Abolition and Anti-slavery in the Ottoman Empire: A Case to Answer?

Abstract

One of the main points of departure of the analysis offered in this chapter is that the suppression of the slave trade and the abolition of slavery were a type of social, economic, political, and even cultural reform. A necessary precondition for introducing a policy of reform is a broad-based recognition that something is either morally wrong or not working, and hence in need of being repaired. This is, however, not a sufficient condition; one needs also the will, the support, the tools, and the perseverance to push through effective change. Whereas in non-western societies, reform has often been initiated by rulers and governments—that is, “top down”, public support, or at least the lack of strong and committed opposition, was also required. In Europe and the United States from the eighteenth century onwards, many changes—including the abolition of slavery—originated in the “marketplace of ideas” and fed on public debate and grass-roots organization in an emerging civil society.