Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Ottoman Empire in the 16th Century vs. 19th Century
In order to keep up with the modernization and nationalism of the rest of the world, the Ottoman Empire attempted to do the same but in a futile effort. As European countries invaded and took over territories that were part of the ottoman empire, like Egypt. As their land area shrunk, so did their power, and therefore their trading also declined. So, the Ottomans needed to improve themselves within. The Ottomans tried to create a national identity for themselves but were not able to because of the vast majority of cultures in the empire, and an increase of non Muslims. The government wanted a more Muslim identity but that clashed with the views of the people. This is what caused the finished the decline of the once great Ottoman Empire, the loss of power through conquest, and opposing viewpoints between the people and the government. Before, the Ottoman Empire was a Muslim nation that was tolerant of other religions, and the people were predominantly Muslim. The government wanted to maintain their Islamic values, but the people were a lot more secular and less willing to adapt to Islamic culture. The Ottoman empire encompassed numerous cultures, but while other countries were finding their cultural identity, the Ottoman empire could not do so because they didn't have one. This shows more about how empires do not succeed in the 20th century because of the wave of nationalism going around the world. If everyone else had not been so caught up in nationalism, then the Ottoman Empire along with other empires like the British empire, still might be powerful today.
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If I interpreted your post correctly, you're saying that the Ottoman empire fell because of a lack of nationalism. I agree that this was a contributing factor, but weren't there other reasons for its fall as well? Such as technological advances in other countries that they just couldn't keep up with.
ReplyDeleteYour closing sentence says that the Ottoman Empire would still be strong if the surrounding empires did not have as much nationalism. I disagree with this, I think that the Ottomans would have needed nationalism anyways, even if the other empires didn't have it. The Ottoman Empire lacked a unified identity, but had a lot of different cultural identities within itself. I think these separate pieces of the empire would have broken off slowly to form their own empires and the Ottomans would have dissolved even if the competing empires hadn't been full of nationalism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rina, that nationalism was important to the Ottomans regardless of what the other empires had. Also, I think that the major role that the lack of nationalism played was that it made it difficult for the Ottomans to have sense of unity. This unity would have bonded the Ottoman empire and created a much stronger, longer lasting force.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kevin in that is the Ottoman Empire were to have been united by Nationalism they would have lasted longer and could been a power in Europe that compared to Europe, France, Germany,and Russia. They would have been more together and could have lived and not been broken apart.
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