THE PLACE OF THE YOUNG TURK REVOLUTION IN

TURKISH HISTORY.

Prof. Dr. sı.. AKŞİN ••

i. Introduciioa

J'be Turu in History: The Turks of Turkeyarepan of the Tuılcic. pcoples

who. back in history. were once concentrated in Central Asia. Central Asia can be
roughly described as the region to the north and the north-west nf the China Wall. The
China Wall was built to koopthe namadie peoples -ineloding the Tuikic peoples- out of
China. The Wall also roughly corresponded to the frontler of feıtile iand wbere agriculture
could be practised. In Centtal Asia the tand was generally not suitable for qriculıure. but
could sustain the animal hents of the nomads.

The fmt "state" of the Turlcicpeoples was the Empiıe of the Hmıs. for which the
apprOximate dates 220 BC-216 AD are given. But whether or not this formatian can be
considered a state or empire in the proper sense of the word is not clear. because the Hmıs
did not use the written word. Probably this fonnatian was a coofederation of tribes. raiher'
than a state. The same can probobly he said for the Göktürks (552-745). though at the
end of their primacy they hegan to use writing. The third important poIitical formation of
the Turkic peoples was the Uygur State (745-940). By the end of the 8th century. two
important developments took place among the Turkic peoples. 1) A great number of
them hegan to move west, Lo Transoxania and contiguous regions and 2) they began to .
adopt Islam. It seems that the proces of Islamization was a rather loog. drawn-out afTair.
lasting more than two centuries (900-1150).1 The fırst Moslem Turkic state was the
Kara-Khanid State (940-1040). followed by the Ghaznavid state (963-1186). If we don't
count the inscriptions at ötüken (730). it was in the Kara-Khanid State that the fırst two
works of literary significance in the Turkic languages. the Kutadgu Bilig (1070) and
the Divan-. Lügat-lt-Türk (1074) were written.

• 1988 Marıında Manchester üniversitesi'nde yapılan Jön Türkler sempozyumun.

sunulmuş olan tebliğdir.
•• A.ü. Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi O~eıim üyesi
1llber Ortaylı. Türkıye ıdare Tarıhı (Ank.• TODAIE. Y.• ı979).p. 34.
 14 StNAAKŞtN

It was in the time of the third Muslim Turkic empire, the Empire of the Great
Selçuks (1038-1157) that this state, by defeating the Byzantine army at Manzikert
(Malazgirt) (1071), gained entry into Anatolia. From then on, or perhaps even earlier,
Turkish O~uz tribes began LOmigrate inlO Anatolia on a massiye scale. Starting in 1077,
an Anatolian Selçuk State was established with Konya as its capital, lasting until 1308.
It is evident that the coming of the Turks to Anatolia was a very significant tuming
point in their history. For the first time the Turks were in a country that had no deserts,
where there was arable land for those who wished LOsettle and plateaus and pastures for
those who chose 10 pursuc the nomadic way of life. The OtlOman Empire, which had
started from a very modest beginning in 1300, by 1481, at the death of Mehmet the
Conqueror, dominated most of present day Anatolia, as well as Greece, Bulgaria, Serhia,
Wallachia, Crimea. The Empire continued LOgrow for about a hundred years and lasted
until the 20th century.

If seems to me thatthe Ottoman empire had a specific mission as regards the

Turkish' people who were its subjects and this was the transformation of the nomadic
Turks in AnalOlia into pcasants. This process took many centuries and had many ups and
downs. Even as Iate as the 19th century the govemment was organizing expeditions LO
force nomadic tribes to settle on the land.2 The mountainous character of Anatolia,
which, on the one hand made centralizalion a difficult process. and, on the other hand,
facilitated nomadism, probably slowed dow n the progress of settlement. In Rumelia,
where the central govemmenı had the situation under its finn control, there was also a
very sizable migration and settlement of Turks, but there, nomadism appears to have
. been far from being the dominant way of life.

The Military Crisis "Of the Empire and Us Sequel: With the
development of fire-arms the traditional Ottoman mounted army of sipahis graduaııy
became ineffective. This necessitated the increase of the janissaries, who were foot-
soldiers and who used fire-arms. However, in the 17th century, parallel to the arrest of
territorial growth, the Empire began to lose interest in the military machine. The
janissaries were aııowed to become underpaid, with the understanding that they necd not
liye in their barracks, that they could go out and engage in trade, get married and raise a
family. With the further development of fire-arms and given the lack of training of the
janissaries, military disasters were inevitable. The string of these disasters started with
the second siege of Vienna in 1683. The Ottomans now began to leam to avoid war,
when the los s of the first Turco-Moslem territory, namely, Crimea (in 1774, by the
Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca), dealt a great blow to their complacency. The gigantic
upheaval that was the Napoleonic Wars, which brought Bonaparte to Egypt and which
involved the Ottoman Empire to a great extent, .added further stimulus. It was now
necessary to brave janissary opposilion and to create a modem army which meant, first of
aıı, an army training every day, living in the barracks and therefore costing a good deal.
Despite attempts in this direction during the reign of Selim III and Mahmut II,
culminating in the complete abolition of the janissary corps in 1826, the latter Sultan

2Qn the settlement of nomadie tribes see. for example, Cengiz Orhonlu. Osmanlı
tmpar~torlu~unda Aşiretlerin tskAn. (ıst., Eren Y., 1987). The well-known
expedition of the 19th century was the Fırka-i Islahiye of .J865, in which the historian
Cevdet Paşa took part.
 THE PLACE OF THE YOUNG 11JRK REVOLUTION IN TIJRKlSH HISTORY IS

could not prevent the defeat of his anny in fOUfdifferent battles at the hands of his vassal,
Mehmet Ali Paşa, governor of Egypt

Mahmut II, therefore, had no choice but to imita1e the much more radical reforms
of Mehmet Ali, including the establishment of a modem, European-~ school system.
The major steps in this direction were the founding of the Medical School in 1827 and of
the War College in 1834. Some time before, the outbreak of the Greek Revolution in
1821 had initiated a second development. Traditionally, euhured Moslem OUomans had
learned only Arabic and Persian. It was the Greeks who had learned Western languages
and acted as interpreters. With the crisis of conCidenee stemming from the Greek
Revolution, Moslems began to learn French.

