Young Ottomans
The Young Ottomans were a secret society established in 1865 by a group of Ottoman intellectuals who were dissatisfied with the Tanzimat reforms in the Ottoman Empire, which they believed did not go far enough. The Young Ottomans sought to transform the Ottoman society by preserving the Empire and modernizing it along the European tradition of adopting a constitutional government. Though the Young Ottomans were frequently in disagreement ideologically, they all agreed that the new constitutional government should continue to be at least somewhat rooted in Islam. To emphasize "the continuing and essential validity of Islam as the basis of Ottoman political culture" they attempted to syncretize an Islamic jurisprudence with liberalism and parliamentary democracy. The Young Ottomans sought for new ways to form a government like the European governments, especially the constitution of the Second French Empire. Among the prominent members of this society were writers and publicists such as İbrahim Şinasi, Namık Kemal, Ali Suavi, Ziya Pasha, and Agah Efendi.
In the 1876 revolution, Midhat Pasha organized a conspiracy with the Young Ottomans to overthrow Sultan Abdul Aziz in order to promulgate a constitution, bringing Murad V to the throne. With his mental breakdown, another deposition made Abdul Hamid II sultan. 1876, the Young Ottomans had their defining moment when Abdul Hamid II reluctantly promulgated the Ottoman constitution of 1876, the first attempt at a constitution in the Ottoman Empire, ushering in the First Constitutional Era. Although this period was short-lived, with Abdul Hamid II ultimately suspending the constitution and parliament in 1878 in favor of a return to absolute monarchy with himself in power, the influence of the Young Ottomans continued until the collapse of the empire. Several decades later, another group of reform-minded Ottomans, the Young Turks, repeated the Young Ottomans' efforts, leading to the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 and the beginning of the Second Constitutional Era.
Name
Historical "jeunes"
According to Niyazi Berkes, historically the term jeunes were two groups: Those who wanted a return to the roots of country by reforms and those who wanted to stage radical reforms. M. Şükrü Hanioğlu records that the names "Young Turks" and "Young Turkey" were in use for the groups of reformist bureaucrats and for the educated caste since Mahmud II and Abdülmecid I.Usage of the term "jeunes"
According to Berkes, differentiation on the usage of the words "New" in Turkish and "Young" in French reflects the perception of the word in the Ottoman public mind. Berkes explains that "Jeunes of Europe" were usually nationalists, republicans and godless; and/or they were perceived as such by the learned-to-illiterate Ottoman public. Thus they were perceived as the enemies of the country and religion. However, such ideas weren't the aims of Young Ottomans, instead these were mostly unwanted for most of them, if not they were against them.Both to avoid its negative connotation and because of the hardship of translating its new meaning, initial translation of the term was different than the now famous one. Berkes says that though they dropped the more confusing and indirect names like "Erbâb-i Şebâb", they didn't claimed the name "Jeunes" either, and instead, used the word "New" to replace the word jeunes.
However, contrary to this differentiation in Turkish, they were traditionally and most commonly called as "Young"/"Jeunes" instead of "New" in foreign languages, as in the way of the similar named movements.
Used or attributed names
There were several names of the movement, most possibly because of the differentiation of thinking among its members, and the way they presented themselves to public. In foreign languages they were recognized as "New Turkey"/"Young Turkey", "New Ottomans"/"Young Ottomans", and also as "New Turks"/"Young Turks", however the last one is usually in the use for the next generation's movement, known as Young Turks.One of the leading figures of the movement, Namık Kemal, used a rough translation for the term Jeune-Turquie: "Türkistan'ın Erbâb-i Şebâbı". Another leading figure of the movement, Ali Suavi, used the name Civan Türk.
In its documents and publications organization used the names "Young Turkey" and Yeni Osmanlılar Cemiyeti, and was primarily called with the latter by its members.
