Changes

The Tanzimat reforms were carried out between 1830 and 1870 in the Ottoman Empire. They were a wide ranging series of educational, political and economic reforms. They were an attempt at modernisation to stop the decline of Ottoman power. The process of modernisation involved adopting models and practices of western countries and societies and it primarily motivated to compete western powers and preserve their Empire. The modernization process in the Ottoman Empire was a way of ensuring that they did not become the subjects of the western powers.<ref>Inalcık, H. and Quataert, D. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521343151/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0521343151&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=cc66c7ad16506b01ae1292a0e287e33a An Economic and Social History of The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1914]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994, p. 189.</ref> During the nineteenth century much of the world became subject to the western powers, especially Britain and France. The Tanzimat reforms were only partially successful and did not halt the Ottoman decline.

Until the 18th century the Ottoman Turks were at least as powerful as the great European powers. However, from the mid-1750s, Ottomans power declined and they could no compete militarily with Russian and the Hapsburg Empire.<ref>Qetvket Pamuk "Institutional Change and the Longevity of the Ottoman Empire, 1500–1800". ''Journal of Interdisciplinary History'', vol xxxv:2, Autumn, 2004, p.247.</ref> In successive conflicts the armies of the Sultan, once invincible, were consistently defeated and the Empire lost territory. Their Christian adversaries slowly dismembered the Empire and that survival of the empire was threatened.<ref>Parmuk, p. 235.</ref> Just as the Ottoman military power was marginalized, their archaic economic system was becoming less viable. The economic system that prevailed in the Empire in 1800 had transformed little since the fifteenth century. The antiquated economy could not compete with the European nations that were being transformed by the industrial revolution. <ref>Inalcık, H. and Quataert, D. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521343151/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0521343151&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=cc66c7ad16506b01ae1292a0e287e33a An Economic and Social History of The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1914]''. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 189.</ref> The leaders of the Ottoman recognized that there needed to be economic revolution accompanied by extensive political and legal reforms. The Sultan and his advisors accepted that the Ottoman Empire had to modernize in order to survive.

The Ottoman Empire’s economy was influenced by Muslim economic theories. These favoured state intervention, protectionism and frowned upon the profit motive. The Ottoman reformers realized they had to liberalize the economy if they wanted to generate sufficient capital to contend with the European nations. The Tanzimat reforms attempted to introduce a series of economic and financial reforms, including the abolition of guilds, free trade, the right to private property and a new tax system. New banks were established, despite the Islamic religious elite denouncing interest payments as Riba or usury since it was contrary to the Koran. The Sultan and his government also moved towards the lifting of barriers on trade and abandoned protectionism. The Ottoman government in order to implement their secular projects as part of the Tanzimat Reforms, established courts that oversaw economic regulation. The Napoleonic Trade Laws were adopted from the 1850s.<ref>Hanioglu, M. Sukru. ''A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire'' (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2008), p. 141. </ref> The Islamic courts still issues decrees on Sharia Law, both in urban and tribal areas, but increasingly they were unable to arbitrate in the areas of economic regulation. These changes were all designed to develop the Ottoman Economy. The changes made were all based on the western model. This was partly because the Ottoman Caliph sought to replicate the policies of the western governments to become as powerful as they had in recent decades.<ref>Jason Goodwin, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312420668/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312420668&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=dce09584fbe6824c3500d532ee9fd797 Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire]''. (Penguin Books, Hamondsworth,2003, p. 189.</ref>