Ottoman Greeks in the Age of Nationalism: Politics, Economy, and Society in the Nineteenth Century

This collection of essays derives from the 1989 Princeton Conference on 'The Social and Economic History of the Greeks in the Ottoman Empire: The Greek Millet from the Tanzimat to the Young Turks'. Organised jointly by the Program in Hellenic Studies and the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, this gathering brought together for the first time ever leading neohellenists and ottomanists, as well as younger scholars of modern Greek history and Ottoman history, from Greece, Turkey, the United States, and Western Europe. The authors explore several themes: the multifaceted achievements of Ottoman Greeks as they gained prominence in the political, economic, and social life of the Ottoman Empire during its last phase; the tenuous relationship of Ottoman Greeks to the newly established kingdom of Greece; and the development of a Hellenic national identity in the context of the national revolutions in the Balkans. Drawing parallels with the comparative experiences of other ethnic groups in the empire, such as the Jews and the Armenians, this volume contributes to our understanding of modern Greek and Ottoman history and will appeal to scholars of eastern Mediterranean peoples and cultures in the nineteenth century.