The Economic Nationalism According to Omer Fuad’s Anatolian Letters
Meral DemiryürekBursa and its surrounding area was one of the most important commercial centres during the Ottoman period. The city was important in Ottoman Anatolia both for import and export and also because it provided the Ottoman capital with barley and wheat. In the early years of the 20th century commercial activities were maintained. Omer Fuad, who was an independent reporter, travelled to Bursa and the towns around it in 1913 and 1914 and published his observations in those years in Sebilürresad. His observations covering the commercial, social and economic aspects of the places he visited can be used as a source to discover the commercial activities of those places. His observations also reflected the commercial, political and social relationships between Muslim and non-Muslim Ottoman subjects. The aim of this study is to reveal the commercial, economic and social nationalism in Bursa on the eve of World War I and to focus on the literary and economic rise of Turkish nationalism during the period under question by analysing Omer Fuad’s observations.
Ömer Fuad’ın Anadolu Mektupları’na Göre İktisadi Milliyetçilik
Meral DemiryürekBursa ve çevresi Osmanlı dönemi boyunca en önemli ticari merkezler arasında kabul edilir. Bu bölge, Osmanlı Anadolusunun vazgeçilmez ithalat ve ihracat noktalarını barındıran verimli ve zengin topraklara sahiptir. Söz konusu yerler, devletin içinde bulunduğu olumsuz şartlara rağmen XX. yüzyılın ilk yıllarında ticari faaliyetlerini büyük bir canlılıkla aksatmadan sürdürür. Özellikle debbağlık, nalcılık, kozacılık bölge halkına para kazandıran işlerdir. Sebilürreşad muhabiri Ömer Fuad, 1913-14 yılları arasında yaklaşık bir yıl boyunca Bursa ve çevresindeki kasabalara seyahat eder ve gözlemlerini mektuplar hâlinde İstanbul’a göndererek yayımlanmasını sağlar. Karacabey, Kirmasti (Mustafakemalpaşa), Bandırma, Edincik (Aydıncık), Ayvalık gibi yerlerin sosyal ve ekonomik görünümlerini kapsayan tespitleri, bölgenin çalışma faaliyetlerini anlamak açısından kaynak olarak kullanılabilecek niteliktedir. Ömer Fuad’ın bildirdiği somut veriler, Osmanlı Müslim ve gayrimüslim tebaa arasındaki ilişkileri bütün detaylarıyla yansıtır özellikler taşımaktadır. Gezi raporlarının Sebilürreşad’da yayımlanması ise ekonomi, basın ve edebiyat açısından devrin millî karakterinin nasıl geliştiğine dair kayda değer değerlendirmeler yapılabilmesine imkan sunmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, gazeteci Ömer Fuad’ın Bursa çevresindeki gözlem ve tespitlerini 1910’lu yılların ticari, ekonomik ve sosyal durum özelinde ortaya koyarak öne çıkan hususları, iktisadi milliyetçilik bağlamında analiz etmektir. Ayrıca incelenen dönemde yükselmeye başlayan Türk milliyetçiliğinin edebiyattan ekonomiye geçişinin basındaki görünümü Sebilürreşad dergisi özelinde dikkatlere sunulmuş olacaktır.
The system in which the money, industry, and trade of a country are organized is called a political economy. The nineteenth century witnessed the rise of nationalism and national economic policy as well as an industrial revolution and free trade. These developments, however, were not useful for empires and non-industrialised nations of which the Ottoman Empire was one. Despite its political, social and economic reforms, the Ottoman Empire did not create a national political economy. The various nations which were part of the Ottoman Empire began to revolt and founded their own national states throughout the nineteenth century. Even though the second constitutional monarchy was proclaimed in 1908, it did not prevent the ongoing disintegration of the Empire.
From the second half of the nineteenth century onwards the Turks in the Empire began to understand the power of national economic policy, industrialism and nationalism. A lot of internal and external developments contributed to this enlightenment in which some works of modern Turkish literature and its writers and poets played a part . The Balkan Wars of 1912-13 were a turning point. The Sebilürresad journal, whose owner was Mehmet Akif, later to be the writer of the Turkish national anthem in 1921 during the Turkish War of Independence, was established in those days. Turkish writers who were enlightened and well-educated were well aware of the situation of those days. It is understood that Omer Fuad was one of them and he travelled to Bursa, Karacabey, Kirmastı, Bandırma and Ayvalık in 1913 and 1914, publishing his observations in the Sebilürresad journal.
His accounts were a good reflection of the social and economic situations that the Turkish people found themselves in. According to him non-Muslim Ottoman subjects dominated the economy of the region and had economic and political power. Turkish historical buildings, like schools and mosques were in a poor state of repair or even in ruins. The Turkish population was poor. On the contrary, non-Muslims, of which the majority was Greek, were powerful and rich and their buildings were modern. In Bursa economic superiority was in the hands of the Christians and the Muslims who needed the economic support of the government. One of the most important merchants was a Bulgarian trader, N. Dimkof, whose horseshoe trade dominated the region and the empire. In Bursa the main industry was that of the silkworm trade , namely sericulture. The workers on the benches were Jewish girls, the masters were Muslims. The tanneries were in the hands of the Muslims, but the Muslim tanners complained about their Muslims apprentices due to their laziness.
In Bandırma the economic power of the Greeks eclipsed that of the Muslims. The honorary French consul was a Greek merchant. At the same time, he was the honorary British consul and in consequence he and his trade came under the protection of the French and British. Omer Fuad wrote that there was no indication of an Islamic presence in Bandırma, except that of the Haydar Cavus mosque. In Bandırma, industry and trade were controlled by the Christians. The grain trade, for instance, was governed by mainly Greek merchants. There was also a Jewish merchant who did business as a grain trader. The observer, however, did not blame the non-Muslims, but rather the Muslims owing to their laziness and snooping. While they were at odds with one another, they lagged behind in trade. While the Muslims were toiling, the Christians enjoyed wealth and prosperity.
Although the Greeks who settled in Ayvalık were subjects of the Ottoman Empire, they were extremely nationalist and t supported Greece, respecting the Greek flag. Their children wore hats on which was written ‘long live (Zito) Venizelos’ who was the Prime Minister of Greece. Publications from Greece were banned by the Ottomans. Besides Greek traders, Armenian and Bulgarian traders were also powerful rivals of the Muslims (Turks) and trade, power and wealth were in their hands. There were only a few Muslim traders and businessmen, although the owners of the state were Muslim Turks.
Omer Fuad’s identity became unknown and his letters in the journal disappeared suddenly, although he had said in his latest published letter that he would write about the situation of the Muslims living in Ayvalık. It is possible that his accounts might have bothered the government. Consequently, his travel accounts are very important in three ways. Firstly, they reflect the Turkish educated people’s point of view about the economy and society in 1913 and 1914. Secondly, they indicate the social, economic and political structure of the regions through which he travelled. Lastly, his observations and considerations are a description of the national political economy of the time and of the importance of the economy in the life of the state and society.
