People here accuse me of getting all my facts from the TV shows (which is inaccurate), yet they don't even know the wars happening during that time frame or who was leading the country.
Firstly, the navy was too big and expensive for the empire to maintain since it was the 3rd largest navy in the world, and part of the reason the empire was having financial trouble was because of the navy being so big.
Secondly, the Crimean War was not about Crimea. The Russians invaded Ottoman territory that makes up parts of modern-day Turkey to annex it. It is known as the Crimean War because the English and French invaded Russia in Crimea.
Thirdly, the British got Cyprus because the Russians were litually right outside of Istanbul since parliament lost the war of 1878-1978. The Ottoman parliament lost the war, and Abdulhamid II made an agreement with the British to save what was left of the empire and reverse the parliament's loss on the battlefield. Every time Abdulhamid II supposedly lost territory, he wasn't even in control of the country. It was the parliament that was in control of the empire; the first parliament lost half the Balkans the second lost the rest.
Finally, as for him not trusting the military and trying to stop future coups from happening, he was somewhat right to be concerned. The last time there was a coup, it led to over a million Muslims were killed and, an incompetent parliament was established. For those who don't understand the demographic situation of the empire, the population in 1850 was around 30 million, and only about 8 to 9 million were Turks. This is why the young Ottoman and Young Turks movements were just as dangerous as war with a foreign power.
I should also add that he did try to modernise the military while he was trying to restrict them so they wouldn't coup the government. Let's face it: nearly every time the military gets involved in politics and performs a coup d'etat, things end very badly for the Turkish people, whether it was the countless coups of the janissaries, the Young Ottoman coup that led to the war of 1877, the Young Turks coup that led to the Balkan war, the CUP coup that led to ww1 and finally the 80s coup that led to the creation of the PKK.
Firstly, the navy was too big and expensive for the empire to maintain since it was the 3rd largest navy in the world, and part of the reason the empire was having financial trouble was because of the navy being so big.
Secondly, the Crimean War was not about Crimea. The Russians invaded Ottoman territory that makes up parts of modern-day Turkey to annex it. It is known as the Crimean War because the English and French invaded Russia in Crimea.
Thirdly, the British got Cyprus because the Russians were litually right outside of Istanbul since parliament lost the war of 1878-1978. The Ottoman parliament lost the war, and Abdulhamid II made an agreement with the British to save what was left of the empire and reverse the parliament's loss on the battlefield. Every time Abdulhamid II supposedly lost territory, he wasn't even in control of the country. It was the parliament that was in control of the empire; the first parliament lost half the Balkans the second lost the rest.
Finally, as for him not trusting the military and trying to stop future coups from happening, he was somewhat right to be concerned. The last time there was a coup, it led to over a million Muslims were killed and, an incompetent parliament was established. For those who don't understand the demographic situation of the empire, the population in 1850 was around 30 million, and only about 8 to 9 million were Turks. This is why the young Ottoman and Young Turks movements were just as dangerous as war with a foreign power.
I should also add that he did try to modernise the military while he was trying to restrict them so they wouldn't coup the government. Let's face it: nearly every time the military gets involved in politics and performs a coup d'etat, things end very badly for the Turkish people, whether it was the countless coups of the janissaries, the Young Ottoman coup that led to the war of 1877, the Young Turks coup that led to the Balkan war, the CUP coup that led to ww1 and finally the 80s coup that led to the creation of the PKK.
