Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Europe is unstable, and Asia and Africa are not peaceful either!

First, in the Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan region, there was turmoil; then there was rioting in Shulia; then there was rebellion in Malatya!

All in all, 1896 was a rough year for the Ottoman Empire! This old empire, after entering the 19th century, became more and more powerless!

The continuous uprisings made the Sudanese government exhausted and finally suppressed it, but the Ottoman Empire also paid a heavy price!

In order to suppress the uprising, the Ottoman Empire lost a total of more than 43,000 soldiers in 1896, and the pension alone is not a small expense!

The most important thing is the destruction of the local area. Basically, in the areas where the uprising broke out, in the next few years, the Ottoman Empire will not be able to get any benefits, but instead requires financial allocations to fill the holes!

Moreover, the insurgent army also destroyed the ruling foundation of the Ottoman Empire, and a large number of basic officials were swept away. In order to stabilize the place, the Sudanese government had to station heavy troops in the place!

The combination of these series of expenses made the already fragile finances of the Ottoman Empire even worse!

In 1896, the Ottoman Empire's fiscal deficit was as high as 16.5 million lire (about 15 million pounds, 1 lire = 6.651519 grams of gold), which can be said to be on the verge of bankruptcy.

Fortunately, the Ottoman Empire has a great business and its heritage still exists. It finally survived, and it moved forward in 1897.

The Sudanese government may have sensed that the crisis was approaching them, and the reformists began to grow. In fact, the reform of the Ottoman Empire has a long history. It started as early as a hundred years ago. It is embodied in the military and has established a modern army!

No matter how good the system is, it also needs people to implement it, in order to cultivate enough new-style talents. The secular education reform began in the Tanzimat era, and the real education reform began in the period of Abdul Hamid II (1876 to 1909). During this period, the Sudanese government vigorously developed higher education and improved The size of the university.

In 1900, Istanbul University was reorganized, which was the first modern university in the Middle East. Institutions of higher learning adopt Western-style education, and the curriculum includes history, mathematics and foreign languages.

Secularization is the characteristic of higher education in this period. During this period, a whole set of modern education system was established including secular elementary and secondary schools, normal schools and vocational schools.

The establishment of new schools has had a positive impact on education, updating traditional teaching content. In addition to traditional teaching content, these schools begin to teach history, geography and hygiene at the primary level, and add mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, civics, Turkish, French and Persian at the secondary level.

The modern teaching of schools has greatly promoted the development of secular education. During this period, the European powers not only set up businesses in Ottoman Turkey, but also established schools. The establishment of European-style school education promoted the spread of Western culture.

The education reform promoted the secularization of the judiciary and education, removed from the cabinet the interpreter of the Supreme Law of the Islamic Religion, activated the secular control of the Sharia courts by the Ministry of Justice, brought religious schools under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, and established the Ministry of Religious Funds.

The number of intellectuals with secular education has greatly increased, and officers and cadets are largely from the urban and rural petty bourgeoisie and lower-rank officials.

From among them, numerous civil and military officials have been trained, and a new generation of national democratic revolutionaries has been bred. Emerging secular elites challenged the traditional Ulema power structure and weakened traditional religious power.

The secularization reform from Tanzimat to the Young Turks is only one step away from the ultimate goal of this process—the separation of church and state and the establishment of a secular state.

Ferdinand didn't care about the reform of the Ottoman Empire, an empire that was rotten to its roots from top to bottom,

Blind reform is undoubtedly the catalyst to hasten its demise!

Obviously, the Ottoman Empire lacks not only reform, but also the lack of execution ability! ! No matter how good a policy is, if the government's enforcement power is insufficient and cannot be implemented, it may achieve the opposite result!

The Ottoman Empire is no exception. Educational reforms did not achieve the goals that the Sudanese government wanted, but instead gave birth to the "Turkish Youth Party" or the "United Progressive Party".

Founded in 1894 in Istanbul. The original leader was Ahmed Lisa. In May 1889, students from four medical schools in the capital established an anti-authoritarian group, named the Ottoman League, later renamed the League Progress Council, which Europeans called the "Young Turk Party".

Soon many young students, officers, intellectuals and exiles joined the party. It represented the interests of the bourgeoisie and liberal landowners, advocated maintaining the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire, opposed autocracy, and demanded the restoration of the 1876 constitution.

At the beginning of 1897, the Turkish al-Shabaab plotted to launch a military coup, but failed due to the leak. The organization of Al-Shabaab in the capital was disrupted, many arrested, 13 were sentenced to death and 68 were exiled. This incident set back the strategy of relying on a coup d'état at the top to realize its political propositions.

The emergence of the Turkish Al-Shabaab has undoubtedly shaken the ruling foundation of the Sudanese government, and a nationwide anti-government group has been established with a clear political program!

The appearance of the Turkish al-Shabaab surprised Ferdinand a little, and then he relaxed again. The current Turkish youth party is just a toddler in Handan, unable to dominate the huge Ottoman Empire!

As long as it doesn't affect Bulgaria's next strategy, Ferdinand is still willing to watch the Sudanese government joke!

As for whether the catalyzed reforms of the Sudanese government can succeed, Ferdinand is not optimistic about them. Once any reform touches the interests of the ruling class, it becomes extremely difficult!

Even if the Sudanese government can open the hook, there is nothing they can do! First of all, the military reform was resisted by the military, and the Sudanese government did not have a strong execution capability.

"There are policies and measures to counter!"

At the time when the Sudanese government was reforming, another major historical event occurred - the Greeks in Crete launched an uprising again!

This uprising was different from the past. In February 1897, an uprising broke out in Crete with the support of the Greek government. After the uprising was successful, the insurgents announced that they would leave the Ottoman Empire and join Greece!

Well, all the fools know that this is made by the Greek government, "Rebel Army"? If you investigate carefully, you will find out: How come there are so many Greek retired soldiers involved?

Oh no! There are active ones, mainly to hide their ears and steal the bells, and the Greek government is too lazy to do it! As soon as the insurgents announced their separation from the Ottoman Empire and joined Greece, the Greek government immediately welcomed it. Since then, Crete has become a sacred and inviolable part of the Greek territory!

After the Greek government swore sovereignty over Crete, the navy landed directly on Crete, accompanied by two regiments of the Greek army, with the aim of clearing the remnants of the Ottoman Empire on Crete!