THE OTTOMAN PERCEPTION IN THE FRENCH PRESS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE OTTOMAN CONSTITUTION OF 1876 AND THE ISTANBUL CONFERENCE

Abstract

Among the important events that shape Ottoman history is the proclamation of the 1st Constitutional monarchy in 1876, the proclamation of the first Ottoman constitution Kanun-i Esasi, and the Istanbul (Shipyard) Conference. The nationalist movements spreading in Europe with the effect of the 1789 French Revolution, the Pan-Slavism policy of Russia that influenced the Balkan countries, the Ottoman Empire's military, administrative, economic, etc. worsening in areas, etc. pushed the Ottoman provinces in the Balkans to revolt. This forced the Ottoman Empire to take new political measures against foreign powers. The Ottoman Empire tried to improve the situation in the Balkans and to be protected from the intervention of foreign powers, both through agreements and reforms. Meanwhile, the European press tended to present the events in a one-sided and manipulative way in the news about the Balkan states. The first constitution of the Ottoman Empire, Kanun-i Esasi, which would regulate the Ottoman social life, which included non-Muslims, could not create a change in these attitudes. In this study, the presentation of the 1876 constitutional law and the Istanbul Conference in the French press was examined. The newspapers Le Temps, Le Petit Parisien, and Le Figaro were taken as examples. At the end of the study, it was seen that Kanun-i Esasi did not receive attention in the French press, instead, they gave more space to the developments related to the conference, and they used a one-sided and accusatory discourse against the Ottoman Empire in this news.