1.2 The Young Turks

In 1908 a revolutionary movement originated in the northern regions of the empire, mainly led by young officers in the Ottoman army, who founded the "Committee for Unity and Progress". The three best-known ones among them were Enver Pasha, Talaat Bey and Djemal Pasha. Among their followers, a group that mainly consisted of dissatisfied young lions, there was also the then unknown Mustapha Kemal, who played no important part in the movement.  

The ideas of these young revolutionaries were mainly liberal : freedom, equality and fraternity were considered to be the foundation upon which could be built a country where so many different peoples and cultures had to live together. To guarantee their peaceful coexistence, liberty of religion was deemed necessary. For the rest, substantial efforts were needed to modernize the country on a western basis.

In that same year 1908, these Young Turks - the name was a western invention - forced Sultan Abdul Hamid to accept a constitution. The following year, after an Islamite contra-revolution had been smothered, it became more and more apparent that Abdul Hamid, who was Sultan (worldly leader) and Kalief (religious leader) slowed down the ascent of the Young Turks to power. After he had been deposed, he was replaced by Mehmed V, a weak personality, who did not interfere with their political plans.

Initially, this change was not such a bad idea : because they now had greater freedom to realize their progressive ideas, they began to reshape the country on a more western basis. It can't be denied that Turkey benefited from these changes : mainly in the field of social welfare, sectors like education and health care were brought to a higher level.

Very soon however, it became clear that the internal erosion of the empire was so fundamental that a restoration to its former power was an illusion. The political situation in the Balkans and at the north-western frontier had become so unstable that different neighbouring countries profited from the confusion : there were annexations of parts of the empire by Austria (Bosnia-Herzegovina) and Italy (Tripoli).

In 1912 the situation degraded even a step further : a coalition of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro was formed, which led to the First Balkan War. Again Turkey lost a number of possessions in the region.

These events had a serious effect on the behaviour of the Young Turks : under pressure of the rapidly changing political and military reality, they soon lost the better part of their liberal ideas of fraternity and equality. More and more, their ideas start taking the shape of a totalitarian doctrine. While in 1913 the victors of the First Balkan War are still quarrelling about the distribution of their territorial gains, and the Turkish government convenes to accept the official rendition of the Edirne region to Greece, Enver's patience comes to an end. Together with a number of followers he plans a raid on the meeting, personally shoots the Minister of War and sends the Government home.

With an army, he himself rushes to Edirne and succeeds in liberating the town and the surrounding region, a feat known as The Second Balkan War. Profiting from his rapidly growing status, he instates a triumvirate that from 26th January 1913 claims absolute power. Enver becomes Minister of War, Talaat gets Internal Affairs and Djemal the Navy.