Western-type school s and westem languages were to mark a new crisis in the
Ottoman Empire - this time a crisis for the ruling dynasty. Hitherto the Palaee - as an
institution - had led in every aspeçt of Moslem life • military, financial, religious,
euhural, intellectual, artistic. Now, the above-mentioned two aspects of Westemization
were to develop outside the Palace. Soon, the Sultans and their dynasty and the Palaee as
a whole, were to be outshined by a new group of officials graduating from these schools
and/or speaking French. The Palaee, as the eenturies-old center of secular and religious
power, eontinued to eommand the loyalty of all Moslems, ineluding these offieials.
However, the loyalty of the latter, when they realized the backwardness of the Palace,
began to ring hollow. At a very early stage the dynasty must have sensed the danger to
the throne emanating from this situation. Nevertheless, it is very elear that till the vecy
end, they did very little to correct this state of affairs.

Whaı was even 'worse, with the Tanzimat, the Palaee began to liye a life of luxury
and prodigality. In 1854, with the beginning of borrowing from abroad, expenses rose on
a phenomenal scale. It appears that al most none of this inoney was spent on eeonomie
investment and that nearly all of it went to building palaees, luxury spending, arms,
battleships, salaries, servieing earlier debts. Though some eontemporary writers try to
minimize the role of the Palaee, blaming high offieials and the bad example of the
Egyptian aristoeracy, it seems apparent that the Plaee was responsible. In 1875 came the
erash - the Ottoman government declared it eould payonly half of the interest on the
Ottornan debt.

At that particular point there were two alternatives in front of the Pa1ace. For it to
continue to rule as well as to reign, it would have to mend its ways. This would mean
getting a modem education for the dynasty (including learning French), dissolving or at
least severely limiting the Harem, and imposing a strict discipline on spending. The
second alternatiye was a limited monarchy - limited either by the high bureaueracy or by
en elected parliament. The first solution in the second alternatiye was imposed by the
Paşas who had deposed Sultan Abdülaziz on his suueessor, Murat V (1876). That was
probably one of the main reasons why he lost his mind. He was dethroned in 3 montbs.
Mithat Paşa tried a parliamentary solution with his successor, Abdülhamit II. In the end
Abdülhamit threw aside both the projects for a limited monarchy and the the idea of a
radical, structural refonn. Instead, he set up apolice state with himself as ehief
polieeman. He solved the financial problem by tuming over certain state revenues to
European creditors who, through the Public Debt Administration, collected their own
loans and became a state within the state. The other faeet of the finaneial problem had
been the inexhaustible spending appetite of the Palace. This he solved by imposinga
16 SİNAAKŞtN

strict discipline on the spending of the dynasty anel creating for himself a huge empire of
private property.3 .

II. The Young Turks

. The coming to power of th<~Young Turks in 1908 wasa revival of the rather
short-lived idea of limited noman:hy. It was also the coming to power of the New
Educated Man. In 1876 they could probaby be counted by the hundreds. Now they could
be counted by the thousands, and bc~ause they controlled, through the officer corps, the
army, their position seemed assured. Who were the Young Turks, or LO be more specific.
the members of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)? Generally speaking, we
can discem 5 characteristics that sum them up:4. i) They were Turks. All of them may
not have been ethnic Turks. but they identified themselves as Turks. Also, they were
Turkish nationalists. This was something that thı~y would tend to keep secret, because
the Ottoman Empire was multi-national and to openly practise nationalism would be an
invitation to other nationalities to do Iikewise. They, on the other hand, wanted to
maintain the Empire by seeming to espouse multi-national Ottomanism, while pursuing
policies of Turkish nationalism. 2) The great majority of them were young. This was
natural, for being a member of a SC'..cretrevoluticınary organization is a risky thing that
young people can more easily underlake. 3) Theybelonged mostIy to the bureaucratic
class, that is to say, they were either militaey officers or civilian officials. 4) They were
graduates of. or had studied in modem schools - Sl~ondary schools and schools of higher
education. 5) They had a bourgeois, ideology. This, in spite of the fact that they did not
belong to the bourgeoisie (which was nearly non-existent among Moslem Turks). It may
seemrather curious that though the CUP was composed mainly of members of the
bureaucracy. they espoused the ideology of a different class. but if one thinks of the
French, Russian, Chinese revolutions. one can spot plenty of such examples among their
leaders. The Young Turks were not bourgeois, but they aspired to create a modem
TUrkish society on the contemporary European model. in other words, a bourgeois
society. That meant the creation oh capitalist class and a capitalist system where these
did not exisı This was.indeed, a major tour de rorce or, from a Comteian perspective.
a feat of "social engineering"S thaı: has challengı~ govemments in Turkey to this very.
day.

11ıanks to the CUP's domination of the army and the bureaucracy in Rumelia. it
was able to challenge Abdülhamit's role .in this region. After a sharp, but short and
Iargely bloodless struggle. it was 3.ble to simulta,neously "Proclaim Liberty" (Hürriyeti
ilan) in most of Rumelia on July 23rd, 1908. AMülhamit. with his usual cunning, saw
that he had to give in, and so the govemment followed suit. decreeing elections the next
day. Thus the CUP had brought back the constitutional regime in Rumelia, but in the
rest of the Empire, including the unsuspecting capital, it was Abdülhamit who had done
so. The end result was. therefore, a compromise which allowed Abdülhamit to stay on
the throne.

3 See Vasfi Şensözen, OsmanoAullarl'nın Varlıkları ve II. Abdülhamlt'ln

Emlakl (Ank., TIK V., 1982).
4See my Jön Türkler ve ıttihat ve TerakkI. (ıst., Remzi Kitabevi, 1987).
SFor this term i am indebted to Prof. Şerif Mardin.
 TIIE PLACE OF TIIE YOUNG TIJRK REVOLUTION IN TIJRKlSH HISTORY 17

The "coming to power" of the CUP happened in a very specia! way. i mentioned
above that CUP members were largely young people. Neither public opinion, nor they
themselves were ready to envisage a cabinet composed completely of CUP men. What
happened was that some venerable Paşa became Grand Yizier and nominated others like
himself to cabinet posts, though sometimes a number of CUP men also entered the
cabinet. However, the CUP exereised arather close control of the affairs of state, very
often instructing the goveroment as to what it should do and what it should not do. This
was a model of goveroment that the CUP was to maintain until the assassination of
Mahmut Şevket Paşa on June 1ı, 1913, after which date CUP members assumed the
office of Grand Vizier, as well as all the other cabinet posts. However, ~iı Paşa, the
venerable old Vizier of the early montbs of the constilutional period, cou1dnot ımdersıand
or stomach the interference of these 'youngsters'. He therefore nıade an attempt to get rid
of this control, but soon found himself facing a vote of non-confidence from Parliament
(February 13, 1909).

