The Ottoman Empire's 1876 First Constitution and the Young Ottomans

Episode 122 of The Ottoman Empire and Its Influence on Modern Europe explores the dramatic story of how a secret society of reformist intellectuals — the Young Ottomans — pushed Sultan Abdülhamid II to proclaim the empire's first constitution in 1876. We trace the rise of figures like Namık Kemal and Midhat Pasha, whose ideas blended Islamic modernism with constitutionalism. The episode covers the Kanun-ı Esasi, the short-lived First Constitutional Era, the 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War's role in its suspension, and the sultan's subsequent 30-year authoritarian rule. We also examine the lasting impact: how the Young Ottoman movement laid intellectual groundwork for the 1908 Young Turk Revolution. Along the way, we discuss the Ottoman Public Debt Administration, the empire's fiscal crisis, and how European powers influenced internal reform. A vivid look at the collision between autocracy and liberal thought in the late Ottoman world. #YoungOttomans #NamıkKemal #MidhatPasha #KanuniEsasi #AbdülhamidII #FirstConstitutionalEra #OttomanEmpire #Constitutionalism #1876 #RussoTurkishWar #OttomanReform #Tanzimat #NewOttomans #OttomanHistory #ConstitutionalMonarchy #OttomanIntellectuals #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo