tried to arm the Kurdish tribes in the region against a possible Armenian revolt, revolutionary and nationalist organizations gained strength among the Armenians. In 1887, resistance movements supported by Armenian organizations were launched in Zeytun of Maraş and in Sason, close to Siirt, in 1891. The revolts of the Armenians in various parts of the country were suppressed harshly by the administration of Abdulhamid II. IV. Army Commander Müşir Zeki Pasha was assigned to suppress the Armenian rebellion. In the east, Kurdish tribal chiefs were organized as irregular militia units under the name of Hamidiye Regiments. The bloody events that took place in the whole Anatolian province in the summer of 1895 were generally called the Hamidiye massacres and caused an increase in the opposition to Abdülhamid in the European press.

(To be continued)