French Revolutionaries in the Ottoman Empire

The effects of the French Revolution reached far beyond the confines of France itself. The Ottoman Empire, ancient ally and major trading partner of France, was not immune from the repercussions of the 'Age of Revolutions', especially since it was home to permanent French communities with a certain legal autonomy. French Revolutionaries in the Ottoman Empire examines, for the first time, the political and cultural impact of the French Revolution on Franco-Ottoman relations, as well as on the French communities of the Ottoman Empire. The modern interpretation of revolutionary ideological expansionism is strongly influenced by the famous propaganda decree of 19 November 1792 which promised 'fraternity and help to all peoples who wish to recover their liberty', as well as the well-studied efforts to export the Revolution into the territories conquered by the revolutionary armies and to the various Sister Republics. Against all expectations, however, French revolutionaries in the Ottoman Empire exhibited neither a 'crusading mentality' nor a heightened readiness to use force in order to achieve ideological goals. Instead, as this volume shows, in matters of diplomacy as well as in the administration of French expatriate communities, revolutionary policies were applied in an extremely circumspect fashion. The focus on the effects of the French regime change outside of France offers valuable new insights into the revolutionary process itself, which will revise common assumptions about French revolutionary diplomacy. In addition, Pascal Firges takes a close look at the establishment of the new political culture of the French Revolution within the transcultural context of the French expatriate communities of the Ottoman Empire, which serves as a thought-provoking point of comparison for the emergence and development of French revolutionary political culture.

Pascal Firges is a research fellow at the German Historical Institute in Paris. Having studied History and Philosophy in Heidelberg, Paris, and Cambridge, he holds a PhD in history from Heidelberg University. He is the author of Großbritannien und das Osmanische Reich Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts (2009) and the co-editor of Well-Connected Domains: Towards an Entangled Ottoman History (2014). His recent areas of research include the French Revolution, the cultural history of diplomacy, entangled histories of early modern Europe and the world around it, cultural and gender history, and the social structures of early modern court societies.

- Introduction: Diplomats and expatriates in the Ottoman Empire during the French Revolution - Part I Franco-Ottoman relations during the Revolution - 1: The end of the French diplomatic ancien régime - 2: Negotiating for a besieged Republic: Franco-Ottoman diplomacy in 1793 - 3: Negotiating for a victorious Republic: Franco-Ottoman diplomacy 1794-1798 - Part II From Paris to Istanbul: French revolutionary foreign policy and diplomatic practice - 4: Neglect or refusal? The revolutionary government's attitude towards Franco-Ottoman negotiations during the Terror - 5: Between innovation and continuity: French revolutionary political culture and diplomatic practice - 6: Self-containment or world revolution? The purpose of French revolutionary propaganda - Part III Regime change in the French communities of the Levant, 1792-1795 - 7: Forgotten by liberty? Regime change and the challenges to consular authority in the Levant - 8: On silent feet: Stabilizing the regime change in the French communities - 9: Turning expatriates into citizens: The emergence of a new political culture in the French communities of the Levant - Conclusion: The French Revolution on silent feet