The Last Publisher of Tanzimat Humour Theodor Kasap’s Escape to Europe and Return to Istanbul
Teodor Kasap, besides being one of the 19th century Ottoman intellectuals, was also a prolific publisher. What makes Kasap an important figure in terms of Turkish Press History is that he was one of the important figures who set the publishing standards of Turkish humour magazines in the Ottoman Empire. His productivity and sense of humour led to the emergence of the most important humour magazines of the period. The three year prison sentence he received for a cartoon he published in 1877 was a turning point for both Teodor Kasap and Turkish humour magazine publishing. Teodor Kasap, who was imprisoned after the trial process, fled to Paris shortly afterwards and assumed an oppositional identity. What happened between Teodor Kasap's imprisonment and his death is important in terms of his biography and Turkish Press History, but there is limited information about this process in the literature. From this point of view, the study aims to determine what happened between Kasap's imprisonment and his death. In addition, it is aimed to contribute to the Turkish Press History with the new information obtained. Content Analysis method was used in the study designed with Descriptive Research motif. As a result of the study, it has been determined that there is a lot of incomplete and erroneous information in the literature on this period of Teodor Kasap's life and new factual data has been put forward.
Tanzimat Mizahının Son Yayıncısı Teodor Kasap’ın Avrupa’ya Kaçışı ve İstanbul’a Dönüşü
Teodor Kasap, 19. yüzyıl Osmanlı entelektüellerinden birisi olmasının yanı sıra oldukça da üretken bir yayıncıdır. Kasap’ı Türk Basın Tarihi açısından önemli bir şahsiyet yapan olgu ise Osmanlı Devleti’nde Türkçe mizah dergiciliğinin yayın standartlarını belirleyen önemli isimlerden birisi olmasıdır. Üretkenliği ve sahip olduğu mizah anlayışı dönemin en önemli mizah dergilerinin ortaya çıkmasını sağlamıştır. 1877 yılında yayımladığı bir karikatür sebebiyle aldığı üç yıl hapis cezası hem onun hem de Türk mizah dergiciliğinin dönüm noktası olmuştur. Dava sürecinin ardından cezaevine giren Teodor Kasap, kısa bir süre sonra Paris’e kaçmış ve muhalif bir kimliğe bürünmüştür. Teodor Kasap’ın hapis cezası almasından vefatına kadar geçen süre zarfında yaşananlar biyografisi ve Türk basın tarihi açısından önemlidir ancak literatürde bu sürece dair sınırlı bilgi bulunmaktadır. Buradan hareketle çalışma; Kasap’ın cezaevine girmesi ile vefatı arasındaki sürede yaşananları tespit etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Ayrıca ulaşılan yeni bilgiler ile de Türk Basın Tarihi’ne katkı sağlanması hedeflenmektedir. Betimsel Araştırma motifi ile tasarlanan çalışmada İçerik Analizi yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda Teodor Kasap’ın hayatının bu dönemine dair literatürde pek çok eksik ve hatalı bilginin bulunduğu tespit edilmiş ve yeni olgusal veriler ortaya konulmuştur.
In addition to being one of the most significant intellectual figures of the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century, Teodor Kasap was also one of the most prominent publishers of the period, particularly in the field of humour magazine publishing. The primary reason for his distinctive position in the history of the Turkish press is that he pioneered new frontiers and established the benchmarks for humor magazine publishing within the Ottoman Empire. One of the factors that contributed to Kasap's significant position in the history of the Turkish press is the publication of the 'Karagöz in chains' caricature. In this caricature, Karagöz was depicted in chains in order to critique the 12th article of the Kanun-i Esasi pertaining to freedom of the press. This caricature was regarded as a seminal exemplar of the tension between freedom of the press and censorship during this period. As a consequence of this caricature, Kasap was subjected to trial in 1877 on charges of insulting the Constitution and humiliating the government, and was sentenced to a period of three years' imprisonment. Following a six-month incarceration, Teodor Kasap was released on bail and subsequently fled to Paris. The literature on Turkish press history provides only limited information on what happened after Kasap's trial, his escape and his return to Istanbul. Furthermore, the information that is available is incomplete or contradictory. This study aims to determine what happened between Teodor Kasap's escape to Paris and his return to Istanbul. Additionally, it aims to contribute to Turkish press history with the new information obtained. The content analysis method was used in the study, which was designed with the descriptive research motif.
