Some important Russian leaders are going to get assassinated by Central Asia Rebels, causing a government based succession crisis.
Osman Reborn; The Survival of Ottoman Democracy [An Ottoman TL set in the 1900s]
- Thread starter Sarthak
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ahmedali
Banned
Beautiful and wonderful season
I feel that Arab nationalism and attempts at secession in the Empire will be completely discredited when the Second World War comes, because they may ally themselves with the alternative Axis (because the Arab Republic and the Imamate may support them in the Axis).
It is interesting that Jaime, despite being deaf, became King of Spain (would he pave the way for making France and Spain one country? (especially since Jaime is considered the rightful claimant to the throne of France under the name of Henry VI), so if Charles Maurras came to power, we've seen Franco-Spanish union
(Why does Spain not try to support the Sicilian Bourbons to seize the throne of Italy or fulfill the Bourbon dream of the United Kingdom of France, Spain and Italy (laughing face)
The interesting thing is that Alfonso XIII is a smart king here because in our world he was a king with a scandalous and vulgar character and he screwed things up a lot.
I feel that the Russian Civil War of 1924 would be less radical than the civil war that occurred but more brutal (I think Kirill or any other ambitious Romanov would use the war to overthrow Nicholas, who spoiled things even more).
So I think Russia will become a true constitutional monarchy because pro-democracy Russians will scoff at the fact that the Asian infidels of the Ottomans are more democratic than them.
he did not make the claims to the french throne until the late 1920s, and even then that was contingent on the fact that he denounced his claim to the Spanish throne. Since he is kind, the 1713 vow of the Spanish Bourbons to never claim the french throne is now in effect with Jaime
basically ASB during this time period. History is far more complex than simply supporting one group or the other
he isn't *smart* ittl. He was assassinated ittl.
Er, this is a simple revolt, not a civil war.
ahmedali
Banned
This is correct
But the Treaty of Utrecht now will not pose any problem to the union of Spain and France, because Spain here is a shadow of what it was in the eighteenth century, so the United Kingdom will not object to that, because France and Spain are united and will not cause any harm to the United Kingdom
I was joking about the union of Italy, France and Spain, I meant a sphere of influence called the Borbourne Axis
Also, if Charles Mauras arrived as prime minister and decided to restore the monarchy, I think he would be inclined to the legitimate, unlike what he was known for as Orleans.
The south of Italy is more royal than the north, so Spain can finance the claimants to the throne of the Two Sicilies to become the king of Italy
Given that their reputation is not distorted in the current situation, unlike the Savoy, and they can at the same time install a regime loyal to the Entente, and do not forget that most of the population has witnessed the era of unification, so it will not cause any harm
I know he was assassinated but your version of Alfonso XIII is better than our timeline version
I think Russia has something interesting up its sleeve
Russia deserves to lose all its Empire through its own detrmination to keep it. That should be the reward for hubris
Halrin16
Banned
Hey सार्थक (Sārthākā) Dont mind if i ask but i swear i saw you posted fake wikipedia article About Great war 2 somewhere around the forum where you put tsardom of russia and ottoman the same side. Where did you post it??
Chapter 59: End of 1924
Chapter 59: End of 1924
Excerpts from The Rise of the Progressive Party by Howard Clinton
“……. Even though most of Hughes’s presidency is regarded as more or less a success, the last year of Hughes’s presidency – 1924 – has been regarded more or less as a failure, and for very good reasons. Hughes had been unable to resolve the race issue, with the debate degenerating in massive shouting matches in Congress, and the issue of what to do with the Philippines, still under military occupation still raged on. The economy was stagnating after the recovery of 1916-17, and foreign events such as the Ottoman-American schism and the rise of Mexican stability after the Mexican Revolution were all seen as foreign policy failures of the American government.
