French Citizen Visiting Istanbul 1860s
29 Kasım 2022
Deren Aydın
From Istanbul with Love
Louis Paul Naceri is a 44–year–old French gentleman who came to Istanbul in May 1861 and previously lived as a writer in Paris. Louis had some books about the French Revolution and improved himself by making research and reading, thanks to what his father and grandfather told him; after that, he realized that he was interested in History and became a writer. He came to Istanbul with the aim to compare the social and political structure of the French Revolution period in Paris. He attempted to compare the sultanate system in Istanbul with his own political view. Additionally, he wanted to experience daily life in Istanbul. He experienced all this by living in Istanbul, meeting public people, visiting embassies, and he decided to write a letter to another friend in Paris to share all his experiences.
Louis Paul Naceri
Istanbul
Grande Rue de Pera
(İstiklal Caddesi)
Ottoman Empire
Gibert Edmond
Paris
Le Regrattier-Île Saint-Louis
Second France Empire
15 December 1863
Dear Gibert,
How are you? Is there any news about your family or your business? I hope you are all doing well, as I am also doing great here. The city of Istanbul is so magical and a great place to live. I am writing this letter to tell you what happened here and what I have experienced, my dear friend.
When I first came here in May 1861, Sultan Abdülmecid, the sultan of the period, was 39 years old and was struggling with tuberculosis. Later, when he was 39 years old, the following sentence was written in French in one of the newspapers of the period: He passed away on June 25, 1861, in the Ihlamur Pavilion (Küçük, 1988, p.262). According to what I heard from my French-speaking intellectual friends in the area where I live, the street called Grande Rue de Pera, Abdülmecid became allies with England and France in the war against the Russian Empire. Although the Ottoman Empire won the war, it was not like a state that won the war due to economic difficulties, such as loans given by Great Britain. In fact, according to what I read in the records of last year, in the second half of 1860, the government was constantly borrowing from Great Britain in order to pay its interest and principal payments (Pamuk, 2018, p.107). Apart from these, after the death of Abdülmecid, Sultan Abdülaziz ascended to the throne. The economic depression was dominant when he first came to power, but he improved the economic situation of the Ottoman Empire thanks to some sanctions he made in the palace and the state (Küçük, 1988, p.179). The Ottoman people were satisfied with Abdülaziz’s accession to the throne. I have been living here since Abdulaziz came to power, and the biggest problem Sultan Abdulaziz dealt with until now was financial affairs; apart from that, the second important issue was the internal upheavals in the Balkans. They are still trying to stop these internal uprisings to protect the state’s authority.
I know your interest in the French Revolution, Gibert; I want to tell you something about that too. Here, I observe the effects of this long-lasting revolution that took place in our country. The friends I met here, living in and around the region I live in, are Ottoman citizens like us who speak French. “Imperial Edict of Gülhane” (Tanzimat Edict) was published here in 1839. One of the reasons for the publication of this edict was my friends and their intellectual and educated mothers and fathers like them. Various reforms and innovations have been made to ensure equality and justice within the state and among the people (Quartert, 2005, p.66). About seven years ago, in addition to the Tanzimat Edict, the Islahat Edict was published in the winter of 1856. Here, just like the Tanzimat, innovations, and regulations came. Many innovations have been designed for us, and convenience has been provided to non-Muslim citizens and people like us. For example, “Mixed courts will be established for cases to be brought between Muslims and non-Muslims or between non-Muslims.” (Gülsoy, 1999, p.187). Today, these Tanzimat and Islahat decisions are still valid: today’s situation is with the decisions of the non-Muslim people who are able to establish their own assemblies. In this way, there was no conflict among themselves as they used the judges that they decided in.
I tried to explain what I saw here and what I experienced; the state is still in financial trouble at the moment, but the people are in a more prosperous state compared to the period of Abdülmecid. Thanks to the friends I met here; I do not feel alienated at all, and I can talk without any kind of restrictions. As can be seen in the articles on the innovations I mentioned and the articles of the edicts in which these innovations were published, some people were affected by our Revolution, and they want to live in a better and, most importantly, in a more equal way, as every human being has the right.
I hope everything will be as you wish. Take care of your family; I will be there soon.
Sincerely,
From Istanbul with Love
Louis
References
- Gülsoy, U. (1999). Islahat Fermani. TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/islahat-fermani.
- Küçük, C. (1988). Abdülazi̇z. TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/abdulaziz.
- Küçük, C. (1988). Abdülmeci̇d. TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/abdulmecid
- Pamuk, Ş. (2018). Reforms and Deficits: Ottoman Response to European Challenges – Chapter 4. In Uneven centuries economic development of Turkey since 1820 (pp. 107–107). Princeton University Press.
- Quataert, D. (2013). Ongoing transformation of Ottoman state–subject and subject–subject relationships. In The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922 (pp. 66–66). Cambridge University Press.