Nineteenth Century Jerusalem - Research Paper Example

Nineteenth Century Jerusalem During the 19th century in Jerusalem, the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities all lived in the old city of Jerusalem. However, all three had their own religious focal centers, while they were also divided according to different concepts of religion for the Christians and social frameworks and places of origin for the Jews. The pattern and nature of the built-up area in the old city of Jerusalem was significantly influenced by the heterogeneity of its population, in addition to the attractive power of its holy sites (radiobergen.org 1). In the late 19th century, the city development was dominated by an element of continuity, which was mainly informed by Jerusalem’s unique position as a Holy City for the three religious communities. Nineteenth century Jerusalem was influenced by various developments and actors (1), including Egypt and England, the system of capitulations, the Crimean War, its expansion outside the old city walls, Zionism, and the Arab Wakening. This paper seeks to discuss the developments and events that contributed to modern day Jerusalem, specifically in the 19th century. Egypt played an imperative role in the development of 19th century Jerusalem. The ruler of Egypt in 1831, Mehmet Ali, sent his eldest son, Ibrahim Pasha, at the head of his army to conquer and occupy the Levant, which was still controlled by the Ottomans (Ufford 1). They successfully occupied the coastal regions of Lebanon and Palestine, as well as Jerusalem that was designated as a military garrison. The European military officers who helped Ibrahim Pasha occupy Jerusalem also assisted in increasing the city’s Jewish population. Under the influence of Mehmet Ali, Ibrahim Pasha then sought to impose military conscription on all occupied territories, including Jerusalem, while raising taxes and disarming its population (1). As a result, the Jewish community in Jerusalem began to question Egypt’s legitimacy, provoking revolt against Mehmet Ali and Ibrahim Pasha’s rule. The rebellion against Jerusalem’s occupation by Egypt reached its peak in mid-1834, spreading further to Gaza, Galilee, and the Hebron Hills (1). Initial victories by the community compelled the withdrawal of Pasha’s army to Jaffa, as well as requests for reinforcements from Ali. Ibrahim Pasha then put the reinforcements to use by attacking the hills of Jerusalem with several military campaigns. While Ibrahim Pasha’s army in just a few weeks succeeded in crushing the Jewish uprising in Jerusalem, this did not satisfy Mehmet Ali, who pursued the fleeing rebels from Jerusalem and killed their most prominent leaders. In addition, he ordered the exile of the city’s prominent Muslim scholars, including those who had both actively supported the rebellion and those who supported the rebellion passively. Mehmet Ali granted permission for the establishment of a British consulate in 1841 (1). England established a consulate in Jerusalem in 1841, following the upgrade of the vice-consulate status it had held since 1838 (Robson 1). Immediately, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Britain set out to relay to the country’s High Commissioner in Istanbul that the Ottoman Sultan should be convinced of Britain’s belief that Jerusalem and Palestine were ready for immigration of Jews. By establishing, a consulate in Jerusalem, Britain’s main aim was to facilitate immigration of Jews to Jerusalem and the wider Palestine, while also granting future Jewish settlers protection. In addition, the British also sought to spread evangelical Protestantism as the dominant Christian denomination in Jerusalem. This manifested itself in Britain’s archaeological works and mission institutions during the 19th century. Rather than contrasting their archaeology and mission against Islam, the British participants sought to contrast it with Catholicism. Thus, Britain attempted to bring “pure” Christianity to Jerusalem with the understanding that the significance of Jerusalem lay entirely in its history in the Bible (1). Moreover, it was also important for Jerusalem to have a Protestant Christian leaning due to the importance of Jerusalem in political and theological rivalries in the West. As a result, the persecution of Palestinian Muslims declined as they were viewed as insignificant in the present and past of Jerusalem. The Protestant leaning of the English significantly determined the nature of encounters between local Arabs and the British (1), while shaping collaboration and conflict between Britain and other Western states in 19th century Palestine. As a result, the focus of British activity in Jerusalem was on the local Jewish and Christian populations instead of the larger Muslim community. Moreover, this meant that British Palestinian efforts in Jerusalem were in cooperation with German and American individuals and institutions, while their actions towards the Russians and the French were actively hostile. Finally, the British also assisted in the emergence of Jerusalem as a place whose main significance was in its Jewish and Christian heritage. This concept would carry on from the mid-19th century and would be used by Britain to legitimize its political claim to Jerusalem (1). Another