CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LED TO THE YOUNG TURK MOVEMENT AND ITS EFFECTS

 The Ottoman Turks and their Empire had declined, and its reputation was lowered due to its unwieldly size and orthodoxy.

Islam, was the local religion and the Sultan, Caliph (head of the Muslim world) exercised dictational powers inspite of the presence of the Vizier.

Since the Sultan was an autocratic despot, great advantage was taken of Turkey by other European powers like England, France, Germany, and Austria. The Ottoman did not allow any reforms to enter Turkey. The imperialists make Turkey a victim of power politics. As a result, Turkey came to be called as the Sick Man of Europe in the nineteenth century.

The Young Turks were a group of western educated youth. They had military training. They were dissatisfied with the Sultan and had formed a committee of Union and Progress at Salonika. There were also some other such organizations. They had been influenced by the revolutions of America, France and other countries and believed the autocratic Turkish rulers could be ousted only by means of revolution.

Causes of the Revolution of 1908

Autocratic rule of Sultan Abul Hamid II – The Sultan was a dictatorial autocratic ruler. He did not allow infiltration of any reforms into Turkey. He exercised secular and religious powers arbitrarily. Anyone opposing him was ruthlessly crushed. As a result, every nationalist within his rule was suppressed.

Suspension of the Constitution of 1876 – In 1876, the democratic constitution had been suspended and a monarchy was established. Now people demanded a democratic parliamentary system. It resulted in the promulgation of a democratic constitution by Midhal Pasha. The people were convinced that the political situation would not improve unless the Sultan was deposed.

Economic conditions – The economy was in bad shape. Whenever the Sultan needed funds, he obtained it by way of loans from the European Imperialists. They advanced loans because they had their own political ends to achieve. In order to repay loans, people were heavily taxed increasing their suffering.

Foreign influence – The decline of the Ottoman powers and weakening of the Sultan gave opportunities to foreigners. They advanced loans and demanded privileges. The French were exempted from paying taxes when traveling in the Ottoman Empire. Islamic law was not applicable to them in the Turkish Empire. Although treaties signed were on a reciprocal basis, in reality foreign national benefited.

Ill treatment of non-muslims – On one hand superior treatment was given to foreigners. On the other hand, non-Muslims in the Empire were subjected to religious discrimination. The Sultan came down upon Christian subjects which invited the wrath of the Russian Tzar who rose to defend people of his own religion. This Russian intervention attracted the Anglo-French powers to intervene in the Crimean War.

Secret societies – The political conditions at the end of the nineteenth century led to the formation of secret societies. The most important and popular was the committee of Union and Progress at Salonika by liberal, military trained revolutionaries. Other groups were formed like Fatherland and Freedom Society by Mustafa Kemal Pasha. By 1907, these societies got merged with the committee of Union and Progress to carry out the programs of Young Turks.

Rise of Turkish Nationalism – Inspite of efforts of the Sultan to keep away revolutionary ideas, liberalism influenced the people. Young people came in contact with western ideologies and discussed ideals for a better Turkey. This ideology came to be known as ‘Ottomanism’. They knew that unless the old Sultans were removed, modernization would not take place.

The main aim of the Young Turks:

To restore old prestige of the Turkish empire.

To modernize the country without giving prominence to Western cultural values.

Not allow religious fanaticism to come in the way of modernization.

They wanted to create a Democratic political order with a strong military to guard the basic fundamental rights of citizens.

‘The Young Turks desired to end the Sultan’s despotism. They were effectively scattered ad suppressed in the first few years of his reign. But their ideals survived. They re-emerged towards the end of the century in a movement called the Young Turks’ – Peter Hansfield