The European press also addressed the issue of Teodor Kasap's three-year imprisonment. The European press was unconvinced by the accusations of 'insulting the Constitution and humiliating the government', which were the reason for the sentence. Instead, they based Teodor Kasap's sentence on facts such as Mithat Pasha's dismissal as grand vizier and his friendship with Namik Kemal, who was arrested for a verse he read. In the context of Turkish press history, Teodor Kasap's conviction is also linked to the closure of humour magazines in the Ottoman Empire in June 1877. The publication of the final issue of Hayal magazine, which he owned, on 30 June 1877 marked the end of Turkish humour magazines being produced in the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century.
On 3 October 1877, Teodor Kasap fled to Paris and revealed his dissident identity in the work Lettres à Son Excellence Said Pacha. In this work, in which he offered criticism of Abdülhamit II and his advisors, Kasap asserted that the Kanun-i Esasi did not result in the anticipated reforms, that the constitutional order remained merely superficial, and that Abdülhamit II's despotic style of governance had been presented in a constitutional guise. This work, which has not hitherto been the subject of discussion in the literature on Turkish press history, constitutes an important source of information regarding the intellectual foundations of the opposition movement that developed in Europe against Abdülhamit II's regime.
Following the publication of his work, Lettres à Son Excellence Said Pacha, Teodor Kasap was compelled to depart from Paris, where he had been pursuing initiatives on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, and relocate to Naples. The year 1878 was a period of significant turmoil for the Ottoman Empire and Abdulhamid II. First, the Çırağan Raid and then the discovery of the Scalieri-Aziz Bey Committee resulted in the opposition to Abdülhamit II being identified as a 'criminalised' formation. This situation resulted in the categorisation of the opposition actions of the exiled Teodor Kasap as 'revolutionary'. In particular, his meeting in Naples with Ali Şefkati, a member of the Scalieri-Aziz Bey Committee, reinforced the perception that Kasap might be involved in any potential opposition to Abdülhamit II and the Ottoman Empire. Consequently, an investigation was initiated by the Ottoman authorities, targeting both Kasap and Şefkati. In Naples, Kasap and Şefkati initiated the publication of the newspaper İstikbal on 26 October 1879. This newspaper constituted a significant development in the opposition movement that had emerged in Europe against the rule of Abdülhamit II.
In 1879, Teodor Kasap was granted clemency through a petition submitted by his wife to Abdülhamit II and returned to Istanbul in 1880. Following his return to Istanbul, Kasap was appointed to the Palace library and remained in the publishing sector until the end of his life.
Teodor Kasap (d. 25 July 1897) is regarded as one of the most significant publishers of Ottoman humour magazines. However, he is erroneously referred to as 'the first humour magazine publisher' in Turkish Press History. His humour magazines, Diyojen, Çıngıraklı Tatar and Hayal, are not only seminal works of the period in the field of humour magazine publishing, but also form a prominent part of the canon of Turkish press history, having set the standards for such publications. Following his release on bail following a three-year prison sentence, Teodor Kasap fled to Europe, where he died at the age of 63. The final two decades of his life were shaped by his relationship with Abdülhamit II. The study has revealed that the nature and process of this relationship has not been sufficiently analysed in the existing literature on Turkish press history. Furthermore, the existing information on this topic is unreliable. The principal cause of this state of affairs is the reiteration of erroneous and inadequate data without substantiation. For instance, three distinct dates are presented in the existing literature as the date of Teodor Kasap's demise. However, none of these dates are accurate. It is of the utmost importance that a significant number of these data points be revised and corrected in order to present a comprehensive history of the Turkish press. Furthermore, the study has revealed new information regarding the date of Teodor Kasap's escape to Paris, the content of the book he published in Paris, the process and date of his return to Istanbul, and the cause of his death.
