Turkey (the Ottoman Empire): constitution and the Young Turks

At the end of the 19th century Turkey (the Ottoman Empire) was a monarchy ruled by a sultan; farming was backward, much land belonged to big landowners and clergy, and a famine struck in 1873–1875. The government borrowed heavily abroad and in 1875–1876 declared itself unable to pay; the empire slid towards semi-colonial status as European states began taking its territories. In 1876, under the influence of the “New Ottomans”, Sultan Abdulaziz was deposed and on 23 December a constitution was proclaimed: a two-chamber parliament (Chamber of Deputies and Senate) was created, but Sultan Abdulhamid II kept wide powers and soon dissolved parliament. In 1889 students in Istanbul formed the “Union and Progress” organisation – its members were called the “Young Turks”. In July 1908 a rising led by Young Turk officers began and on 24 July the sultan was forced to restore the constitution. In April 1909 a counter-revolutionary mutiny took place; it was put down, Abdulhamid II was deposed and Mehmed V was placed on the throne. The Italo-Turkish and Balkan Wars of 1911–1913 weakened the empire; from 1913 power was in the hands of a “triumvirate” of Enver, Talaat and Djemal, who drew close to Germany and signed a secret alliance on 2 August 1914.