Rise of the Bourgeoisie, Demise of Empire

Abstract

The book examines the process of Westernization and social change during the 18th and 19th centuries in the Ottoman Empire. Using empirical analysis of archival documents and historical chronicles, the book questions the prevailing scholarly interpretation that Westernization leads to social change. Rather, it argues that social change precedes and contributes to the process of Westernization.

The Cultural Uses of Consumption: Negotiating Class, Gender, and Nation in the Ottoman Urban Centers During the 19th Century

“…23 Göçek presents an opposite view, arguing that the consumption of Western goods, together with the adoption of European forms in art and architecture, signified the beginning of the process of Westernization in the Ottoman Empire. 24 In a similar vein, Nora Ş eni underscores the symbolic competition over European fashion and the ambivalence of meaning in contemporary discourses criticizing the adoption of European dress by Muslim women. 25 The consumption of goods could certainly mean different things to different agents.…”

“…According to Fatma Göçek, members of the Ottoman elite acquired Western products through the market, gift exchanges, or confiscations. 8 Conspicuous consumption was a major form of social competition among members of the bureaucracy striving to rival their competitors in the Ottoman court, and officials indulged themselves in extravagances that included the frequent use and exhibition of Western goods to such an extent as to provoke the reaction of the state. 9 Sumptuary laws, constantly promulgated during the 18th century, were among the tools that the Ottoman state used to control this competitive symbolic arena and to redirect power toward the personage of the sultan.…”

“…10 Although Ottomans did consume some Western commodities in the 18th century, they apparently favored the prevailing consumption preferences and patterns according to the local sartorial style, and their demand for local products was sufficiently strong to sustain guild production. Even if the increase in the consumption of Western goods among the populace during the 18th century is taken into consideration, 11 the small volume of Western imports and the expanded demand for local goods suggest that Western imports did not constitute a major challenge to local manufacturing.…”

The Material Life of the Ottoman Middle Class

“…While this bifurcation is evidenced in the variegated adoptions of ideas on civilization, equality, and national identity, Göçek illustrates through a survey of inheritance records how the increasing adoption of Western goods is further proof of 'the rise of the Ottoman commercial bourgeoisie'. 11 Göçek deals primarily with Istanbul, but this religious bifurcation in the rising middle class is also central for scholars of the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, particularly cities with large Christian populations, such as Beirut. As in the case of Göçek, evidence from material culture is recruited to support this phenomenon.…”