The Tanzimat Era

Paper Summary:

The author of this paper discusses Ottoman government reform during the Tanzimat era. Tanzimat literally means "reorganizations," and it served as a time to reorganize and restore the Ottoman Empire to its former glory and eminence. Tanzimat was designed to help reorganize the government of the Ottoman Empire, and modernize it during the period from 1839 to 1876. Part of the process included the foundation of schools to train government employees, modernized transportation systems, and a modernized banking and finance system. The author chronicles the reform process and discusses those elements within the Ottoman Empire that were against these reforms.

From the Paper:

"Many of the people of the Ottoman Empire responded quite belligerently to the reforms. The Islamists rebelled because they did not approve of handing over equal rights to other sects. The minority nationalities, especially the Balkan Christians and Romanians, rebelled against the reforms, and this ultimately led to the Crimean War with Russia. The secularists generally approved of the reforms, especially the secular schools and equal rights for all races and religions, and so they clashed with the Islamists, who were conservative and wanted to maintain their social advantage in the country. The moderates, as they usually are, were somewhere in the middle. They approved of some of the reforms, and did not approve of others; especially those that helped lead the country into war. For example, the moderates in Bulgaria asked for self-government in 1876, which would create a dual monarchy. They approved of at least some of the Tanzimat, because they wanted to remain attached to the empire, but they wanted to govern themselves."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Editors. "Tanzimat." LookLex Encyclopedia. 2008. 15 May 2008.<http://i-cias.com/e.o/tanzimat.htm>
• Goldschmidt, Arthur, Arthur Goldschmidt, Jr., and Lawrence Davidson. "A Concise History of the Middle East." Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2005.

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