Westernization of the Ottoman Empire ••• 179Mustafa Reshid Pasha
B
y the nineteenth century the Ottoman Empire was obviously declining
relative to an increasingly modern and powerful West. This situation had
long divided the empire's peoples into two groups. One remained bound to
the past; for reasons of custom or religion, they resisted reform and looked for
salvation in adherence to traditional ways. The other group consisted of re¬
formers who were convinced that if the empire was to survive it would have to
adopt Western ways, at least in terms of administrative and military practices.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, one of the ablest of these reformers
was a statesman and diplomat named Mustafa Reshid Pasha (1800-1858).
Born in Constantinople, Reshid began training for government service at
an early age. He was essentially apprenticed to become a state administrator.
He proved adept in this profession and rose rapidly through the ranks of the
civil service. From 1834 through 1836 he was the Ottoman ambassador in
France and then Britain. In this capacity he observed those practices that he
believed made the West strong. In 1837 he was appointed minister for foreign
affairs. Over his career he would serve six times as grand vizier. Thoroughly fa¬
miliar with European methods of government, he became convinced that the
empire must westernize to survive: "Only through reforms that will bring
Turkey closer to the norms of European life can we get over the enduring po¬
litical and economic crisis."
Reshid got his opportunity to turn theory into practice in 1839, when Sul¬
tan Abdulmejid called on him to help implement the Tanzimat ("reorganiza¬
tion") of the governmental practices of the empire. Tanzimat was designed to
strengthen the state through administrative reform, but it could not immedi¬
ately alter ancient ways of thinking. Many reforms were actively resisted by of¬
ficials who had a vested interest in maintaining tradition. This eventually
stymied the reform effort, and Reshid was demoted to his old post as ambas¬
sador to France. Nevertheless, the reform movement, backed by Britain after
the Crimean War, was renewed in 1856.
Only after the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I would Turkey,
now independent and divested of its empire, thoroughly westernize its society.
The man who would accomplish this task, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, stood at
the end of a long line of reformers, one of whom was Mustafa Reshid Pasha.government clerks; the provinces were reorganized so that each governor
would have specified duties and an advisory council; the network of
roads, canals, and now also rail lines was extended; and a modern finan¬
cial system was set up featuring a central bank, treasury bonds, and a dec¬
imal currency.