Other domestic issues also plagued the Hughes Administration. Thrill Killing was becoming a major issue in the United States, as evidenced by the murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks in Chicago by university students Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr earlier that year. Gangs continued to exude their influence in American politics and finance as the infamous Rondout Heist saw millions of dollars worth of material stolen by the Egan’s Rats Gang in Illinois. Native Americans continued to campaign for better rights, and this intensified after Congress voted down legislation giving Native Americans full citizenship rights in the country.
The Republican party itself was starting to show signs of internal division. As the Democrats transitioned to become the center-right political party, and the Progressives transitioned to become the center-left political party within the nation, the Republicans were caught within a sort of identity crisis before it started to move towards centrism. The rise of centrism within the Republican Party also discredited the somewhat progressive Vice President Robert La Follete who began to clash with the party during party meetings with increasing ferocity, much to the worry of the Republicans.
VP Robert La Follete
The Republican National Convention was heated as a result. The growing dominant Centrist faction within the party was forced to fight with the right and left wing of the party and though the centrists managed to gain the upper hand during the convention and the subsequent primary results, the bitter fighting left a decidedly bitter tastes on the tongues of most politicians involved. The candidate chosen for the Republican Nomination was all the more controversial, as the primary results came in for the man. James Eli Watson. Watson, though somewhat charismatic in his own right, was derided by many as nothing more than a simpleton who could do nothing but tell stories. However, as Senate Majority Leader, he had done an astoundingly fine job, which probably swayed the vote towards him. His vice-presidential candidate, was much more nuanced and well liked. Nicholas Murray Butler, was an American philosopher, diplomat and educator, and was known to be a prolific American educator. A respected man throughout American society, especially with his philosophical articles which became the very example of modernist philosophy, his candidacy as vice-president nominee was less controversial. The Democratic Party’s National Convention was far more muted in comparison. The race issue was driving a lot of men towards the hardline faction of the Democratic Party, yet the party higher ups also recognized that it was alienating a lot of their northern voters, and as a compromise the party decided to select James M. Cox, the 48th Governor of Ohio as their presidential nominee. Cox was popular for his handling of financial matters in Ohio, which had seen an economic boom under his governorship. Cooperation between private business’s labor and governmental bodies had increased, and constitutional amendments in favor of women’s suffrage, which was finally passed in the USA in 1921, was favored exclusively by the man. At the same time, Cox, also represented the firm turn to the center-right for the Democratic Party, as Cox was also turning out to be extremely anti-Italian, as fears about Italian communism racked the United States, and attacks on the American-Italian community continued to grow. At one point in time, Cox also proposed banning the learning of the Italian language until eighth grade, even in private schools, for he considered Italian to be a menace to Americanism. Though Cox was (mostly) an uncontroversial candidate, his vice-presidential nominee, William Gibbs McAdoo was far, far more controversial. This was mainly because McAdoo had previously until 1920 been a member of the Progressive Party (it’s right wing faction), and many Democrats were still wary about any Progressive affiliation, previous or otherwise. Furthermore, his links to the Wilsonian Era also stood to make a bad image among the general populace of the country. His rumored links to the KKK also did not sit well with many. The Progressives on the other hand, chose strong candidates, and unlike the Republicans and Democrats, both their presidential and vice presidential nominees were strong political men with little to no controversy surrounding them at all. John A. Elston, Representative from California won the Progressive Primaries in a landslide. Known to be a prolific politician, having supported several progressive policies over the years, and with extremely powerful oratory skills, he was a strong candidate for the Progressives to get behind as the Progressive Nominee for president. His vice-presidential nominee, Melville Clyde Kelly was similarly a man who was well liked by almost everyone, and a strong politician in his own right. In particular, Kelly’s strong support and implementation of the permission of private contracting of the airmail service, the Business Protection Act etc had made him the most popular vice-presidential candidate in the 1924 Election.
The 1924 Progressive Party National Convention
The 1924 US Presidential Elections turned out to be one of the most controversial election that ever took place on American soil.