event that influenced the development of Jerusalem in the 19th century was the system of capitulations, through which foreign powers gained influence within Jerusalem and the wider Ottoman Empire (jewishvirtuallibrary.org 1). In this case, foreigners made arrangements with the ottoman Emperor that they were not under the authority of the rulers in Jerusalem, but were subject to the laws of their original country. Judicial authority for the foreigners in Jerusalem came under the Consulates of their country of origin, as well as of special courts that normally had mixed composition. The United States, for example, was granted capitulations towards the end of the 19th century. In the beginning, these capitulations were made to avoid prejudice against the different religious communities in Jerusalem, as well as to encourage commerce (1). However, by the late 19th century and early 20th century, capitulations had become a symbol of disregard for Jerusalem’s rulers and of colonialism, especially as they weakened. In fact, by the end of the 19th century, a process was started that sought to release territories, including Jerusalem, from the capitulation tradition. The Crimean War of 1853–1856 portended a significant influence on the development of Jerusalem in the 19th century. For example, Napoleon III pressured the Ottomans to grant guardianship of Catholic and Orthodox monks in Jerusalem’s Church of the Nativity, ostensibly in exchange for support against Russia in the Crimean conflict. As a result of foreign help for the Ottomans against the Russians during the time of the Crimean War, the Ottoman Empire incurred heavy debts to these foreign powers (historyofwar.org 1). In Jerusalem, this enabled consular representatives to exert political pressure for their nationals to be offered special protection. From the end of the Crimean War, the debts accumulated to the point of bankrupting the Ottoman Empire. After the Russians sought to recover from their defeat by supporting ethnic Bulgarians, the Ottoman Empire began to hold suspicions over ethnic minority concentrations in the empire. Generally, this led to policies that affected the Jewish settlement in Jerusalem, as well as their associated financial and political organizations (1). In addition, the heavy indebtedness continued to offer foreign powers the ability to seek special protection for their citizens in Jerusalem, resulting in the Jewish and Christian immigrants to Jerusalem retaining their original foreign nationalities. This, in turn, led to resentment among the Muslim population, which was to set the tone for future tensions with Christian and Muslim communities. As the population of Jerusalem rose with increased immigration, the settlers in Jerusalem began to move outside the confines of the Old City Walls and founded the “Mishkenot Shaananim” in 1860. This was soon followed by Mea Shearim and Nahalat Shiva, resulting in the removal of barriers that had previously restricted progress and growth (radiobergen.org 1). Disease and overcrowding of Jerusalem’s Old City were the main encouragement for Jews to move out of the walled city’s confines. This was because of the British Consulate’s decision to make Jerusalem and Palestinian a settlement for Jews emigrating from Europe. As the population grew, each new neighborhood provided shelter for Jewish immigrants coming in from Eastern and Western Europe (1). The Turks eventually gave up claim to land outside Jerusalem under pressure from their foreign creditors in America, Germany, and Britain. This enabled commerce to flourish with post offices and a railway being constructed. Jews found more ways to purchase land and build shops, streets, synagogues, and houses as the Western powers gained increasing power and influence in Jerusalem, which, in turn, flourished with growth and activity. An outbreak of dysentery further pushed more Jews outside the confines of the old city into areas with less congestion and better sanitation (1). Because of this expansion outside Jerusalem, Zionism arose in the late 19th century as a term, which was portrayed in direct reference to Jerusalem. This was a national Jewish movement, which advocated the massive settlement of Jews in Palestine with Jerusalem as its center. Nathan Birnbaum first used the term Zionism as a reference to the need for Jews to immigrate to Jerusalem and Palestine as a result of fascist ideologies. Zionism became the Jewish national movement in support of creation of a Jewish homeland in Jerusalem and Palestine (1). The earliest version of Zionism in the late 19th century aimed at opposing the assimilation of Jews in Palestine, instead pushing for a Jewish homeland and nation that would liberate them from future discrimination. Works Cited historyofwar.org. Crimean War, 1853-1856. 4 April 2001. Web. 24 June 2014 . jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Capitulations. 2008. Web.24 June 2014 . radiobergen.org. Jerusalem: Jews And Arabs In The 19th Century. 2010. Web.24 June 2014 . Robson, Laura C. Archeology and Mission: The British Presence in Nineteenth-Century Jerusalem. 2009. Web.24 June 2014 . Ufford, Letitia W. All the Pashas Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army and the Making of Modern Egypt. April 2003. Web.24 June 2014 . Read More