British Perceptions of Turkey and Turks in the Mid-Twentieth Century

Yıl 2020, Cilt: 1 Sayı: 1, 33 - 57, 20.01.2020

Behçet Kemal Yeşilbursa

Öz

A permanent British embassy has been present in Constantinople (İstanbul) since 1583, and William Harborne, a merchant and former member of parliament, was appointed as Britain’s first ambassador. The main British interest in developing diplomatic relations with Turkey at this time was to promote trade, but even during Harborne’s time, political interest in British friendship with Turkey had also gained importance. Between 1583 and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Britain’s permanent diplomatic presence in Turkey was unbroken. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed for ten years between 1914 and 1924. Following the establishment of the republic in 1923, friendly diplomatic relationships between the two countries began to develop. This article presents the observations of three British Ambassadors to Turkey, Sir James Bowker, Sir Alexander Knox Helm and Sir Roderick Sarell, on the characteristics of the Turks and the situation in Turkey. A major theme of the article is British diplomats’ perceptions of Turkish politics, diplomacy and society, particularly in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, an era of fundamental and lasting changes for Turkey, as it was for Britain. The article touches specifically upon the British embassy’s evaluations of the Democrat Party governments of the 1950s, and the military regime that succeeded them in 1960.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Sir James Bowker, Sir Alexander Knox Helm, Sir Roderick Sarell, Turkey

Kaynakça

• 4. Bibliography 4.1. Archival Sources National Archives of Australia (hereafter NAA): NAA A1838, 209/2/1 Part 1: Turkey-Political Developments - General, From Sir Knox Helm to Eden, 20 January 1954. The National Archives, United Kingdom (hereafter TNA): All references to sources prefixed by FO and FCO refer to materials held at the UK National Archives, London, UK; formerly, the Public Record Office. FO371/101848, Annual Report on Turkey for 1951. FO371/107547, Annual Report on Turkey for 1952. FO371/10774/E4095/44, Annual Report on Turkey for 1923. FO371/112921, Annual Report on Turkey for 1953. FO371/136452/RK1015/20, Position of Turkish Prime Minister and Democrat Party, James Bowker to Selwyn Lloyd, 9 July 1958. FO371/136452/RK1015/25, Turkey: Sir James Bowker’s Valedictory Dispatch, Sir James Bowker to Selwyn Lloyd, 2 September 1958. FO371/123999/RK1011/1, Turkey: Annual Review for 1955, James Bowker to Selwyn Lloyd, 16 January 1956. FO371/130174/RK1011/1, Turkey: Annual Review for 1956, James Bowker to Selwyn Lloyd, 5 February 1957. FO371/136450/RK1011/1, Annual Report on Turkey for 1957, James Bowker to Selwyn Lloyd, 4 February 1958. FO371/144739/RK1011/1, Annual Political Report for 1958. FCO9/1308/WST 1/1, Turkey: Annual Review for 1969 by Sir Roderick Sarell, 1 January 1970. FCO9/1831/WST 1/1, Turkey: Annual Review for 1972 by Sir Roderick Sarell, 30 December 1972. FCO9/1606/WST1/2, Turkey: Annual Review for 1971 by Sir Roderick Sarell, 1 January 1972. FCO9/1466/WST1/3, Turkey: Annual Review for 1970 by Sir Roderick Sarell, 31 December 1970. FCO9/1626/WST 25/3, Sir Roderick Sarell’s Valedictory Despatch, 27 November 1972. FCO9/RK1011/1, Turkey: Annual Review for 1954, by James Bowker, 7 January 1955. 4. 2. Books & Articles BERRIDGE, G. R., British Diplomacy in Turkey, 1583 to the present, A study in the evolution of the resident embassy, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden, 2009. HALE, William & Ali İhsan BAĞIŞ (eds.), Four Centuries of Turco-British Relations, Studies in Diplomatic and Cultural Affairs, The Eothen Press, Beverley, 1984. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1338438/Sir-Roderick-Sarell.html#continue, [Accessed: 30 Nisan 2008]. KATZ, David S., The Shaping of Turkey in the British Imagination, 1776-1923, Palgrave Macmillan, Switzerland, 2016. LAÇİNER, Sedat, Turkey and the World: A Completed English Bibliography of Turkey and Turks, Kaknüs Yayınları, İstanbul, 2001. LEWIS, Geoffrey, Turkey, Frederick A. Praeger, New York, 1965. The Times, 10 March 1964, p. 16. The Times, 16 March 1964, p. 12. The Times, 29 August 1958, p. 7. Who Was Who, (1920-2008), Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012, online edn. [Accessed: 15 July 2018].