Zaryab Ayub, Alex Ge, Josh Herl, Jack Eckhardt
Introduction
 In the 1500s, the land from western Africa to
Southeast Asia was Muslim territory
 There were three Muslim empires:
 The Ottomans in the Middle East
 The Safavids in Persia
 The Mughals in India
 In the 1700s, Muslim empires were in decline, and
European powers would soon invade these areas
Problems in Muslim Regions
 Why was there decay in Muslim areas?
 Central government powers lost control of powerful groups urban
guilds, military elites, and nobles
 Corruption
 In some areas, scholars and religious leaders were against the
government; in others, they were friends with the state
 European Imperialism
 European countries gained the advantage over Muslim areas
through military threats and diplomacy
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Signed trading treaties that gave them the advantage
Demanded special rights for Europeans living in Muslim areas
Attempted Reform
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Muslim Reform Movements:
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1700s and 1800s
Popped up in Muslim regions in Africa and Asia
Most reforms stressed:
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Religious piety
Strict rules for behavior
Usman dan Fodio
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Led reform in northern Africa
Muhammad Ahmad
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Led reform in Sudan
Announced he was the Mahdi, which was the savoir of
the faith
Resisted British forces
Wahhabi
 Islamic reform movement
 Arabia
 Rejected the schools of theology and law
 Wanted to capture the essence of Muhammad’s original
teachings
 Revolt was put down, but the Wahhabi still exists today.
Ottoman Empire at its Peak
Constantinople/
Istanbul
The Ottoman Empire
 Problems
 1800s
Pashas (provincial rules) had increased their power.
 Economic problems and corruption
 Led to the decay of the empire
 Revolts
 Nationalism ideas spread
 Led to internal revolts
 Balkans, Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians, and Romanians gained their
independence
 Egypt slipped out of their control
 Revolts in Arabia, Lebanon, and Armenia
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The Ottoman Empire
 European countries
 Wanted to benefit from the Ottoman Empire
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France
 Seized Algeria
 Hoped to get more territory
Russia
 Wanted to control Bosporus and the Dardanelles
 Would give them access to the Mediterranean
Britain
 Tried to stop Russia
Germany
 Wanted to create a Berlin-to-Baghdad railway
The Ottoman Empire
 Reforms:
 Late 1700s
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Reorganized bureaucracy
Reorganized tax collection
Built railroads
Improved education
Trained an army
Men were sent to the West to learn
 Results:
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Improved medical care and farming
Population explosion
Increased tension
The Ottoman Empire
 Young Turks
 1890s
 Reform movement made from liberals
 Overthrew the sultan in 1908
 Couldn’t reform due to WWI
 Genocide
 Muslim Turks accused Christians of plotting against the
empire
 Killed over 600,000 Armenian Christians
Egypt and North Africa
Egypt
 Early 1800s
 Semi-independent province of the Ottoman empire
 Muhammad Ali
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Often called the “father of modern Egypt”
Made successful reforms
Ambitious soldier appointed by the governor
Seized power in 1805
Died in 1849
 Muhammad’s successors
 Lacked skills
 Egypt slowly came into foreign control
Reforms of Muhammad Ali
 Political and economic reforms:
 Improved tax collection
 Reorganized land owning system
 Large irrigation systems
 Helped farmers
 Expanded cotton production and encouraged the
development of local industries
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Involved Egypt in world trade
 Military reforms:
 Bought western military experts
 Built a well-trained army
 Conquered Sudan, Syria, and Arabia.
Suez Canal
 Ferdinand de Lesseps
 French entrepreneur
 Organized company to build Suez Canal in 1858
 Borrowed money from European countries
 European countries charged large interest rates to take
advantage of the Ottoman Empire
 1875: Egypt was unable to pay back loans
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To pay debts they sold shares of the canal
Britain bought shares; controlled part of the canal
Suez Canal
More than 100 miles long
Connects Mediterranean and Red Seas
Reduced trip from London, England to
Bombay, India by 5,150 miles
At first, only a few ships would travel through
the canal per day. The travel time through the
canal averaged 40 hours.
Today, oil tankers and cargo ships make up
most of the canals traffic with a travel time of
about 14 hours.
Egypt Becomes a Protectorate
 Protectorate – A country with its own government
controlled by an outside country
 1882
 Egyptian nationalists revolted against foreign influences
 Britain turned Egypt into a protectorate
 Government was still an Ottoman government
 Followed British policies
 Egypt continued to modernize
 Nationalist discontent causes more protests and riots
Persia
 The Qajar shahs
 Ruled Persia from 1794 to 1925
 Ruled with absolute power
 Attempted to reform Persia
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Built telegraph lines and railroads
Experimented with a liberal constitution
 Both Britain and Russia wanted Persia:
 Russia wanted to expand into Central Asia
 Britain wanted to protect its interests in India.
European Rule over Persia
 Discovery of oil in 1900s
 Both Britain and Russia wanted control of oil
 Persuaded Persia to give them concessions
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Special rights give to foreign powers.
 Both countries sent troops the Persia
 Outraged nationalists
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Two groups of nationalists:
 One that wanted to adapt to western traditions
 One that hated the western government and traditions
End