War, Diplomacy, and the New Global Balance of Power

In the 17th & 18th centuries

James Gelvin, Part 1 ; Chapter 4 notes by Denis Bašic

In the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation (1517-1648)

• The emergence of European modern states affected the Middle East in several ways

• Competitions of Britain, France, Russia, and Germany over the eastern Mediterranean became known as “Eastern question”

• Britain and Russia also competed over northern frontier of Persia - “Great Game”

OTTOMAN EMPIRE• From its founding in the 13th

century on, the Ottoman Empire always played an important role in the European balance of power

• In 1533 (4 years after the 1st siege of Vienna), the Ottomans sent 10,000 gold pieces to Francis I of France to join Britain and German states in an alliance against the Habsburgs. Francis did so, and supported the Ottomans in their struggle against his Catholic coreligionists. As conservatives say, there is no love in politics (and economy).

(Siege of Vienna 1529)

Ottomans viewed the Protestant movement and Protestant states as a natural allies in their common struggle against the pretensions of the Catholic Habsburgs.

Habsburg empire in 1547

When in the 1530s Henry VIII of England broke with the catholic Church and established the Church of England, he confiscated church property. Brass church bells were melted down and the tin they contained found its way to the Ottomans.

T i n w a s a n e s s e n t i a l ingredient in manufacturing artillery. It was scarce in the Ottoman Empire, but not in the place the ancient Romans had once called the “Tin Islands” - Great Britain.

Henry VIII of England (1491-1547)

CAPITULATIONS

• CAPITULATION 1 : a set of terms or articles constituting an agreement between governments2 a : the act of surrendering or yielding b : the terms of surrender

• = right given to foreign subjects to establish commercial enclaves in the Ottoman Empire, to construct a church for their exclusive use, to have the resources to the courts of their own nations, or to be exempt from taxes.

• In 1569 the Ottomans granted the first effective capitulations to the French

• After the French, the Ottomans granted the Dutch, the British, and the Russians the same privileges

• The capitulatory privileges were not abolished in most Ottoman domains until 1914

• The end of capitulations in Egypt had to wait until 1937

• The Ottomans were not anymore the unbeatable foe they had once been.

• In 1656, the Venetians destroyed the Ottoman fleet not far off the coast of Istanbul.

• In 1699, the Ottomans were forced out of the territories of contemporary Hungary, Croatia, and parts of Rumania by the Habsburgs.

the 2nd siege of Vienna (1683)

During the 17th century the Ottoman Empire started weakening in a military sense.

Eastern Question

• If the Ottoman Empire collapsed, what would become of the territory under its control, particularly the Turkish straits (the narrow channel connecting the Black sea with the Mediterranean)?

• If the Ottomans were pushed out of Europe, what would be the fate of its possessions in the Balkans?

• What would be the role of Russia in the European balance of power and since Russia was the strongest Orthodox Christian state, what would be Russia’s relationship with Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Balkans and in the Middle East?

During the 18th century Russia became the major antagonist of the Ottoman Empire. There are two reasons for this:

• After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, the tsarists Russia saw itself as the “third Rome” and protector of Orthodox population outside of its borders.

• Since its northern ports were frozen for much of the year, Russia coveted the warm-water ports of the Black sea and Bosporus and Dardanelles straits as a commercial and naval outlet to the Mediterranean.

RUSSO-OTTOMAN WARSThe first major Russo-Ottoman War, that of

1768-74, was an indirect result of Russian interference in Poland. Sultan Mustafa III, alarmed by Russia's action and encouraged by France, declared war on Catherine II of Russia. The Russians conquered (1771) the Crimea, where a pro-Russian khan was installed, and overran Moldavia and Walachia. The Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji (1774) declared the Crimean khanate independent of the sultan, gave Russia considerable territorial gains, conceded to Russia the role of protector of the sultan's Greek Orthodox subjects, and allowed Russian shipping to navigate the Black Sea and pass through the Straits. Catherine II of Russia or Catherine the Great

1729 — 1796

Watch the Documentary: Getting to know the Real Catherine the Great

Middle East & the Modern World System

James Gelvin, Part 1 ; Chapter 3notes by Denis Bašić

System of world empiresn existed from the beginning of class socities until the 16th

century

n main characteristics of the system of world empires :

n 1. coexistence of several empires was possible

n 2. empires spread through the military conquests or through the threat of of military conquests as far as they were able to collect taxes

n 3. each empire provided for most of its economic needs independent of other empires

n 4. each empire was about equally developed and did not dominate any other empire.

