Ottoman decline and the Eastern Question
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Question
What does the 'Eastern Question' refer to?
Answer
The 19th-century European debate over what should happen to Ottoman territory as the empire weakened — driven by economic, religious and strategic interests.
Question
Why was Napoleon's 1798 invasion of Egypt so damaging to Ottoman prestige, even though France was defeated?
Answer
It proved a European army could walk into Ottoman territory and win easily, exposing military weakness and creating the power vacuum Muhammad Ali later filled.
Question
How did Muhammad Ali rise to power in Egypt?
Answer
After French forces left in 1801, he seized power amid the chaos; the sultan recognised him as governor (wali) of Egypt in 1805 rather than fight him.
Question
What happened when Muhammad Ali's army pushed into Syria and Anatolia in the 1830s?
Answer
He nearly toppled the sultan, until Britain, Russia and Austria intervened in 1840 and forced him back to ruling Egypt alone.
Question
What triggered the Greek War of Independence (1821)?
Answer
Greek nationalism and resentment of Ottoman taxation and unequal treatment sparked a revolt starting in the Peloponnese.
Question
What was the Battle of Navarino (1827) and why did it matter?
Answer
British, French and Russian navies destroyed the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet, tipping the Greek war decisively in favour of independence (won 1830–32).
Question
Name the three main reasons Europe cared about the 'Eastern Question'.
Answer
Economic (trade and markets), religious (claims to protect Christians), and strategic (control of the Bosphorus/Dardanelles straits).
Question
Why did Britain and France fight on the Ottoman side in the Crimean War (1853–56)?
Answer
To stop Russia gaining control of the straits and expanding its influence over the weakening Ottoman Empire.
Question
What were the 'Bulgarian Horrors' of 1876?
Answer
The brutal Ottoman suppression of a Bulgarian uprising, which turned European public opinion against Istanbul and gave Russia a pretext to intervene.
Question
Compare the Treaty of San Stefano and the Treaty of Berlin (both 1878).
Answer
San Stefano (Russia-Ottoman) created a huge pro-Russian Bulgaria reaching the Aegean; Berlin (renegotiated by the Great Powers) shrank Bulgaria, gave Austria-Hungary Bosnia-Herzegovina, and gave Britain Cyprus.
Question
What triggered the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878?
Answer
Russia declared war after the brutal Ottoman suppression of the Bulgarian uprising, presenting itself as liberator of Balkan Slavs; fighting included the siege of Plevna.
Question
By what year had France taken both Algeria and Tunisia from Ottoman-linked rule?
Answer
Algeria in 1830 (direct French invasion/annexation); Tunisia in 1881 (made a French protectorate).
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Topic 10.4 hub
The Ottoman Empire and the creation of Türkiye (c.1790–1938)
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