The opposition had the naive.notion that the CUP's function should be limited to
restoring the constitutional regime and that it should not interfere in goveroment affairs.
More specifically, it regarded the overthrow of the KAmil Paşa goveroment as a
monstrous act. It was also very critical of the CUP's compromise with Abdülhamit.
Thus, when a prominent opposition jouroalist was assassinated, a week later they
launched an uprising by the soldiery against their officers and the CUP (the so-callçd
"Event of 31st March", 13 April 1909 by the Gregorian calendar).6 The opposition must
have planned this manifestation of foece as a disciplined affair. Instead, it turned out to be
a bloody mess. The goveroment resigned, the CUP leadership fled to Rumelia.
Parliament, to which the mutineers were to address their demands, could not convene,
because most deputies did not dare to go there. In the end, the soldiery, who were also
clamoring for pardon, turned to the traditional center of authority, namely, Abdülhamit.
Abdülhamit made the mistake of appearing on the balcony of Yıldız Place and
acknowledging the cheers of the mutineers. What is more, when, two days later they
brought the commander of a warship who had dared train his guns on Yıldız, he again
appeared on the balcony, a few monents before they lynched the unlucky man. These
balcony appearances sealed Abdülhamit's fate. .

In the days foııowing the mutiny, the Chamber of Deputies was able to muster a
majority. It is interesting to note that the Chamber, in spite of thevociferous protests
that began to pour in from Rumelia, adopted the attitude of accepting the status quo
imposed by the mutiny as an accomplished fact. This meant that the CUP would be out
of power and also, out o( İstanbuL. This is very curious, because nearly all Moslem
deputies had been elected from CUP tickets. The explanation for this is that before the
Proclamation of Liberty, the CUP's organization in the Asiatic and Afriean provinces had
been at best rudimentary. With the coming of Liberty, all sorts of persons stepped
forward who claimed to be CUP sympathizers. In many cases neither these persons nor,
during the elections, the candidates for the Chamberhad the 5 CUP characteristics
enumerated above. But the CUP needed local organizations and local candidates and,
pressed for time, could not afford to be choosy. It is therefore no wonder, then, that the
majority of these deputies, taking the line of least resistance, accepted the mutiny even if
they did not approve it. Indeed, they formed delegations to send to the Army of

6See my 31 Mart Olayı.

18 SlNAAKŞlN

Operations (Hareket Ordusu) coming from Rumelia to quell the revolt, LOadvise them.
not LOenler the city. But onee these deputies reaehed Yeşilköy, where the Army was
camped, they realized they had to choose sides and, also, which side they had LOchoose.
Thus, they stayed in Yeşilköy. Soon some Senators also joined them and, before long,
the two Chambers were meeting lOgether,under the presideney of Said Paşa, President of
the Senale. The Constitution had foreseen the joint meeting of the Chambers only for the
opening ceremony of Parliament The two Chambers, lOgether, made up Parliament or
Meclis-i Umumi. Now, the two Chamber~~ere holding regular joint meetings and,
what is more, under arather suspicious name non-exislent in the Constitution: Meclis-
i Umumi-i Milli (National Assembly). After the return of Parliament to İstanbul, no
more joint meetings were held exeept as foreseen by the Constitution (except for the
session .which deposed Abdülhamit) and the name Meclis-i Umumi-i Milli or
Meclis-i Milli disappeared. However, in laler years it surfaced again as an unomeial
synonym of the Ctiamber of Deputies, its use becoming more frequent until it became
offitial with the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Türkiye Büyük Millet
Meclisi) convened in the spring of 1920 by Mustafa KemaL.

One cannot help thinking that some people at Yeşilköy may have been taking a
1eafout of the very early stages of the history of the French Revolution, when, upon the
insistence of the Tiei's Etat, the Etats Generaux was dissolved and the three'
Chambers, meeting jointly, formed the Assemblee Nationale (June 17, 1789).7
Once the Hareket Ordusu oecupied İstanbul, the revolutionary Parliament deposed
Abdülhamit and voted the Heir Apparent Mehmet Reşat (Mehmet V) LOthe throne (April
27, 1909). This event was truly the consummaıion of the Proclamaıion of Liberty. A
constitutional monarchy presided by the former arch-autocrat ~d 'head-policeman' of 30-
odd years could not be considered a very healıhy state of affairs for the new regime: On
the other hand, the person of the new Sultan was very feliciıous for the CUP. He was an
amiable old gentleman, whose ambition in politics (in spite of the fact that he enjoyed
being on the throne) was at aminimum. Thus the CUP, from that quarter at least. had a
more ample opportunity LOstart building a modem soeiety. .

III. Contributions of the CUP

Having thus pIaced the CUP within the framework of general Turkish hislOry,and
having ouılined its coming to power, we can now proceed lO deseribe some of its
contributions to the life of the country. .

A. Contributions to the 'Political and (ntellectual Life of the

Country: The regime instituted by the CUP can hardlybe ealled demoeratic in the
modem sense of the word. In the first plaee, the CUP openly described itself as the
"sacredsoeiety" ("cemiyet-i mukaddese"). One can easily imagine how an assoeiation
with such pretensions would view other organizations, especially if they were in the
opposition. After the counıer-revolution of "March 31", this attitude became more
pronounced. Opposition organizations or parties were readi1y identified as being "pro-
March 31". Indeed, after the suppression of the counter-revolution,. İstanbul was placed

7See my "La R~volution française et la eonseienee r~volutionnaire des nationalistes' tures

a l'aube de la guerre d'Ind~pendanee", La Turqule et la France a l'Epoque
d'Atatürk (Paris, Collection Tureiea, 1981).
 TI-IE PLACE OF TI-IE YOUNG TIJRK REVOLUTION IN TURKISH mSTORY 19

under a regime of almost continuous martiallaw. Parliamentary deputies could and did
form opposition parties, yet outside parliament they experienced extreme difficulty in
forming local organizations and in engaging in political activity. -The Liberal Union
Party (Hürriyet ve İtilaf Fırkası) founded in November 21, 1911, had a certain
success, because it enjoyed a) the leadership of the husband of a princess (namely,
Mediha), Damat Ferit Paşa, and the probable patronage of Vahdettin, his brother-in-law,
who was to be the last Sultan (1918-22) and b) because by that time the invasion of
Tripoli by Italy had tarnished the image of the CUP. However, when the Liberal Union .
won the by-election of December 1i, 191 I, the CUP panicked and held eleetions in 1912
which came to be known as the "big stick" elections (sopalı seçimler), where the
opposition could only win 6 seats. And then, when Mahmut Şevket Paşa was
assassinaled in 1913, those responsible were tried and exeeuted, while the whole
leadership of the political opposition was banisbed Lo Sinop till the end of World War i.
It was only towards the end of that disastrous war that the CUP made certain moves in
the direction of creating a 'very' Ioyal opposition.

