Abstract
Turkish-French relations have become problematic and gradually turned into a crisis especially since mid-2020. While two Presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Emmanuel Macron, engaged in a sort of war of words by the fall 2020, the turning of 2021 has been stamped by mutual efforts for easing the tensions. Although these ups-and-downs result from a series of current conflict of interests over especially Africa and East Mediterranean and reflect conjunctural conditions, they might also be seen as presenting a continuum of a long history back to the sixteenth century. This chapter aims at studying the roots of these complicated relations from a historical perspective by tracing back the French-Turkish relations to the Ottoman period. To this end, it focuses on different phases of the latter from sixteenth to nineteenth century, namely; from the alliance sealed under Francis I and Suleiman the Magnificent until the 1860 Civil Conflict of Mount Lebanon and Damascus, a French-led international intervention.
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Notes
- 1.
Actual French Riviera.
- 2.
Rivalry between France (of Valois, then Bourbon houses) and the House of Habsburg, the latter ruling vast empires including the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This rivalry turned often into major conflicts from Anglo-French Wars (from 11 to 19th) to the Italian Wars (1494–1559), from the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) to the Seven Years War (1756–1763) and so on. Direct conflicts between two rivals commenced in 1521 (between House of Valois and House of Habsburg). With the extinction of its male line, the Valois was replaced by the House of Bourbon.
- 3.
Series of conflicts which opposed the Ottomans and the Habsburgs from the 16th to 18th, which include, among many others, the Vienna Campaign (1529–1533), several conflicts in the Mediterranean (1532–1565), the Long War (1591/3–1606), the Great Turkish War (1683–1699), and so on.
- 4.
François I’s reign lasted from 1515 to 1547.
- 5.
The correspondence was actually launched by Duchess Dangolen, the mother of François I. Charles of Germany took François I as prisoner, following the Pavye War on 24th of February 1525, and François’ Duchess Dangolen wrote a letter to Suleiman the Magnificent and sent it with Ambassador Count Jan do Franjipan. The letter of the Queen as below: “I had left my son’s freedom to the fairness of Charles. But, he is insulting my son. I entreaty you to make my son free with your great world sovereignty, and grand power that the world recognized.”
- 6.
His reign lasted from 1520 until 1566.
- 7.
Suleiman the Magnificent wrote: “I who am the Sultan of Sultans, the sovereign of sovereigns, the dispenser of crowns to the monarchs on the face of the earth, the shadow of the God on Earth, the Sultan and sovereign lord of the Mediterranean Sea and of the Black Sea, of Rumelia and of Anatolia, of Karamania, of the land of Romans, of Dhulkadria, of Diyarbakir, of Kurdistan, of Azerbaijan, of Persia, of Damascus, of Aleppo, of Cairo, of Mecca, of Medina, of Jerusalem, of all Arabia, of Yemen and of many other lands which my noble fore-fathers and my glorious ancestors (may God light up their tombs!) conquered by the force of their arms and which my August Majesty has made subject to my flamboyant sword and my victorious blade, I, Sultan Suleiman Khan, son of Sultan Selim Khan, son of Sultan Bayezid Khan …” (“Support Letter of Suleiman The Magnificent to The French King Francis Whose Country and Himself is in Danger” (1526).
- 8.
See Bibliography.
- 9.
“These agreements were ratified in 1569 under the reign of Selim II (r. 1566–1574). Capitulations were granted to other European nations: in 1540 to Venice; at the end of the sixteenth century to England and in 1612 to Holland.” (Qantara).
- 10.
See supra, Part III, Treaty of 1740.
- 11.
See Encyclopedia Britannica, “The Decline of the Ottoman Empire, 1566–1807”, Date of Accession: 28.01.2022 from https://www.britannica.com/place/Ottoman-Empire/The-decline-of-the-Ottoman-Empire-1566-1807.
- 12.
Especially campaigns undertaken in Caucasus and Central Asia.
- 13.
It is worth noting that the modern European state emerged officially in the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries saw rather various political units (varying from kingdoms to city-states, etc.) mostly gathered under the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806).
- 14.
For the term Contact Period, see Michael Shakir Nassaney (2020), “North America During the European Contact Period”, in Claire Smith (ed.) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, Switzerland: Springer, 2nd edition (first published in 2014, New York), pp. 7863–7883.
- 15.