Despite the multiple attributed failures of Hughes’s Presidency during the last years of its reign, the Republican Party made a strong showing as Watson won 222 Electoral Votes, and won the Popular Vote alongside it as well, whilst carrying 15 states. Cox was close behind Watson, winning 174 Electoral Votes, and more importantly winning 18 states. The Progressives astounded everyone by winning not only Wisconsin, but also winning California and Pennsylvania (both narrowly), whilst they lost Louisiana to the Democrats. This capture of two very important electoral states jump-started the Progressives from the two-digit rank in the Electoral College to the three-digit rank as they won 135 Electoral Votes. They also managed to carry 15 states.
But as you can see, no one managed to win the majority of the Electoral College, though Watson came close. A contingent election was called, and 18 states voted in favor of the Democrats, whilst 15 states each voted for the Republicans and the Progressives. This saw Cox become the Presidential Designate to succeed Hughes, and a huge up cry emerged throughout the United States of America. Watson had won the most electoral votes and the popular vote, so why was Cox being handed over the presidency, that was the general view of the American populace, especially from the Republicans and Progressives. As the Progressives made impressive gains in Congress and the Senate by winning seats in California and Pennsylvania, the Republicans and Progressives allied with one another, and opposed the election. There were talks about a joint candidate from the two parties contesting the election results, but Watson deciding to concede the elections threw a spanner into those negotiations, and instead cemented Cox as the President-Designate.
Soon the debate about the Electoral College and its very system was added into the pile of new issues that were cropping up in the United States of America……”
Excerpts from The Jews of the Ottoman Empire: The First Ottomanists by Zalman Shazar
“……. Much like most Jews throughout Europe and the entire world, Zionism became a communal and polarizing issue within the Ottoman Jewry by 1924. Despite the Ottoman Front for Jews denouncing Zionism as an ideology during the 1st Sinai Crisis, the idea of Zionism continued to rage on as a political debate within the Ottoman Jewry. The Ottoman Jews faced a real dilemma: What would their role be as both citizens of the Ottoman Empire and as Jews? Jews, much like most of the other ethnic groups in the Ottoman Empire identified both as ‘Ottoman’ and as ‘Jewish’. Ottoman Jews throughout the empire responded with a variety of opinions and contradictory appeals. Many rejected Zionism as a total betrayal of the beloved Ottomania. When the entirety of Europe closed their doors to Jews during the Medieval, Early Modern and Mid-Modern Era, the Ottomans were the only ones to allow Jews to live in relative peace. This had created a sense of Beloved Ottomania among the Jews, which they believed would be betrayed if Zionism were adopted by the general Jewish populace. Similarly, however, a good portion of Ottoman Jewry saw Zionism both as a legitimate expression of Jewish collective culture and as a boon to the social and economic utility of the Ottoman Empire. This distinct Ottoman interpretation of Zionism became coined by Aron Rodrigue, Esther Benbassa, and Sarah Abrevaya, all-important historians in the field of Middle Eastern Jewish History, as ‘Ottoman Zionism’, which stood distinct above all other Zionist splinters in its support for cultural Hebraism without the corresponding separatist political aims. Even Weizmann – a modern Zionist - before he was assassinated, had made not so subtle separatist claims in Egypt, but none of that was present in Ottoman Zionism. A defining feature of Ottoman Zionism was the insistence on the fluid merger and reconciliation of Ottomanism and Zionism. [1]
A Sephardi Jewish Couple in the Ottoman Empire c. 1905
Into the 20th Century, Sephardi Jews were, by and large, regarded the Ottoman Empire with a great deal of gratitude and affection as their historic savior. The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II’s open arms policy regarding Jews from Iberia in particular was still ingrained into popular Jewish memory in the Ottoman Empire, so much so that when in 1902, the Spanish government finally took down their official anti-Jewish laws and in 1905 invited the Sephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire back to Spain, the Spanish government was hit by utmost scorn and disdain by the Sephardic populace of the Ottoman Empire. [2] Furthermore, growing competition from British, French, Russian and Austrian markets and merchants, something which had been traditionally monopolized by the Jews in the empire had made the Jews supportive of common cause with the Muslim elements within a secular and constitutional Ottoman State. This spirit of cooperation was embodied in the 1908 Revolution in the Ottoman Empire, which saw Ottoman Jews and Arabs protesting side by side in favor of the new constitution and against the neo-absolutist elements in the Ottoman administration of Palestine and Syria.