Again, when it comes to demoeracy, one can dwell on a very ugly stain on the
CUP's record, the shooting down by CUP gunmen of 4 'undesirable' persons between
1908 and 191 i. The first person, killed in 1908, was an agent of Abdülhamit, the others
were opposition journalists. The killing of adversaries, one person per year, was probably
thought of as a warning to the opposition. It is difficuh to think that the responsible
bodies of the CUP were unaware of these assassinations, even before they happened. At
any rate, the CUP considered itself (and was) a revolutionary organization and did liule to
disassociate itself from them.

In spite of this dismal record, it can be said that, compared with the role of
Abdülhamit, the CUP's govemment was an era of great freedom. Under Abdülhamit,
persons were not even allowed to form non-political associations. A person who made a
list of neighbours in order to collect money for the repair of the neighbourhood street
fountain, would get into trouble because he would be suspeeted of forming some sart of
ilIegal organization. Af ter 1908, persons could get togelber to form associations.
commercial or industrial corporations. if one was ready to lake certain risks, political
associations could be fonoed. .

Freedom of the press was another thing that came with Liberty. Formerly, every
word had to be censored before it was allowed to get into prinı. The farcically paranoiac
aspects of the Hamidian censorship are weıı-known. The Turkish word for star (yildız)
could not be published because it might be a reference to Abdülhamit, who lived in
Yıldız Palace. The word murat (wish) had also d1sappeared from print, because it might
be a reference to Abdülhamit's predecessor, Murat V. With the Proclamation of Liberty,
censorship disappeared completely. The CUP was very sensitiye Lo criticism, but,
ideologically, it had an open mind. Thus, all kinds of ideas, whether right,or left, were
freely discussed in the press. In the field of ideas, the main constrainı came from the
quarter of religious conservatism, whiC,h was against free-thinking or criticism of Islam.
The CUP was hardly in sympathY with conservative attitudes, but it had to be careful
about being identified with anti-Islamic views. The sudden advent of freedom of the press
created a veritable IOrrent of publications, currents of thought, ideas. Laier the Turkish
Republic was Lo be built on the intelleetual and idealogical experience gained from this
20 SİNAAKŞİN

period. For this reason Professor Tunaya has aptly described the 2nd Constitutional Era
as the "politieal laboratory of the Republic".7bıs. '

Another important impact on the intellectual life of the country came ffQm radical
changes in educational policy. First, school curriculums were revised. The Hamidian
regime took a very jaundiced view of the humaniti(~ and social sciences. The ıeaching of
history was mainly restricted to the history of the birth of Islam and the 4 Caliphs, as
well as a superfıcial treatment of the history of the Ottoman Empire. Great accent was
placed on the inculcation of religious values and morality, hoping thereby to produce
obedient and loyal subjects to the Sultan. Students at all levels had to spend many hours
in lessons given for this purpose. With the Constİtution, such courses were limited. On
the other hand, subjects such as world history, philosophy, sociology, were introduced or
expanded. Secondly, thanks to a mueh freer climate of thought, the contents of the
courses were enriched. Very probably, student participation in the teaching process
(mainly, asking questions in class) was greatly inereased. Thirdly, the public educational
system was greatly expanded. We can follow this expansion from budget fıgures. The
budget of the Ministry of Education was about 200.000 liras a year during the period
1904-1908. This fıgure rose to 660.000 in 1909,940.000 in 1910, 1.230.000 in 1914.8
if we lake into aceount the tecritorial losses during this period, the rise inaııocations
becomes even more pronouneed. '

Lastly, we can dwellon the legislative activity,of Parliament, which, starting at

the end of 1908, within a year bui lt the foundation s of a modern, democratic state. Most
important, the Constitution of 1876 was almost completely overhauled. 21 articles were
changed, onewas abrogated, 3 more were added. it can be said. that what emerged was a
new constitution, the Constitution of 1909. To give a few examples of these changes,
the Sultan, upon ascending the throne, was now obligated to swear to abide by the
Sharia, by the Constitution and to be loyal to the rnotherland and the nation. He had the
right to appoint only the Grand Vizier (not the ministers) and the Şeyhülislam, the right
to dismiss or change 'Jlinisters being only formally his. The right to dissolve Parliament
could now be exercised only under certain conditions. Important treaties could onlyenter
into effect af ter the approval of Parliament The changed Constitution alsa specifıed that
the cabinet would be responsible before Parliament The Chamber or Deputies would
directly elect its Chairman and Vice-Chairmen (formerly the Chamber nominated 3
candidates for each position, one of whom was appointed by the Sultan).

Then, a whole series of basic laws were enacted conceming public meetings, the
press, printing-houses, labor strikes, associations ete. There was also a series of
legislation or measures abrogating or bringing limitations to the Ancien Regim-e.
Among these were the transfer of royal property having an income of more than 400.000
liras a year to the Treasury, a drastic reduction in appropriations for the Place, a reduction
of the salaries of high officials, the prohibition of white slavery, the combing-out from
the anny, the civil service and the Palace of uneducated personnel. In theanny, for
instance, 7500 ranker (alayh)'Officers were retired. Another important aspect of 'the
reforms was the application of modem budgetary and fiscal practices, including the

7bis. Tarık Zafer Tunaya, Türkıye'nın SiyasI Hayatında Batılılaşma

Hareketleri (lst., YedigUn Matbaası, 1960), pp. 97-8.
8asrnan Ergin, Türk Maarif Tarıhı (İst., Eser Y., 1977), pp. 1330-9.
 THE PLACE OF THE YOUNG TURK REVOLUTION IN TURKISH mSTORY 21

discussion and approval by the Chamber of the budget, and examinatiotı of expenditures
by the Cotırt of Accounts.9 .

B. Contributions to the Economic Lire or the Country: i mentioned

above the benefits derived from the freedom of organization. This was also true in the
commereiar and industrial fields. Abdülhamit seems to have had little compunction about
throttling the economic life of the country if he felt that the safety of his throne called for
it. According to Zafer Toprak, until the 2nd Constitutional Period, almost no joint-stoek
companies were fonned in the Empire without resorting to foreign capital, excepting
Şirket-i Hayriye (1849) and Ziraat Bankası (1863).10 According to Vedat Eldem, in 1881
there were 4 industrial joint-stock companies fonned with national capital. 11 Figures for
later years were: 7 in 1886, i in 1899,2 in 1901, 1 in 1902,2 in 1903, i in 1904,3 in
1905,2 in 1906,3 in 1907,2 in 1908. During the 23 years between 1886 and 1908,24
joint-stock companies wero. thus founded with national capital. The total capital involved
was 40.2 million kuruş or an average of 1.75 million kuruş per year. on the other band,
during the years 1909-1913,27 industrial companies with national capital were fonned
with a total. capital of 79.2 million kuruş or an average of 15.9 million kuruş year. This
means a5-fold increase in the number of companies per year, and a 9-fold increase in
yearly capital. There is asimilar increase in companies fonned with foreign capital, but
from the point of view of number and capital, there is, on the average, only about a two-
fold increase. This obviously shows how drastically the climate for the inevestment of
national capital had changed.12 In favour of Toprak's minima1ist statement. it can be said
that most probably the companies fonned during the Hamidian era were of a semi-offıcial
character. It is also certain that most of them, despite Eldem's qualification of
"industrial", were public utility concems.

