The Ottoman Surrender of 1807: A Fleet Given to Napoleon

When Sultan Selim III faced a crisis that would unravel his reforms and ultimately cost him his throne, he made a desperate gamble: he surrendered the entire Ottoman fleet to Napoleon Bonaparte. This episode dives into the forgotten 1807 Ottoman naval surrender at the Bosphorus, a stunning moment when the Sublime Porte chose to hand over its warships rather than see them fall to Tsar Alexander I's advancing Russian army. We explore the context of the Napoleonic Wars, Selim III's Nizam-ı Cedid reforms, the role of the Janissaries who opposed him, and the key figures: Alemdar Mustafa Paşa, Kabakçı Mustafa, and the French ambassador General Sébastiani. The surrender led directly to Selim III's deposition and the eventual rise of Mahmud II. Listeners will learn how the Ottoman Empire navigated great power diplomacy, why the fleet ended up at the arsenal rather than fighting, and how this event reshaped the Eastern Mediterranean. A tale of reform, rebellion, and the brutal logic of survival in the age of empire. #OttomanEmpire #SelimIII #NapoleonicWars #NavalHistory #OttomanNavy #NizamıCedid #Janissaries #AlemdarMustafaPaşa #KabakçıMustafa #Sébastiani #TsarAlexanderI #Bosphorus #1807 #History #FexingoHistory #OttomanReform #GoldenHorn #GreatPowerDiplomacy Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo