THE FRENCH CULTURAL PRESENCE IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE DURING THE AGE OF COLONIAL COMPETITION IN EUROPE (1870-1914)

Abstract

The year 1870 was a real turning point regarding Franco-Ottoman relations. From that date onwards, France, no longer a part of the military plan, would not exist as the only indisputable model in the eyes of the sultans and the Ottoman Intelligentsia, who had turned to other allies and partners. As long as society evolved parallel to a process of considerable change, the German model was the only one for the Ottoman officials. In spite of the obvious growing influence of the Reich, Ottoman Turkey continued nonetheless to carry on close relations with France. The Ottoman government continued to send its students to French universities, and, as for the Ottoman elite, they could not help learning the language of Voltaire, and if need be, go live in Paris for a while. Moreover, opponents of the regime sent to exile opted for Francophone Europe. As for France, she then decided to stop herself short. Knowing that she could not be successful with a military plan, she sought, in thinking she was a vast cultural space in the bosom of the Ottoman Empire, to focus heavily on an economic and financial plan. Through Christian missionary schools and other scholarly establishments, Francophonie became more widespread in the Ottoman territory. Near the end of the 19th century, in various regions of the Empire, secular establishments were founded emphasizing republican discourse. The Francophone press progressively spread to mason lodges of French allegiance in the Ottoman capital and principal commercial centers, and better contributed to the cultural impact of the French language. French, was so important that it was, even for the Germans, a happy recourse when it came to spreading their propaganda. During the Young Turk movements, one could even meet Ottoman deputies wishing, for the good of the country, that French become one the official languages. In the meantime, thousands of Francophone persons (engineers, nuns, clergymen, private tutors, music teachers, etc.) flowed into the Ottoman Empire for economic, religious or other reasons. With the exception of some adventures that had happy endings, documents prove how these people failed as they did in their whole lives: lost illusions, deceptions and misadventures. Léon Berger, reaching the position of president of the Administation of Public debts, with this title, was an exception. Thus, a large number of French people, attracted by the charm of the Ottoman Eldorado and often mocked for having misconstrued their desire to be oriental, perished in the colony of “sweet waters”