One other important indication of the change of climate was legislation LO

encourage industry. Two laws were promulgated for this purpose, one in 191 I, the other
in 1913. These laws provided for the granting of free land, tax exemptions, preference in
state purehases for new industrial enterprises.13 Other legislation authorized the land of
ruined piOQSendowments to be sold, thus allowing their return to economic use. Another

9 Akşin. Jön ..• pp. 143-7.

10Z. Toprak, Türkiye'de Mıllı ıktısat" (1908-1918) (Ank.• Yurt Y.• 1982). p. 40.
Toprak also eplains how Islamic law had no conception of corporate personality and
only sanctioned partnerships.
11 Vedat Eldem. Osmanlı ımparatorlu~unun ıktisadi Şartları Hakkında bır
Tetkık (Ank.• Iş Bankası Y., 1970). p. 122.
12Even in agnculture we find an accelerated rate of increase in production. Between 1889-
90 and 1909-10 the agricultural production index increased at a yearly average of 1.71
points. Between 1909-10 and 1913-4, the index rose at a yearly average of 2.2 points.
According to another table, taking the years 1897-8 as the base, the yearly average
increase was 1 point until 1909-10. but between the latter date and 1913-4 it was 3.8
points. Apparently these figures are not very dependable. if they do not take into
account the losses in Rumelia during the Balkan Wars (1912-3) the increase is all the
more impressive. Eldem, pp. 36,79. Theoretically. the increase of agricultural production
may be the result of such different factors as better lawand order. new roads. more
machinery and fertilizers, confidence in the new regime.
13Eldem, p. 243.
22 SİNAAKŞİN

law allowed construction and agricultural companies to aı:quire property. This and other
legislation helped to promote the spread and aeeumulation of capitaı.14

Another important developmentıin this period was the institution of free travel,
both abroad and within the Empire. The Ottomans had always taken a dim view of
freedom of movement and had tried to restrict it. Mahmut II (1808- i839) had initiated the
practice of mürur tezkeresi which meant a system of internal passport. Any stranger
who did not have this document authorizing him to be where he was. would get into
trouble. It appears that with the Tanzimat (1839), this obHgation was relaxed. However,
the Hamidan ~Iice regime, installed after April 1880, vigorously revived and reinforced
the practice.l In March i884, an announcement by the l.tfinistry of Police informed the
public as to the treatment accorded to those caught \\,ithout a tezkere. They were
"called" to the Ministry and those whose innocence wa:, established had to indicate a
guarantor, while enquiries wcre made from the person's locality. Those who could not
show a guarantor were placcd under detention before being returned, at their own expense,
to their localites.16 Many documents from the period are in agreement that these
restrictions on travel discouraged economic activities.

C. Contributions to the Social Life ot the Country: First let us look

at labour conditions. Before 1908, neither strikes, nor laboi: organizations were sanctioned
by law. However, the creation of an Ameleperver Ceıniyeti (Worker's Benevolent
Society) in 1871 is known. Under the Hamidian regime two attempts 10 form a secret
trade union by the gun foundry (Tophane) workers in 1894 and 1901-2 were foiled.
Working conditions -a working day of up to 16 hours, pİenty of child labor, subsistence
wages- were very bad. From time to time even these subsi~;tence wages could not he paid.
The result was that workers, in spite of its prohibitiorı, went on strike. As soon as
Liherty was proclaimed, spontaneous strikes broke out all over the country. At first the
CUP, because it was aware of working conditiom, was sympathetic, but the
dissatisfaction and presSure of foreign capital forced it to bring out, even hefore the
convening of Parliameni, a "temporary law" (8 October 1908) which was later enacted.
This law regulated strikes in places and companies which provided public services such as
water, gas, electricity, tramways, raildroads. In such companies, trade unions could not he
formed and workers were obligated to submit their disputes to arbitration hefore they
could strike. This was an important restriction. Nevertheless, it can be said that af ter
ı908, there was on improvement in conditions for the labor movement and its struggle.
Basides trade unions and workers' associations, there werı~ a number of socialist minded
deputies in Parliament (especially among the Armenian and Bulgarian deputies). In

l4YuSuf Hikmet Dayur. Türk lnkllAbl Tarıhı (Ank., TTK Y., 19S2) vol. n, pt. 4, p.
303.
1S'In spite of the fact that no elections had been held since 1878, wh~n Parliament was
dissolved, until April 1880 Abdülhamit acted unmistakeably as though the constitutional
regime would continue, as though elections might be helli any time. With the coming to
power in England of Gladstone's Turcophobe Liberal Party, Abdülhamit suddenly changed
his mind and started to institute his police regime. See my "I. Meşrutiyet üzerine Bazı
Düşünceler", Uluslararası Mldhat Paşa Semınerı (AnJc., rrK Y., 1986), pp. 30-3.
16lbid., pp. 37-40. i
 THE PLACE OF THE YOUNG TIJRK REVOLUTION IN TIJRKISH HISTORY 23

September 1910, a certain Hüseyin Hilmi even formed the Ottoman Socialist Party and
published a review, the Iştirak. i 7

