Essay Sample on Modernism in Europe and the Ottoman Empire

Historical Processes That to Ottoman Modernity Under Sultan Abdulhamit II

The Ottoman modernity happened during the Ottoman Empire that was ruled by Sultan Abdulhamit II. The empire was the largest during the time as it occupied Asian regions and North Africa. The religion was predominantly Islam, which the European and other western countries considered as threats. Notably, the Ottoman modernity was a result of the westerners' invasion into the region.

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The first historical process that led to the area's acceptance of modernity was the drought and famine crisis in 1876 (Gelvin, 150). The situation had affected the empire's stability since it was in great depth; thus, it sought help from Europe. The European power, on the other hand, took advantage of the situation claiming the empire's failure by dismissing its leadership ranks and replacing them with the constitutional-based type (Gelvin, 150). Also, there was the introduction of the American Ghost Dance Movement from 1889 to 1895, a political policy that was against the Babi movement in the empire. The new act advocated for equity among men and women and other aspects of civilization, such as constitutional leadership (Gelvin, 134).

Comparison Between Modernism in Europe and the Ottoman Empire

Similarities

Both European and Ottoman empires had the geopolitical advantage that granted them power and stability over other realms. Notably, the Ottoman Empire's borders occupied parts of Europe, the Middle East (Asia), and North Africa. Also, it included sub statute empires such as the Persian Safavid Empire and Indian Mughal Empire. On the other side, The European Empire's boundary stretched throughout the whole of Western Europe.

Consequently, the geopolitical aspect made both rules to be influential regarding economic and military power. At the beginning of the 1800s, the Western Europe Empire had an already established economy due to its colonization advances in other parts of the world. It was the first state to recognize and pursue industrialization, as it manufactures most of its power products such as firearms. More so it had the advantage from its colonies, particularly, the African continent, it retrieved most of its raw materials for free. On the same note, the Ottoman was as well stable economic state thanks to its active trading activities with other states that were also powerful. Its main exportation was agricultural products.

Regarding military progress, both the Ottoman and the European empires were keen on the military expansion that was as a result of their efforts in expanding their geographical borders. As mentioned above, both rules had sub-empires, which also had strong and large armies, which also contributed to the empires' stability.

Differences

Despite the similarities between the two empires' modernism, there were some notable contradictions between the two. First, the European Empire's religion was predominantly Christianity, whereas the Ottoman Empire sole religion was Islam. Notably, most of the European traders and travellers were missionaries whose primary intention was to spread and teach Christianity. On the other hand, the Ottoman Empire had subjected to the Islamic culture in that it employed Muslim leadership systems.

Another difference was that the European Empire employed a more systematic leadership policy than the Ottoman Empire. The European political leadership was guided by defined constitutional policies that advocated for democratic leading through electoral systems. On the contrary, the Ottoman Empire followed the Monarchy method of administration where the leaders inherited their positions from their ancestors. Again, the European Empire was democratic concerning people's equity rights despite diversity. For instance, it allowed equal rights between men and women. Importantly, this was not the case in the Ottoman Empire since women were discriminated and viewed as weak beings.

Work Cited

Gelvin, J. The Modern Middle East. Oxford University Press, 2016.