2 Persia Turkey Revolts Flashcards
What triggered the 1905 revolt in Persia?
the price of sugar
What happened?
2 sugar merchants were charged with price gouging
Why?
They were taxed more heavily than imported sugar
What did the [British] Governor do to them?
He had them caned in puiblic.
What happened?
Other businesses went on strike.
What is a Constitutional Revolution?
Seeking big change in a country’s legal sytem and charter
An example?
The American revolution
When did democratic movements begin?
In the late 1700s in Europe and North America.
It spread from there.
When did the Ottoman Empire begin to “reform”?
1839 - the Tanzimat Reforms.
Small steps.
Which country in this area had the first Constitution?
1861 - Tunisia
How did demand for democracy spread through the ME & NA?
- increase in education
- industrialization [particularly military]
Which country was doing this in the Far East?
Japan
1905 beat Russia in a war.
Russia was considered a European nation
What was the impact of the Japanese victory?
The Arabs were inspired.
What was building in the Middle East?
Resentment at the European powers who were increasingly controlling their region.
Who was the King of Persia in 1905?
Mozaffer ad-Din Shah (r. 1896-1907)
Who was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire at that time?
Abdul Hamid II
Why did these 2 allow foreigners in?
To gain in trade.
How did this go wrong?
The foreigners were originally just merchants but they evolved into trading companies.
What did these trading companies do?
Demand their own laws and preferential tariffs..
What happened next?
Full-scale invasion
Why were Persian tariffs on its vender high?
Persia was paying off debt to Russian Czar Nicholas II
Why were they in debt to Russia?
To pay for the Shah’s lavish travels and his spending on new cinemas in Tehran
Pointing out economic inequality
What did the Protestors want?
A Parliament which would limit the powers of the Shah.
What was created?
An elected Consultative Assembly in 1906
What was the Fundamental Law?
A Constitution passed in 1906, it said the Shah serves at the consent of the people.
What happened to the Shah?
He died of a heart attack 3 days later.
What was unique about this?
He was the last Persian shah to die in his country rather than in exile.
Who succeded him?
His son Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar
What was his position?
He secretly opposed the Constitution.
How did he do it?
He used poor economic conditions to manipulate the poor to demand restoration of the monarchy.
What happened next?
1907 - Britain and Russia divided Persia into 2 spheres of influence.
How was it divided?
Russia got the north.
Britain the SE with a neutral zone in the middle.
What was this part of?
The Great Game.
What did the new king blame this on?
The Constitutionalists
How did he push back?
He got military support from both Britain and Russia.
They preferred the Shah.
What did the king do next?
Had his Russian-led forces attack the Assembly, executing their leaders.
What happened next?
The Constitutionalists forced the Shah to resign and putting his 11 year old son in power.
They then re-established the Constitution.
When was the Ottoman [Turkey] Revolution?
1908
What happened?
Ottoman army officers in the Balkans and Macedonia mutinied.
Why?
To re-establish the 1878 Constitution.
What shape was the Empire in in 1908?
a “sick man” with many secret societies
Who emerged?
The Young Turks [CUP]
What did they want to do?
To build the Ottoman Empire back up.
What did these revolutions accomplish?
They were an inspiration for future generations.