“With English governments frequently reminding their subjects that the enemy French were intent upon invading and destroying the English tongue, it is not surprising that this tongue should be extolled, and the sense of Englishness thereby enhanced. Although wars in this period were still basically caused by, and fought over, the rights of kings, there can be no doubt that the Hundred Years’ War was waged between the peoples of both kingdoms, not least because the rulers made it so.”
- 16.
“Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube!—Wars may be led by others—you, happy Austria, marry!”. Inspired by a line of Ovid’s (Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō, a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus) poem, it refers to the period, in the sixteenth century, of temporary European peace that Austrian emperor Maximillian I expanded as a result of his policy based on a series of noble marriages rather than wars and treaties.
- 17.
French Wars of Religion are the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics in France. This conflictual and bloody period was launched in 1562, when the partisans of the Catholic Guise family massacred Huguenot congregation at Vassy, as reaction to the tolerance of Catherine de Medici’s for Huguenots. See also; Mack P. Holt (2005), The French Wars of Religion, 1562–1629, New York: Cambridge University Press.
- 18.
For details, see https://www.britannica.com/place/France/Political-ideology.
- 19.
Leo X in 1516; Adrian VI in 1522; and Clement VII in 1524.
- 20.
It is worth noting that Ottomans were not totally absent in the European politics, the Thirty Years’ War being an example. For the Ottoman involvement in both European politics in general and the Thirty Years’ War in particular, see Mahmut Halef Cevrioğlu (2018), “Ottoman Foreign Policy During the Thirty Years War”, Turcica, No: 49, pp. 195–235.
- 21.
Louis XIV accessed to the throne in, but his reign became effective in 1661, when the Mazarin died. His rule is one of the brilliant periods and it remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age. “Internationally, in a series of wars between 1667 and 1697, he extended France’s eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and then, in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), engaged a hostile European coalition in order to secure the Spanish throne for his grandson.” See Encyclopedia Britannica, “Louis XIV, King of France”, Date of Accession: 07.01.2022 from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XIV-king-of-France.
- 22.
In the seventeenth century, Ottomans kept diplomatic distance with regards to Europe. More specifically, “during the seventeenth century, the Ottomans did not follow the example of Europeans and refused to establish permanent embassies abroad.” (McCluskey, 2016, p. 339).
- 23.
The King of France intended to take advantage of this to demonstrate indisputably and definitively the wealth and power of his kingdom. All the pomp deployed to receive the ambassador was disproportionate, and the Sultan’s envoy behaved with contempt, without mentioning the honors bestowed upon him. To save face, Louis XIV commissioned Molière and Lully, the compositor to perform a ‘ridiculous Turkish ballet’ to make fun of Ottoman customs: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (a comedy-ballet written by Moliere and composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully and premiered in October 1670).
- 24.
Quoted by Aydın-Düzgit et al. (2021), “Europe and the Ottoman Empire: Images of Self and the Other”, in Dimitris Bouris et al. (eds.) Routledge Handbook of EU-Mediterranean Relations, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 15–25.
- 25.
The French involvement would allow the kingdom to conclude a new treaty of capitulations with the Ottoman Empire in 1740.
- 26.
For the details of the treaty, as well as the circumstances of the process see Robert Olson (1991), “The Ottoman-French Treaty of 1740: A Year to be Remembered?”, Turkish Studies Association Bulletin, Vol. 15, No: 2, September, pp. 347–355.
- 27.
See supra, 2, sixteenth century.
- 28.
The nineteenth century was “Dark Century” for Chinese who saw their great empire felt gradually under control and long-standing domination of “Western” powers. The latter imposed a series of treaties which are known as Inequal Treaties concluded during the Opium Wars period (1839–1842; 1856–1860). Besides, China was defeated by its principal rival, Japan in Sino-Japanese War I(1894–1995). While the former was in gradual decline, the latter rose an important power in the region, especially in the aftermath (and thanks to) Meiji Restoration of 1868.
- 29.
See World History Project, “Unit: Era 6—The Long Nineteenth Century (1750–1914)”, World History Project. Origins to the Present. Date of Accession: 10.02.2022 from Era 6—The Long Nineteenth Century (1750 to 1914 CE) | Khan Academy.
- 30.
For a fruitful discussion on whether one should divide history into periods, see, among many others, Le Goff (2014), Faut-il Vraiment Découper l’Histoire en Tranches?, Paris: Seuil. Séries: “La Librairie du 21e siècle” and Sterns (2009), “Long 19th Century? Long 20th? Retooling That Last Chunk of World History Periodization”, The History Teacher, Vol. 42, No: 2, February, pp. 223–228.
