Colonization and the Ottoman Empire - Essay Example

30th November The Ottoman Empire Introduction The essay shall focus on colonization and the Ottoman Empire. It shall talk about the rise and fall of the empire and why colonization was a must for the colonization period and also for a group of people or colony to grow as an economy. The essay shall chart different parts of the empire, with the rise of the empire, the consolidation period and eventually the decline of the empire. The essay shall also focus on colonialism and how it has impacted the world history throughout the ages. Since it has two broad lines consisting of colonialism and Ottoman empire, the ideas is to trace the history of the Ottoman empire and link it with colonialism, thus trying to understand the impact of colonialism through the example of the Ottoman empire. Colonialism Colonialism is defined as the process of acquiring a foreign territory. The art of acquiring a foreign territory along with maintaining the territory without treating the people as equals has been the pattern of colonization throughout history. It has led to many bloody battles, while the Europeans have been at the centerfold of colonizing the entire world, from the Americas to Africa, Asia and the new worlds. It has been the practice of domination and was mastered by the European for ages. It involves political and economic control over a country, while the people are treated as second-class citizens. The European masters would extract the last bit of money from the controlled territories and it involved utter domination over the natural citizens of the country. Following is the definition of colonialism: “Colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another.” Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire has been recorded in the history as one of the most significant and dominating empires of all time. The timeline of the empire ranges from 1301-1922. The empire was at its peak in the medieval ages and continued to thrive for six centuries. The empire has been a long lasting legacy of the Mediterranean countries. Islam and the Islamic philosophy heavily influenced it. “The Ottoman Empire reached its height under Suleiman the Magnificent (reigned 1520-66), when it expanded to cover the Balkans and Hungary, and reached the gates of Vienna.” The Ottoman Empire started during the 13th century AD. The ruler Osman 1 was the man who initiated the conquest of the Ottoman Empire. The name ‘Ottoman” comes from Osman, who was the founder of the empire. The Ottoman Empire at its heights was considered as one of the most powerful empires of all times. There are three significant periods in the timeline of the Ottoman Empire. The first is the ascendancy and rise of the empire, which took place between 1299-1453. The second and the most significant period of the empire then come between 1453-1683. This is the time when the empire was growing rapidly and made huge strides. This period marked the richest advent of the empire and it is critical to know that the empire was considered at the heights of its powers during this time. The third period started indicating the decline of the empire. This period was between 1683-1922. During this period the empire stagnated and reached the zenith of its might and powers. However, reforms started taking place as well and the empire the gradually started to plunder into decline. The empire was at its lowest point from 19th century onwards and after that it was just a matter of time that the empire faded into the darkness. It is imperative to understand that the Ottoman Empire, after fading into the darkness post its glory days, started moving towards modernization. The empire was liked by a lot of people and it faced a crunch situation in the middle of the 19th century, when the question arose whether to sustain the long and tired battle without the technology or to modernize and adopt the 20th century technology. The empire decided that the best way to deal with the post stagnation point was to modernize as it helped it to deal with the all kinds of ammunitions and weapons. Thus began the age of modernization, which eventually led to the decline, and the birth of a new political ideology, which was devoid of the concept of colonization. Colonization and Ottoman Empire: An analysis The research question, which is crucial here to be answered, is the following: “Whether colonization was important for countries to grow?” As evident from the information provided about the Ottoman Empire, it is clear that Turkey rulers dependent on all the countries they ruled in for sustaining their needs and demands. The fact of the matter, which has to be addressed here, is to figure out the impact colonization made towards the people in those times. Until the end of the World War 2, colonization was an understood phenomenon. Countries worldwide used to capture other smaller and weaker nations and used to use their resources to feed their greed and hunger. However, post the World War 2 and during the birth of modernization everything changed. The philosophy of colonization was considered redundant and modernization and the advent of human rights marked the end of colonization. Therefore, as we now see it, colonization is a forgotten ideology, which is not considered appropriate and right considering how far we have reached in world history. However, in those days, it was considered a necessity. The world history can be categorized into the pre and post colonization era. The era during which the empires like the Ottoman empires thrived; colonization was crucial as the stronger nations tended to thrive on the weaker nations. It was important for such economies as they were people full of energy and determination and they needed the new world so sustain themselves and their high level of domination. Without colonization, the true great empires would have died down. They would have faded into the ashes and nothing great would have come of them. The negative side of colonization such as the Ottoman Empire is the fact that they ruled over numerous countries and did not treat them in a just fashion. At its heights of its powers, the Ottoman Empire ruled over the following nations: Turkey Egypt Greece Bulgaria Romania Macedonia Hungary Palestine Jordan Lebanon Syria Parts of Arabia Much of the coastal strip of North Africa This is a huge number and goes to show the amount of plundering the Ottomans did in order to sustain them. They ruled the roost in those days and colonization was the driving factor behind them having the surge they had in the medieval ages. The Turks very well understood that the only way to sustain the empire and the might of their nation was to start conquering other territories. Another crucial aspect which was important in maintaining the might of their empire was to havea tactful undrstanding with the people of the colonies where they went and conquered. Conclusion The final point of the essay focusses on the question with which the essay started. Was there a necesity to conqur territories. The answer to this question lies in the affirmative that yes for the stronger nations with a very high energy levels it was imperative that they went out and conquered new areas and territories in order to sustain their economy. As charles darwin had put out, the fittest survives in the world and you have to be very strong in all the ways in order to survive in the world in which we have been born. The strong ones will always control and conquer the weak forces of our planet. This is exactly what happened with the territories which were conquered by the Ottomans. The Ottomans were a very superior race. They could not be controlled or tamed by anyonr, and it was imperative for their survival that they went and conquered the new world in order to extend their empire and to chart out new territories for economic and political benefits along with feeding their people who dependent heavily upon the money they earned by plundering the wealth of the new nations. The same happend to the Britishers who depended upon the areas they had conquered by going to the new places and plundering the wealth in order to survive and build their economies. In this world, each and every person is by themselves and it is crucial to understand the rule of nature which says that the strong will always overpower the weak and the strong will control the might of the weak in the best way possible for him. The reason behind this is that the strong has a lot of eneryg levels and is determined more than the weak person to have his word as the last word. Work Cited BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013 "Ottoman Empire (historical Empire, Asia)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2013 Kohn, Margaret, Kohn,. "Colonialism." Stanford University. Stanford University, 09 May 2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2013 TheOttomans.org - Discover The Ottomans." TheOttomans.org - Discover The Ottomans. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013 "Effects of Colonization | Beyond Intractability." Effects of Colonization | Beyond Intractability. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013 Works Cited Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962. 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