Another social area where the CUP made certain contributions, more 'Yillingly and
actively than in the field of labor problem s, was in the domain of women's rights. The
condition of Onoman women, especially in the capital and thecities, was quite dismal,
but it tended to undergo changes from time to time. It can be said that when public aifairs
started to go wrong, when the Empire suffered military defeat, there was a tendeneyon
the part of the rulers to clamp down on women, to restrict theiralready very limited
freedom even further in order to curry favour with conservalive circles. As a role, Maslern
girls, as soon as they attained puberty, were required to stay indoors, not to talk with
men and to cover thernselves up when they went out It is said that Osman III (1754-6)
went so far as to decree that on the days that he went out of the Patace, no women were
to be permitted to go out in the streets.lH With the coming of Tanzimat (1839), women
were aııowed a certain amount of freedom. In 1838, the first rtişdiye or modem shool for
boys was opened in ıstanbuL. The first rtişdiye for girls was opened in 1858. The rırst
teachers' coııege was ope'Jled in 1847. Because it was thought inapproriate for girls to be
taught by men, a teachers' college for girls foııowed in 1870. ThUS, a way, however
narrow, was opened for the education of professional women. The creation of more
educational facilities for girls continued under Abdülhamit, but in other respeet there
appears to have been a retrogression in the condition of women. No longer were palace
ladies allowed to go out In 1889, upon an incident of molestation of women, the çarşar
(usuaııy with fuıı veil), an Arab type of somber outdoor covering dress generally made
from black cloth, instead of the traditional, more open and more colorful rerace and
yaşmak (half veil) was declared obligatory. i9 (Except for palace ladies, because under
the çarşaf, it was not possible to identify who was going in or out of the Palace, and this
was considered a seeurity risk). At this time, a committee presided by the Şeyhülislam
decided that girls who were older than 9 years were a source of temptation. Therefore it
proposed that they should not go to school af ter that age and that the women's teacher
coııeges should be closed down. Fortunately, Abdülhamit did not act in accordance with
this recommendation.20 Nevertheless, a man and a woman, whether they were brother
and sister, or mother and son, or husband and wife could not walk together or be in the
same carriage, because others could not be sure there was not a sinful relation between
them.2l In trams or baats, these persons had to sil in different sections. (Even in hat
weather, women were not aııowed to sit on the decks of ıstanbul boats, which were all
reserved for men.) A firman in 1881 made veils obligatory and prohibited light veils in
busy public places. Women were also not to appear in ,the streets or in vehicles in the

l7T.Z. Tunaya, Türkiye'de Sıyasal Partıler (ıSt., HUrriyet Vakfı Y., 1984), vol. I, pp.
247.62.
i HIsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, Osmanlı Tarıhı (Ank.• TTK Y. 1956), vol. IV. pt. 1. p.
337. In the time of Mustafa IV (1H07.H)women were completely forbidden to go out of
their homes. A. Afetinan. Atatürk ve Türk Kadın Haklarının Kazanılması (ıSt..
Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı, i 96H). p. HO. ,
19Mehmet Zeki Pakalın. "Çarşaf", Tarıh Deyimieri ve Terımlerı Sözlüjü. it is
rather typical of the traditional Islamic attitude than though those responsible for such
an incident should be men. it would be women who would be penalized.
20Bayur. vol. I, pt. 2. p. 47.
21Afetinan also cites an earlier announcement, in lH62. to this effect (p. 80).
 24 SİNAAKŞİN

ıstanbul neighbourhoods of Şehzadebaşı. Beyazıt. Aksaray. nor were they.to stroll in the
Covered Bazaar or sit in the shops. A man who ta1ked to a women or whomade a sign to
her was to be punished according to article 202 of the Penal Code. Women were a1so not
to gather in public places.22 -

In great contrast with this official Hamidian policy was the attitude of the CUP.
In its first known regulation. probably dating from 1895 ..6. the CUP specified that all
Üuomans. men and women, could become members (art 1). As if to show that this was
not mere Iip-service, another artiele (art. 37) repeated that women could become members
and that they would have the same rights and duties as men.23 Indeed, it appears that
hefore 1908 they did have a lady member: Nazlı Hanım, probably from the Kavalalı
dynasty which ruled Egypt, who was a member of the Pari~;CUP branch.24

The Proclamation of Liberty unleashed great demostrations in İstanbul during the

first days. The primary object of these sccms to have been to show to Abdülhamit and
his men that the CUP was strong not only in Rumelia, but also in İstanbuL. One crowd
which marched to the Sublime Porte and held a meeting ı.here. was led by an unveiled
woman. On July 27, 1908 carriages decorated with constitutional slogan s and careying
. women (also unveiled) made a procession in the streets of ıstanbuL. Artieles by women.
publications by and/or for women, associations of women ,25 soon gaye rise to .rumours
that teseltür, or the Islamic obligation for women to cover themselves was about to be
ended .

This gaye rise to a reaction. In October 1908, a number of roughnecks attacked

and beat an officer who had hired a carriage with his wife and daughter, shouting that he
was going around with "whores". They a1so tore the dothes of the women and opened
.their veils. The indicident was reported to have occurred in front of a police station, but
apparently the policemen had not intervened. It was also reported that women going to a
mosque had had their çarşars tom up and that orders had b~en given for the detention of
the culprits.26

On October 14, 1908, the Beşiktaş Iynching occurred. A Moslem widower by the
name of Bedriye and Todori, a Greek gardencr, decided to geı mamed. When Bedriye went
to Todori's house, her father informed the police. who brought the couple to the police
station. The news spread and a crowd which gathered outside demanded that the couple be

22lbid., pp. 85-6 (ciıing Le ••• ant Heraıd, 15/8/1881;'. In 1901, ıhe Hamidian
adminisıration had expressed ıhe desire ıhat Moslem families should not hire European
govemesses, ıhat Moslem women should noı go into European shops, ıhat ıheir veils
should be covered even inside carriages. Also, ıhe colour and ıhickness of ıhe veil, as
well as ıhe kind of shoes ıhat could be wom were specifie:l. George F. Abbott, Turkey
In Transition (London, Edward Amold, 1909), pp. 27-8. .
23T.Z. Tunaya, Türkiye'de Siyasi Partıler (ıSt., Doğan Kardeş Basımevi, 1952). pp.
II 7-22.
24M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, Osmanlı htihad ve Terakki Cemiyet! ve Jön Türklük
(1889-1902) (ıst., I1eıişim Y., 1986), pp. 204, 431.
25Tunaya lists 14 such associations creaıed between 1908 and 1918. Tunaya 1984, pp.
476-82.
26ıkdam, 11-12/10/1908, no. 5166-7; The Times (reporı dated 13/10/1908).
 THE PLACE OF THE YOUNG TIJRK REVOLUTION IN TIJRKISH HISTORY 25

handed over. According to the Sharia. a Moslem woman could not marry a non-Moslem.
Her going to his house was also -naturaııy- unacceptable. The efforts of the police
superintendent and of a member of the ulema. were of no avail. Thereupon. 40 soldiers
from Y ıld,ız Palace commanded by Major Osman Efendi arrived on the seene. But the
soldiers made no attempt to disperse the crowd. and after a while the Major even decided
to withdraw. At this point. and 4 hours af ter its gathering. the crowd charged the police
stalion. They killed Todori and heavily wounded Bedriye. No shots were fıred. and some
policemen were beaten up. The affair was treated in the press as a great scandal and a
number of measures were laken in response to iı The Major was interrogated and legal
proceedings against 13 persons were initiated.27

On October 17. 1908. the Ministry of Police published an announcement.