- 31.
Mostly restored in the aftermath of seven Coalition Wars from 1792 to 1815, which opposed first Revolutionary France, then the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte to European monarchs’ coalitions.
- 32.
These congresses are also known by that they legalized humanitarian intervention in the nineteenth century. See Alexis Heraclides & Ada Dialla (2015), Humanitarian Intervention in the Long Nineteenth Century: Setting the Precedent, Manchester: Manchester University Press.
- 33.
For a different point of view on this topic, see Yeşil (2007), “Looking at the French Revolution through Ottoman Eyes: Ebubekir Ratib Efendi’s Observations”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 70, No: 2, pp. 283–304.
- 34.
See The Napoleon Series Archive, “Franco-Turkish Relationship During the First Empire, 1799–1805”, Date of Accession: 14.06.2021 from https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/diplomatic/c_tufrdip1.html.
- 35.
Selim III refused recognizing Napoleon as Emperor until the three other powers (Britain, France, and Russia) consented to do so.
- 36.
The dissolution of Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Napoleon founded Rhin Confederation which would last until 1815. The latter would be dissolved, however, in 1815 and replaced by German Confederation resembling 39 German states, including Prussia and Austrian Empire.
- 37.
For details of the Congress of Vienna, see Randall Lesaffer, “The Congress of Vienna (1814–1815)”, Oxford Public International Law, Date of Accession: 13.02.2022 from https://opil.ouplaw.com/page/congress-vienna-1814-1815.
- 38.
The appointment of George Canning, in 1822, as Foreign Secretary contributed to the change of stance. Influenced by the rising popular discontent towards the Ottomans, Canning hushed to settle the question. In 1825, “Britain revealed her preference for Greece by committing itself with two loans. Of course, the loans were owned by British people and not just by the government, but the British government would always support her individual subject even with the means of gunboat diplomacy as Greeks found out very quickly after 1832” (Papanikos, 2022, p. 27). Besides, in December 1825, Tsar Alexander I died and Nicolas I succeeded to the throne. This changed the political and diplomatic landscape dramatically.
- 39.
Douglas Cf. Dakin (1973), The Greek Struggle for Independence, 1821–1833, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
- 40.
For the negotiations, see Heraclides and Dialla (2015), Humanitarian Intervention in the Long Nineteenth Century, Setting the Precedent, Manchester: Manchester University Press.
- 41.
See also; J.-P. L. Fonteyne (1973–74), “The Customary International Law Doctrine of Humanitarian Intervention: Its Current Validity Under the U.N. Charter”, California Western International Law Journal, No: 4, p. 208; Quoted in Heraclides & Ada, ibid., p. 116.
- 42.
See The Encylopedia Britannica, “The Crimean War Summary”, Date of Accession 06.12.2021 from https://www.britannica.com/summary/Crimean-War.
- 43.
See supra, Introduction.
- 44.
See Encyclopedia Britannica, “Syria”, Date of Accession: 04.02.2022 from https://www.britannica.com/place/Syria/Ottoman-rule-restored.
- 45.
Édouard Antoine de Thouvenel (1818, Verdun 1866), was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1855 to 1860, and French Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1860 to 1862.
- 46.
French precipitation might be compared to her involvement in military intervention with Opération Harmattan in 2011. Strategic calculations between these two operations, in spite of obviously conjunctural differentiations, are remarkable. For French motivations in Opération Harmattan see Schmitt (2011), “France in Libya: a strategic perspective on Opération Harmattan”, Infinity Journal, IJ Exclusive, 25 July 2011. Date of Accession 15 February 2022 from https://www.militarystrategymagazine.com/article/france-in-libya-a-strategic-perspective-on-operation-harmattan/.
- 47.
As one of narratives of historiography.
- 48.
In the context of the emergence and development of eurocentric state system, while the main conflict of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was between the Empire/ Emperor and the Pope, the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were stamped by the conflict between major European dynasties.
- 49.
The original version of Birdal’s book is published by I.B. Tauris in 2014. See Mehmet Sinan Birdal (2014), The Holy Roman Empire and the Ottomans From Global Imperial Power to Absolutist States, London and New York: I. B. Tauris.
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Arıkanlı, Z. (2022). Ottoman-French Relations. In: Denizeau, A., Örmeci, O. (eds) Turkish-French Relations. Contributions to International Relations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07988-7_1
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