Treaty of Sèvres (1920); World War, 1914-1918 -- Territorial questions -- Turkey; World War, 1914-1918 -- Turkey
On April 13, 1909, a reactionary movement set in which failed only
because of Abdul Hamid’s irresolute, tottering mind. It was supported
by the garrison of Constantinople, which comprised Albanian troops,
the very men who had lent their aid to the revolution at first, but
had been brought back to the Sultan’s party by the lower clergy and
politicians whose interest it was to restore Abdul Hamid’s autocratic
rule, or whose personal ambitions had been baulked. Troops, comprising
Albanians, Bosnians, and Turkish elements, and reinforced by Greek,
Bulgarian, and Serbian volunteers, old komitadjis, were summoned to
Salonika.
The reaction of April 13 seems to have been partly due to foreign
intrigue, especially on the part of England, who, anxious at seeing
Turkey attempt to gain a new life, tried to raise internal difficulties
by working up the fanaticism of the hodjas, most of whom were paid
and lodged in seminaries, and so were interested in maintaining Abdul
Hamid’s autocratic government. These manœuvres may even have been the
original cause of the reactionary movement.
Mr. Fitzmaurice, dragoman of the English embassy, was one of the
instigators of the movement, and the chief distributor of the money
raised for that purpose. He seems to have succeeded in fomenting the
first internal difficulties of the new Turkish Government. After
the failure of the reactionary movement, the Committee of Union and
Progress demanded the dismissal of Mr. Fitzmaurice, who later on
settled at Sofia, where he continued his intrigues.
Then the government passed into the hands of the Committee of Union and
Progress which had brought on the revolution, and which practically
governed the country from 1908 till the signing of the armistice
between the Allies and Turkey.
The Committee of Union and Progress, which at the outset had shown a
liberal and enlightened spirit, soon became very powerful; but, being
the only ruling power in the country, they soon left the straight
path and began to indulge in corrupt practices. The leaders’ heads
were turned by their sudden success, and they were not sufficiently
strong-minded to resist the temptations of office in a time of crisis.
All the power was soon concentrated in the hands of a few: Talaat,
Enver, and Jemal, all three men of very humble origin, who, when still
young, had risen rapidly to the highest eminence in the State.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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