reporting 3 incidents conceming the molestalion of women. The fırst had happened to
women in the Covered Bazaar who were wearing "very open" clothes. The second
occurred in the same place to a woman who was walking with her officer husband The
third incident happened to an artiııery officer who was riding in an open carriage with a
"very weıı-dressed" woman and some children. In the second incident. the culprit had been
asoidier and he had been apprehended by other officers. it is interesling to note that
officers. who played a key role in the revolution of 1908, seemed to be bent on flaunling
conservative convenlions. Or. what seems less likely, conservatives were singling out
officers in creating such incidents. What is also striking is that the Ministry of Police,
by dwelling on the attire of these ladies, seemed -even if it was not blaming them- to be
waming women to be careful not to dress or behave in the same way.28

These incidents give an indication of the atmosphere of the country and the kind of
uphill struggle for the emancipation of women. Important progress was made, but this
progress always seemed to ron into the dead end of the Islamic state. It was with the
advent of secularism under the republic that real gains in the emancipation of women
were attained. The difficulties encountered by the CUP are iIIustrated by thesituation
during World War i. Because of the scarcity ofmanpower, women, by necessity, had to
lake up all sorts of jobs, from office work to factory jobs or street-sweeping. Under the
patronage of the army, a society to provide work for women was created which employed
13.000 to 15.000 women in sewing jobs (some of them worked in work-shops, some of
them at home). There was even a Women's Battalion attached to the ıst Army in
İstanbuL. Women began to attend schools hitherto closed to them, including the
university. A number of Moslem actresses started to appear on the theatre stage. Though

27ıkdam, 15-6, 26/10. 4/11/1908, no. 5170-1. 5181, 5188; The Times (report dated
15/10/1908). '
28Tanln, 17/10/1908, no. 78. This newspaper, a CUP organ. sharply criticized the
Ministry because there was no indication concerning the apprehension of those
responsible. The carrige incident here deseribed may have been the same as the one
earlier referred to. During the same period in Aydın, the local authorities deereed that a
man caught talking with a woman would be fined 100 kuruş and that the woman would be
bastinadoed. (The difference in punishment is striking.) Şehmus Güzel, "Tanzimat'tan
Cumhuriyet'e Toplumsal Değişim ve Kadın", Tanzimat'tan Cumhurıyet'e Türkıye
Anslklopedlsl. vol. 3-4. pp. 858-74. it seems rather clear that all these incidents
played some sort of part in the military mutiny of "March 31".
 26 SİNAAKŞİN

aıı wore the çarşaf, many women began not to use the veil.29 In 1917 an ordinance
caıled Hukuk-u Aile Kararnamesi was promulgated which aimed at regulating
family law for Ottomans, whatever their religion -something which was unimaginable in
the domain of family law. It was asserted, with the backing of a fetva (religious
opinion) that there was nothing contrary to the Sharia in this ordinance which, however,
brought quite a number of innovations in favour of women. For instance, it made
polygamy difficult and under certain conditions a judge could grant a divorce to the
wife.3°

Nevertheless, in spite of all this progress, the CUP from time to time felt !t had
to make certain concessions to conservative opinion. Curiously, it was Enver Paşa, the
Minister of War who, despite the many measures that he had initiated for the
emancipation of Moslem w!?men, on various occasions acıed -or fe lt compelled to act- as
a conservative. Thus when Cemil (Topuzlu) Paşa converted the Gülhane palace gardens
into a public park, the presence of women at the opening ceremony and, in the following
days in the park, gaye rise to gossip. Malicious tongues cCllle<!it "Cernil Paşa's Brothel" ..
The Minister of War at that time (who may or may not have been Enver) ordered that no
women should enter the park. Upon objections, it was decreed that women could enter the
park only on certain days, when men would be excluded. It seems, however, that in
praclice, this role was largely disregarded.31

According to another source, the conservative action of Enver Paşa was the result
of the beginning of military defeat. He arranged for a coınmittee to deeide how long
çarşafs should be. Police started to go around measuring the skirt lengths of ladies.32

IV. Conclusion.

lt seems apparent from the above account, that wiıh the coming to power of the
CUP in 1908, a major transfonnation began to takeplace in Otloman, and more
specifically, in Turkish society. The process of refonn wtıich started in 1718, in the so-
called Tulip Age, and which gained a certain acceleration arter 1789, produced important
results. The major result, it can be said, was the 1908 revolution itself. But the process

29 Ahmed Emin (Yalman), Turkey In the World War (New Haven. Yale U.P., 1930),
pp. 168-86, 224.7, 259-60.
30Bayur III, 4, pp. 374.6. it is interesting to note that that this piece of legislation was
promulgated not as a law, but as an ordinance, presuınably to evade parliamentary
discussion . this, in spite of the fact that Parliament had been reduced to robber . stamp
status during the War. it is also very telling that very won af ter the CUP's faıı. from
power, in June 19. 1919, the Kararname was abrogated.
31 Afetinan, pp. 93-94; Rakım Ziyaoğlu, İstanbul Kadıluı Şehreminieri Belediye
Reisieri ve Partıler Tarıhı (ıst., ısmail Akgün, 1971). pp. 198, 203-4. Cemi! Paşa
was Mayor of Istanbul from 18/8/1912 to 7/11/1914.
32Kemal Savcı, Cumhuriyetin SO. Yılında Türk Kadını (Ank., Cihan Matbaası,
1973), pp. 59-60. Apolice director, upon hearing that a man and his wife were living in
an hotel room on Prinkipo I~lands, personaııy we"t to the hotel and sent her out. When
the daughters of a high-ranking officer who was fighting at Ga!lipoli and whose wife was
German, attended a reception at the German Embassy, Enver .had the officer retired and
a!so had a Customs officia! who was married to a lady from that family dismissed from
his job. How reliable Savcı's information is, i do not know.
 TIffi PLACE OF TIffi YOUNG TURK REVOLUTION IN TURKISH HISTORY 27

of change after 1908 was essentially very different in character and magnitude from the
one preceding it. It was no longer a case of improvisation in order to tey to cope with
extemal and internal chal1enges. It was a conscious and deliberate attempt to build' a
modem, capitalist society. It was a period of revolutionary change.

