Introduction: ‘Bag and Baggage’

Abstract

When the Allies in 1917 called for ‘the expulsion from Europe of the Ottoman Empire’ they were simultaneously affirming that Turkey was at that time considered to be a part of Europe. This is a book about some of the principal writings that have shaped the perception of Turkey for informed readers in Britain, from Edward Gibbon’s positing of imperial ‘decline and fall’ to the proclamation of the Turkish Republic (1923), illustrating how Turkey has always been a part of the modern British and European experience. Many people have written about Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, but the five celebrated authors discussed here were especially influential in moulding the image of the country. Despite the philhellenic prejudice that was the natural result of the typical English educational programme based on the study of classical literature, these authors’ close study of the Ottoman Empire or personal encounter with it shaped in each a much more positive appreciation of the Turks.