The Young Turk Era
By: Elizabeth Sapp
Abd al-Hamid II
In 1876 the "radical dissidents" from the Ottoman bureaucracy seized power and installed Abd al-Hamid II as sultan. Soon after his induction, reformers persuaded Abd to accept a constitution limiting his power and creating a representative government. It only took one year until Abd suspended the constitution, took away parliament, and exiled and executed liberals. Soon after, Abd began to develop an army and police force, put in place both educational reforms and economic redevelopment, including the construction of railroads. His strict and independent rule created many liberal opposition groups. The liberal's (bureaucrats) jobs were to strengthen the state by reforming and reorganizing by limiting the sultan's ever-growing power, but instead they ultimately undermined the position of the sultan.
The Young Turk Party
The Ottoman Society for union and progress also known as the Young Turk Party, founded in 1889 by exiled Ottoman people in Paris promoted reform by way of newspaper. They promoted universal suffrage, equality before law, freedom of religion, free public education, secularization of the state, and emancipation of women. After all their efforts to reform and overthrow Abd, in 1908 they were able to inspire an army coup to force Abd al-Hamid II to restore parliament and the constitution of 1876. Finally in 1909, they dethroned him and made Mehmed V Rashia as the new "puppet" sultan.
Comic Book covering The Young Turk Party
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