A New Perspective on the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi-Mahmud II’s Use of International Diplomacy to Resolve the Mehmet Ali Problem

While some historians see the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi as a diplomatic victory for the Russian Tsar, Nicholas I, others consider the same treaty indicative of Mahmud II’s desperation in the face of his rebel governor, Mehmet Ali Pasha. Nevertheless, none of them have evaluated this treaty as being part of Mahmud II’s ongoing endeavour to solve the Mehmet Ali problem with diplomacy. Accordingly, this article aims to look at the Treaty of Unkiar Sklessi from a new perspective by using the Ottoman documents, and uncover some hitherto-overlooked details of the Ottoman diplomatic struggle during the Mehmet Ali Problem.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

The Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, Mahmud II, Ottoman Diplomacy, Mehmet Ali Problem, Anglo-Ottoman Relations

A New Perspective on the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi-Mahmud II’s Use of International Diplomacy to Resolve the Mehmet Ali Problem

While some historians see the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi as a diplomatic victory for the Russian Tsar, Nicholas I, others con-sider the same treaty indicative of Mahmud II’s desperation in the face of his rebel governor, Mehmet Ali Pasha. Nevertheless, none of them have evaluated this treaty as being part of Mahmud II’s ongoing endeavour to solve the Mehmet Ali problem with diplomacy. Accordingly, this article aims to look at the Treaty of Unkiar Sklessi from a new perspective by using the Ottoman documents, and uncover some hitherto-overlooked details of the Ottoman diplomatic struggle during the Mehmet Ali Problem.

Keywords:

The Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, Mahmud II, Ottoman Diplomacy, Mehmet Ali Problem, Anglo-Ottoman Relations,

PDF

___

BOA, File No: 1045, Document No: 43183 A
BOA, File No: 1045, Document No: 43183 B.
BOA, File No: 1166, Document No: 46123 A.
BOA, File No: 1175, Document No: 46438 Ğ.
BOA, File No: 1175, Document No: 46438 H.
BOA, File No: 1040, Document No: 43061.
BOA, File No: 1166, Document No: 46123.
BOA, File No: 1169, Document No: 46234 B.
BOA, File No: 1166, Document No: 46123 J.
BOA, File No: 1173, Document No: 46414 D 01.
BOA, File No: 1173, Document No: 46414 D 02.
BOA, File No: 1173, Document No: 46414 D 03.
BOA, File No: 1173, Document No: 46414 D.
BOA, File No: 1173, Document No: 46414 D 04.
BOA, File No: 1181, Document No: 46653.
BOA, File No: 1175, Document No: 46438 Ğ.
BOA, File No: 1168, Document No: 46223.
BOA, File No: 2, Document No: 47.
Altundağ, Ş. (1988). Kavalalı Mehmet Ali Paşa İsyanı Mısır Meselesi, Ankara, TTKB.
Baker, R.L. & Palmerston, V. (1928). “Palmerston on the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi”, The English Historical Review, Vol. 43, No. 169, pp. 83-89.
Bolsover, G.H. (1936). “David Urquhart and the Eastern Question, 1833-37: A Study in Publicity and Diplomacy”, The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 444-467.
Brown, D. (2010). Palmerston: A Biography, Yale.
Karal, E.Z. (2007). Osmanlı Tarihi, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu.
Rodkey, F.S. (1929). “Lord Palmerston and the Rejuvenation of Turkey, 1830-41”, The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 1, No. 4.
Webster, S.C. (1951). The Foreign Policy of Palmerston: 1830-1841, vol.1, London.