Modern World System or Modern World Economyn Modern World Economy is politically fragmented, but economically united

unlike the system of world empires.

n Since the 16th century, aristocratic agricultural producers throughout the world have discovered that they might profit more from producing goods for the international marketplace than from producing merely for their own consumption.

n As distinguished from the system of world empires that consisted of ruffly equivalent states, some states in the modern world economy were more technologically and economically advanced than others and benefited more than others from the global marketplace.

n In effect, there were winners and losers in the modern world economy. Western European states dominated the market, they were its center. Later the US and Japan joined them while the rest of the world was a periphery.

n Watch this video to learn about the Dependency Theory and its basic concepts of Periphery and Center

Commercial Revolution in Europe 16th-18th century

n new technologies of direct benefit for trade were invented and applied

n In addition to these technologies, also some innovations in finances and organization of trade were applied like :

n 1. joint stock companies

n 2. insurance

n 3. banking

Merchant Republicsn Venice, Genoa, and Dubrovnik were extremely successful, for

bankers and merchants, not feudal landlords, controlled the states institutions.

n After the emergence of the Atlantic economy, Britain, France and Netherlands eclipsed their Mediterranean rivals.

n Britain, France, and Netherlands adopted the doctrine of mercantilism.

n Doctrine of mercantilism = the more gold a state accumulates, the stronger it is.

n The greater export, the lower import, the greater protection of home industries, the more gold accumulated.

Atlantic Powers

n Why Britain, France, and Netherlands prospered and other (Spain, Genoa, Venice) did not is not entirely clear.

n Possibly their geographic positioning was helpful.

n Technological advancement.

n Investment into a strong military.

The Crisis of the 17th Century n In the 17th century, Britain, France, China, and the Ottoman and

Safavid empires, all experienced the same problem - the inability of imperial governments to maintain their authority within their territories.

n Civil and religious wars wracked France & Britain.

n The 17th century China was marked by peasant insurrections and the fall of the Ming Dynasty, which had ruled the country for almost 300 years.

n The Ottoman government also faced the popular rebellions, military revolts, and the appearance of warlords who challenged the central government.

n The Safavid Empire was so weakened that in 1722 it became easy pray for Afghan invaders.

The Cause of the 17th Century Crisis - 1

n Inflation! But what caused the inflation? There are three main theories in that regard:

n The inflation was caused by demographic explosion.

n During the 17th century, the population of Syria, Egypt and Anatolia, for example, increased by 40%. Why? The centralized governments of the 16th century were able to provide better protection and work conditions, resulting in better harvests and in general life for agriculturalists.

n The expansion was caused by the natural growth in the aftermath of the Black Death that had devastated Eurasia during the 14th century or due to the better control of the spread of infectious diseases.

The Cause of the 17th Century Crisis - 2

n The inflation was caused by the dependance of states on cash.

n States spent an enormous amount of money to sustain their employees.

n In Persia, for example, an estimated 38% of the state expenditures went to the Army. (See the U.S. Federal Spending for 2015) Another 41% went to the imperial harem, the royal family, and royal attendants.

n States competed with the private sector for resources and this draw up prices.

n States compounded their problems by debasing their currencies to meet their payrolls. (Mixing baser metals with gold and silver.) Debased currencies hiked prices and employees demanded higher wages. (Spain went bankrupt twice and interestingly it happened in the 16th not the 17th century.)

The Cause of the 17th Century Crisis - 3

n The inflation was caused by the overflow of precious metals from Americas.

n After the Spanish conquest of the New World, huge amounts of gold and particularly silver flooded first into Europe, then into Asia.

n Wherever the precious metals hit, prices went up. In the six decades between the conquest of Mexico and Peru and 1575, prices in Europe increased between 300 and 400%.

n Using the sudden increase in bread prices as their measure, historians even timed the journey of precious metals from west to east: first Seville and Cadiz, then Paris, the Muscovy, then Istanbul and Delhi, the Beijing.

Ottomans, Safavids, and the 17th century crisis

n loss of resources - less cash

n sold offices and even military to the highest bidder

n janissaries allowed to take jobs and raise their families

n increased taxation alienated the peasants

n both governments debased their currencies and when this did not work they debased them again

Ottomans and Safavids in the Modern World Economy

n integrated as a periphery

n farms turned over to the cultivation of cash crops : silk, cotton, opium, and tobacco.

n By 1880 20% of Persia’s export was opium. Where did it go? See this video for an answer.

n On the eve of WWI, cotton comprised 80% of Egyptian export.

n To facilitate exports, railroads and ports built.

n In sum, Europe cultivated a colonial-style trade with Middle East, and this relationship affected not only economic relations in the region, but social relations as well.