A predating group of plotters' attributed-and-claimed names were also mistakenly identified with the Young Ottomans. The names "Üss-i Medeniyet", "Meslek" and "Patriotic Alliance" are of this group. However these were two different groups, and their only relation was earlier one's members' joining to the latter in exile.
History
Formation
The Picnic at Belgrad Forest near Istanbul
In the summer of 1865, six young men convened at the Belgrad Forest near Istanbul for a picnic to form a group that would become known as the Patriotic Alliance and would be the nucleus of the future Young Ottomans.Almost all of the men in attendance had at one time or another worked in the Translation Bureau of the Sublime Porte and therefore had knowledge of both European political systems and the inner workings of Ottoman foreign policy.
The six men in attendance were Mehmed Bey, Namık Kemal, Menâpirzâde Nuri, Reşat Bey, Ayetullah Bey, and Refik Bey, and all shared a desire to change the way the Ottomans interacted vis-à-vis the European powers in addition to the nature of rule in the empire.
The group attracted a moderate number of followers. "In the course of two years, a few hundred people seem to have joined the society, among them two nephews of the Sultan, Prince Murad and Prince Hamid."
Exile to Paris
During the same year, İbrahim Şinasi left control of his newspaper Tasvir-i Efkâr to Namık Kemal, and it was under Kemal’s editorship that the paper became more radical. In 1867, Namık Kemal and other Young Ottomans published the open letter of a disgruntled Egyptian prince Mustafa Fazıl Pasha to the Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz. This letter advocated constitutional and parliamentary governance. After the publication, the Ottoman government cracked down on the Young Ottomans, causing them to flee to Paris, where they continued operating under the patronage of Mustafa Fazıl Pasha. By the time these exiled publicists had come together under the patronage of Mustafa Fazıl Pasha in Paris, they began calling themselves Yeni Osmanlılar.Publications
Through the new medium of the press and with the financial support of their ally Mustafa Fazıl Pasha, the Young Ottomans were able to widely circulate their ideas in a number of publications. One of the most important periodicals was Hürriyet, which was publicized by Namık Kemal and Ziya Pasha beginning in 1868, though many others were published and often took a more radical stance. Other Young Ottoman newspapers included Ulum, Inkilab, Ibret, and Basiret. These publications voiced dissent and opposition to Ottoman policies that ordinarily would have been stifled. These periodicals circulated widely throughout Europe, having sites of publication in "London, Geneva, Paris, Lyon, and Marseille."Return from exile
When Mehmed Fuad Pasha and Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha died in 1869 and 1871, respectively, two of the greatest obstacles to the initiatives of the Young Ottomans were now out of the picture, prompting a number of the exiles to return to Istanbul. The acceptance of Mustafa Fazıl Pasha to a post under Sultan Abdülaziz was also seen as evidence of imminent success. However, it was this return from exile that began to fracture the Young Ottomans, many of whom never shared any sort of established ideological consensus. Ali Suavi resigned from the group while Namık Kemal returned to Istanbul. Ziya Pasha, who had disagreed with Kemal, moved to Geneva to work on another newspaper. With his new Grand Vizier Mahmud Nedim Pasha, Sultan Abdülaziz reasserted his role as the absolute ruler, leaving many of the Young Ottomans disappointed after having been so hopeful that their reforms would be widely accepted.Crisis and the Constitutional revolution
The Crisis of 1873–1878
During the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz, the Empire was experiencing a period of great financial hardship brought on by catastrophic drought and floods in Anatolia in 1873 and 1874. In an attempt to raise revenue, the government raised taxes on the surviving population, leading to discontent amongst the people. The financial difficulties were exacerbated by a global stock market crash in 1873.Discontentment amongst the population grew, culminating in a series of revolts that broke out amongst the Christian peasants in the Balkans. Bosnia and Herzegovina were the first to experience rebellions, followed by Bulgaria in 1876. Accusations of atrocities being committed by the Turks, particularly in Bulgaria, did not go unnoticed by Russia, who went to war with the Ottomans on April 24, 1877.