Reflections of the 1890 Brussels Conference on the Abolition of the Slave Trade in the Ottoman Press

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 2525 - 2550, 30.09.2025

Galip Varoğlu

https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1565439

Abstract

Although the Atlantic slave trade was a great black mark for European countries, the efforts to outlaw slavery in the late 19th century are worthy of appreciation. The civil society movements, which first started in England, spread across the continent in time and became an international issue that European countries attached political importance to. Perhaps the last link in this endeavour was the intensive anti-slavery propaganda of the French-born Cardinal Lavigerie of Algeria through Islam and the Brussels conference held as a result. The addressee of this propaganda was the Ottoman Empire, both as the representative of the Caliphate and as a European State. In this article, after briefly mentioning the process, the reflections of the issue on Ottoman newspapers will be analysed.

Keywords

Slavery , Brussels Conference , Cardinal Lavigerie , Ottoman Press , Anti-Islamism

Köle Ticaretinin Yasaklanmasına Dair 1890 Brüksel Konferansının Osmanlı Basınına Yansımaları

Abstract

Atlantik köle ticareti her ne kadar Avrupa ülkeleri için büyük bir kara leke ise de XIX. yüzyılın sonlarında köleliği yasaklama girişimleri takdire değer bir çabadır. Öncelikle İngiltere’de başlayan sivil toplum hareketleri zamanla kıtaya yayılmış ve Avrupa ülkelerinin siyasi olarak önem verdiği bir uluslararası mesele olmuştur. Bu çabanın belki de son halkası Fransız asıllı Cezayir Kardinali Lavigerie’nin İslam üzerinden kölelik karşıtı yoğun propagandası ve sonucunda yapılan Brüksel Konferansıdır. Bu propagandanın muhatabı ise hem bir Avrupa Devleti olarak hem de halifeliğin temsilcisi olan Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’dur. Bu makalede kısaca köleliğin kaldırılma sürecinden bahsedildikten sonra konunun Osmanlı gazetelerine yansımaları incelenecektir.

Keywords

Kölelik , Brüksel Konferansı , Kardinal Lavigerie , Osmanlı Basını , İslam Karşıtlığı , Slavery , Brussels Conference , Cardinal Lavigerie , Ottoman Press , Anti-Islamism

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