There are moments in history when a man of humble birth dates back to the
occasion when his nation is in danger. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was one of
them.
A very brief historical background
The Battle of Lepanto demonstrated that the Ottomans were not unstoppable
During the 16th century, Europe awoke from its long slumber medieval.
However, the Ottoman Turks were also on the rise. They expanded their
territories in the Balkans, the region overtaking. They have made inroads
in Eastern Europe, and even threatened Central Europe. If Vienna hadn t
resisted, the region was in serious jeopardy. They also expanded also
support in North Africa, making new gains in important parts of the Middle
East, and build a powerful navy.
However, after the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Turks were
deprived of effective leadership for centuries. Sultans were usually
following either shamefully incompetent or hopelessly decadent. Like so
many empires, they skirted a good time on the initial success, but became
stagnant. Finally, they slipped into a period of decadence and corruption.
Sounds familiar?
The Ottoman Empire began to crumble, eventually becoming the sick man of
Europe & # 8221;. Nationalist sentiment was on the rise, and revolts took
place in the Balkans. In addition, the Ottomans began to lose their grip on
North Africa. Russia climbed, assuming control of territory on their side
of the Black Sea and to assist the independence in the Balkans.
In the early 20th century, they had lost almost all their assets in Europe
and a large part of their earnings also were lost. They were shaken by
political instability. Their empire & # 8212 extensive, one of the largest
the world had seen & # 8212; was in deep decline. Turkey itself was very
multicultural, and without a strong government to suppress the inevitable
tensions by force, cracks in their original core countries became clear.
Following the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire offshore assets have
been eliminated, most of the time to be incorporated in the British and
French empires. Besides that, the Treaty of Sèvres would have formalized
areas of foreign occupation deeply in their country of origin. The treaty
was never ratified obtained, because the British went further and took over
the government.
For the Turks, surely this was a deep humiliation. It was like the victors
did in Germany, but worse. The only good news for the Turks was that they
were spared a Treaty of Versailles style shakedown that devastated the
German economy.
Note that it is not my intention to whitewash the past. (Neither I will
dive into the news.) Every great country has its share of dirty laundry,
and Turkey's history certainly had its horrible times, to say the least.
The point is that their nation's heart was about to be dismembered; the
Turks had the right to resist, just as we must preserve our own nations.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk military career
They came loaded for bear, but the resistance was stronger than expected
The war to end all wars was a great disaster for staging the war to make
the world safe for democracy & # 8221; which led to the Cold War. It was
also the beginning of the decline (so far) of the West. On the Turkish
front, the British sought to reach a waterway to their Russian allies
through the Dardanelles and eventually to the Black Sea. Winston Churchill,
then navy commander, offered to take the strait with warships and ground
troops. Overconfidence (a bad habit of his) led him to believe that the
sick man of Europe could offer little resistance.
The following campaign was the Battle of Gallipoli. The Turkish commander
who repelled the British invasion was none other than Mustafa Kemal. Losses
were heavy on both sides, devastating especially for Australian forces. As
Anzac Cove Memorial touching declares:
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives and # 8230;
You now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, in peace rest.
There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets us where they are
side by side in this country of ours & # 8230;
You, the mothers, who sent their son to distant countries towels your
tears; your son now lying in our bosom and are in peace, having lost their
lives on this land they have become our son too.
Ataturk, 1934
The British also led a campaign in the Ottoman Empire's remaining assets
Middle East, during which a real battle of Armageddon (Megiddo) took place.
With great effort, Mustafa Kemal has a grip on the chaotic situation and
stopped the British advance in Aleppo.
After the war, foreign troops occupied Istanbul. The winners, ready to
divide Turkey, demanded disarmament. After the Ottoman capitulation,
Mustafa Kemal became active in nationalist politics. He refused to disband
the forces under his command, as ordered by the government in order
occupying British. Instead, he worked behind the scenes to encourage
resistance.
When the British discovered in 1920, they asked his arrest. In the race, he
got a death warrant. Failure was not an option! This set in motion a chain
of events leading to the dissolution of the Ottoman British government.
Before long, the Turkish resistance has led to an armed conflict, with
Mustafa Kemal commanding the army soon. Fighting broke out on several
fronts. Often it was quite awful on both sides, but not equal the horrible
excesses during World War II. The Turks regained control of their homeland,
and in October 1922, Turkey was at peace. Once the policy was
reconciliation, not revenge.
Turkey reborn
Education is a major component of national renewal
Soon after, the provisional government abolished the Sultanate. On January,
Greece and Turkey following an agreed transfer of the population. Creating
territorial integrity is the best way to ease tensions between various
populations with long simmering historical grievances. Later, in 1923, the
Republic of Turkey was born. Mustafa Kemal & # 8212; which in 1934 was
officially dubbed Ataturk, Father of the Turks & # 8212; became its first
president, serving until his death in 1938. The 1920s and 1930s were a grim
period of tumultuous struggle and energizing rebirth through many
countries, and Turkey has been one of between them.
Ataturk led a strongly secular course. (It's hard to say how he felt
religion. He kept his personal views to himself), he abolished the
caliphate soon banned the religious habit, and instructed the Quran
Turkish. It prohibits polygamy and established women's rights & # 8212; not
crazy feminism that we have here, of course, merely equality before the law.
Apart from that, it seemed to Western-inspired success to modernize Turkey.
He abolished the Sharia (religious and other codes) and set up a legal
system for all elements borrowed from European systems. He began to
standardize the language and pass a modified Roman alphabet. He reformed
education as well, and has done much to address the terrible problem of
illiteracy.
The Great Depression was devastating the world's economy. Economically,
Ataturk instituted a plan to pay off the national debt that Turkey had
inherited. agrarian land reforms were implemented, a national bank was
created, the industry was promoted, and the railway network increased
rapidly.
Not without controversy, & # 8217 Atatürk's legacy is that of an
enlightened reformer who recovered Turkey a near-oblivion fate, then put
his nation despotic theocratic backwardness and move forward in the modern
civilization. His economic legacy is that Turkey remains the most
prosperous in the Middle East countries, with the exception of Israel and
oil-rich states in the Arabian Peninsula. Turks would do well to continue
to follow its vision and their work will further develop their economy
homeland. Other countries in the region would benefit from Atatürk's
example.
Conclusion
The Turks were once a great world power, but lost their empire which had
fattened on the spoils of conquest. The main problem is that the victors of
the First World War abrogated their national sovereignty and their country
of origin where they were the majority was about to be divided and reduced
to obscurity. They didn t submit defeatism; they restored their nation.
As we can see, can be reversed a decline in courses leading to the complete
ruin if the right actions are taken (obviously the sooner the better). With
the people's solidarity & # 8212; and exceptional individuals & # 8212; a
nation can be reborn. Perhaps this story beginning a century can inspire us
today there.
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