OTTOMAN STATE FINANCES IN EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE 1500-1914Historical and Economic Outlook at this Muslim Empire

Karaman and Pamuk’s article This article illustrates the

economic developments and policies of the Ottoman Empire during the early modern era (1500-1914)

The article portrays the historical rise of the Ottoman Empire along with how capitalism and economic stagnation led to its collapse

Goal: demonstrate through visual means the main points of Karaman and Pamuk’s article

Rise of the Ottoman Empire

Beginning in the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire, founded in present day Turkey, began to dominate both territory and trade within in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeastern Europe

Rise and Fall

The Ottoman Empire surged forward during the 16th and 17th century, but was in the process of fading as World War I approached

Ottoman Expansion

The main means of the Ottoman Empire’s expansion was through military conquest

Many Ottoman sultans like the famous Osman I, Murad II, and Mehmed the Conqueror committed themselves to extending the boundaries of the empire

Sack of Constantinople

The highlight and peak of the Ottoman Empire’s conquests was capturing the legendary trading center and city of Constantinople

Previously held by the Byzantine Empire, a Turkish force led by Mehmed the Conqueror sacked this city in 1453

Economic Rise

The Ottoman Empire used the conquered city of Constantinople (renamed Istanbul) as a trade center and established numerous trade routes

As the article portrays the Ottoman Empire used a centralized economic system with the sultan being in charge of commerce; this meant that the government oversaw all transactions and controlled the trade of specific items (like gold and spices)

In addition, the Ottomans increased their naval power and maritime trade in both the Mediterranean and through the Red Sea towards India and Southeast Asia

Cultural Expansion

As the Ottoman Empire boundaries and trade expanded, so did the spread of Turkish art and architecture

19th Century Stagnation

However, in the 19th century the Ottoman’s economy faced a period of stagnation

The exchange of Ottoman coins dropped to what would be equal to a dime for a dollar in today’s standard of U.S. monetary exchange according to Karaman and Pamuk’s article

The Fall of the Ottoman Empire While Europe’s economy boomed due to

the Industrial Revolution, the Ottoman Empire’s weakened

The Ottoman Empire could not keep up with both capitalism which Europeans had been using against the empire (with its centralized monarchial economic system) and now with the Industrial Revolution

World War I

Thus, as World War I approached, the Ottoman Empire was known as the ‘Sick Man of Europe’ and did not have much economic or political power

In fact, as Karaman and Pamuk’s article illustrates, industrialization and capitalism led to a period of European imperialism. During this period, the Ottoman’s Empire and trade prowess drastically shrank

At the turn of the century, the Ottoman Empire held a little land in Southeastern Europe and some in the Middle East; the British had taken over Egypt to ensure their trade rights over the Suez Canal (which severely limited the Ottoman’s trading)

The Fall

Although Turkish forces desperately tried to prevent the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the economic conditions and WWI caused for the inevitable demise of the empire to be accelerated as technologically superior European forces took over the political and economic power of the Ottoman Empire in 1914.