In Turkey the French quadripartition of history is widely accepted, both in schools

and university programs.33 According to this model, Ancient History (tık Çatlar,
"First Agesıl in Turkish) starts with the invention of writing and ends with the fallaf the
Westem Roman Empire in 476. The Middle Ages goes up to 1453, date of the conquest
of Constantinople by the Ottomans. Modem History, which fol1ows, ends in 1789, date
of the French Revalutian. After 1789 is Contemporary History. This quadripartition may
be meaningful for the French, it may be meaningful for Euİ'ope in general, but for
Turkish history it is not so meaningful. The collapse of the Westem Roman Empire had
litlle significance for the Turks. The conquest of İstanbul was a very important event in
Ottoman history, but it cannot be considered the dawnof a new historical age for the
Turks. The French emphasis on that date is because the conquest of Constantinople is
purported to have resulted in a major movement-of Byzantine scholars to ltaly, who there
helped to initiate the Renaissance. Doubıless, the Renaissance played a major role in the
development of European civilization, but it had no immediate effect on the Turks. The
same is true of the French Revolutian. It had immediate effects, but for the Moslem
population of the Empire, these were mainly confined to the militaey field. For the
Turks, the ideological-political-social effects were to come some time later, especially
with the CUP.

For these reasons I have proposed, in the foreword of Türkiye Taribi,34 a

tripartite division of Turkish History. Thus the "First Ages" would begin with the
invention of writing among the Göktürks (730 A.D.) in Central Asia. For the Turks of
Turkey, this age would end with the beginning of the conquest of Anatolia (1071). it
would alsa correspond to the Turks' nomadic age. The Selçuk and Ottoman periods in
Anatolia and Rumelia, lasting until 1908 would be the Turkish Middle Ages and would
'correspond to the process of settlement of the Turks, in other words, the transformatian
of the Turks from nomads into peasants. From 1908 to the present would be
Contemporary Turkish History. In this last era, the dominant motif might be considerecı
the process of urbanization. The attractiveness of this tripartite division would be that it
would also correspond, to some extenl, to the major socio-economic transformations in
Turkish society. '

lt might be asked, whether or not the contemporary age of Turkish history should
rather start with the Republic (1923), or with the struggle for independence (1919). To
this writer it seems difficult to separate the 2nd Constitutional Period from the Republic.
After all, Atatürk and most of his close supporters had their baptism in politics within
the ranks of the CUP. In this respeet, Tunaya's evaIuatian of the 2nd Constitutionaı
Period as the "political laboratory of the Republic" has been a source of inspiratiOll in

33For criıical diseussions of Freneh qu.driparıition see J. Chesneaux, Pasts and Futures
or What Is History For?, tt.nslaıed by S. Coryell (London, Thames and Hudson,
1978), pp. 63-7; ıbrahim Kafesoğlu, "üniversite Tarih O~reıiminde Yeni Bir Plin",
ıÜEF Tarıh Dergisi, vol. XIV, no. 19, March 1964.
34(HIstory of Turkey), vol. i (ıst., Cem Y., 1987).
28 SİNAAKŞİN

joining the two periods. At the same time. of course. this should not blur the major
differences between the two sub-periods. The Turkish Revolutian began in 1908. but it
attained its fruition in a much mare profound and radical form with the Republic. The
Constitutional Revalutian (1908-1918) took place wit.hin the framework of the
monarchicprinciple embodied by the Ottoman dynasty. Because of the dead hand of
tradition. this Revalutian alsa accepted the theocratic princ:iple. it was to a large extent
due to Vahdettin's attempt to restore absolutism upon the eclipse of the CUP during the
Armistice and his determined opposition to the National Struggle -as weıı as Atatürk's
seeular republicanism. his military victories- that led to the radicalization of the Turkish
Revalutian and the advent of the Republican Revolution. In other words. the
contemporary period of Turkish history begins with the:Constitutional Revolutian in
1908. The abolition of the Sultanate on November 1. 1922 marks the beginning of the
Republican Revolutian. on the other hand. the two revoluüoris can be' subsumed under
the title of "Turkish Revalutian".

While accepting the tripartite classification. it might be alsa argued that the
beginning of the Contemporary Age should be carriedback iLA an earlier date. say i876 or
1839. The ease with which Abdülhamit could do away with the Constitutional regime in
1880 indicates the great weakness of that movemenl. 1839. the Tanzimat. is a major
tuming point. no doubt. Nevertheless. and in spite of the stature of men like Mustafa
Reşit. Ali. Fuat and Mithat Paşas. it is clear -especiaııy in internal politics- that in the
period 1839-1880 the Palace. in the last analysis. generallyl1ad thelast word.\Fuat Paşa's
famous wordsaptly describe the position of these statesmen:."In every country there are
two forees. One comes from above. the other from below. In our country the force
coming from above oppresses aıı of us. There is no possibility of creating a force from
below. That is why we need to use a force coming from the side. Iike a shoemaker's
.•hammer. That force are the embassies." (Above is the Sultan. below is the people.)

Anather counter-argument migJıt be against classifying history into major.

millennial epochs. This argument would -perhaps necessariIy- alsa object to the concept
of revolutian. or at least to attaching major significance ıo revolutions. The idea that
history is a linear progressian with no cataclysmic tuming points is one that is popular
among same Turkish historians who like to see an 'ironed out' history with no
revolutionary events. This is not. perhaps. the place to go into the philosophical
intricacies of this argument.35 This much can be said: the validity of every c1assification
can beargued. but classification is the irresistible urge of the scientific mind. it is alsa a
neeessity: the human mind masters facts by classifying them. As to the significance of

35For views on this subject. see, from instance J. HuLdnga, 'The Idea of History".
Varletles of History, edited by F. Stern (N.Y., Meridian Books, 1956), R. Chartier,
"Revolution" and K. Pomian, "Periodisation" in La NOUlvelleHlstolre, edited by 1.
Le Goff (Paris, CEPL, 1978). For discussions of the subject within the Marxist context
see TheTransition from Feudallsmto Capltallsm by M. Dobb, P. Sweezy,
K.H. Takahashi, R. Hilton, C. Hill and artic1es and comments in La Pensee, June'
1976, no. 187 by M. Grenon and R. Robin, A. Soboul. F. Gauthier, E. Guibert. The
same problem -but in the field of science- is taken up in Thomas S. Kuhn, T h e
Structure of Scientific Revolutlons. tıkay Sunar has attempted to apply Kuhn's
cC?ncept of changing paradigms to Turkish history in State and Soclety In the
Politics of Turkey's Development (Ankara, Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Yayınları,
1974).
 THE PLACE OF THE YOUNG TURK REVOLUTION IN TURKISH mSTORY 29

revolutions, it is true that the ongin of every development in history may be traced to
innumerable earlier developments, some going back to the very beginning of existence.
Nevertheless, if we may be permitted the use of awell-known simile, events in history
are a multitude of straws which aLilead up to something, but it is the straw that breaks
the camel's back that is significanl. Because, to put it rather glibly, there is a world of
difference between "Iive camel" and "dead camel". All the straws on the camel's back
contributed to break it, but the role of the las1 straw was cODsiderably greather than
that of all the other straws. It seems to me that it is a duty for the histonan to signal out
that particular straw and that particular moment