Painting of Ottoman Palestine
Tensions regarding settlements and politics did stop cooperation for a few years, but Ottoman Palestine was a changing force in the Ottoman Empire and in 1922, major leaders of the three religions of Palestine – Christianity, Islam and Jews – signed the Jerusalem Compact with support from the Ottoman Government. The Compact sought to promote local reform and development creating a social network that transcended communal boundaries in Palestine. The Palestine Ottomanizing and Modernizing force came not from the higher class, but also from the lower and middle classes, unlike the other parts of the Empire. The ideology of Ottoman Zionism was cemented in 1924, when on December 2, 1924, Ottoman Jewish Youth Leader Haim-Moshe Shapira, and OJFO Leader, David-Ben Gurion (who was also the new Governor of Yemen) declared their final and unhesitating support of Ottomanism. In his speech before Muslim and Christian Arabs in Jaffa that day, Shapira stated ‘We are all citizens of the Ottoman Nation, and it is incumbent upon all of us to break out of our special associations and work together for fruitful futures.’ Furthermore, he encouraged Ottoman Jews to learn more than just Ottoman Turkish, but to learn Ottoman Arabic as well, whilst he encouraged the other Ottoman ethnic groups to learn Hebrew and/or Yiddish. His speech must have been rousing, for in the next year, a special election saw Shapira elected to the Ottoman Senate in 1925.
Despite the 1st Sinai Crisis, many European Zionists wished to reconcile with Ottoman Jews, and many were very concerned with the growing Ottoman Zionist ferver in the Ottoman Empire Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the future ‘Butcher of the Middle East’ lamented that ‘The Jews in the Empire of Osman act more like Ottoman Citizens of the Jewish Faith than as actual Zionist Jews.’ But that didn’t mean that the European Zionists did not find sympathizers within the Ottoman Jewry. The multiple Aliyahs to the Ottoman Empire had seen over 150,000 Jewish Immigrants immigrating to the Ottoman Empire from 1914 – 1924, and though a majority of the immigrants were more interested in a better life, and not in any political debate, a good visible amount of them were ascribed Zionists as well. For example, Yosef Aharonowitz, a Slavic Jew who had immigrated to the Empire attacked pro-Ottoman Jews in his seminal work The Jews of the Middle East in 1923, with Yosef denouncing pro-Ottoman Jews as assimilationists and that having a dual identity of being both Ottoman and Jewish was foolhardy to the man. In return, the native Jewish population of the Ottoman Empire came to see the Jewish immigrants in the Ottoman Empire as troublemakers. Though a vast majority of the immigrants were happy to stay under the Ottoman umbrella, a minority of vocal Zionists had ruined the image of the immigrants in the eyes of the native Ottoman Jewry. The native Jews believed that the immigrants threatened the communal equilibrium in the Ottoman Empire, and that if the immigrants continued to ascribe to Zionism, which was an enemy of Ottomanism, then the general pro-Jewish attitude of the Ottoman Empire could quickly turn to general anti-Jewish attitudes.
Albert Antebi, the leading Ottoman Jewish representative in the Ottoman Senate would once again reiterate: ‘I desire, just like all Ottoman Zionists, to achieve the conquest of Zion not by political means, but by social and economic means. The Jerusalem that I cherish is the Jerusalem of history and the spirit – that is the home of all Jews, all Moslems and all Christians in equality and not the modern temporal Jerusalem sought by Zionists. I want to be a Jewish Senator in the Ottoman Parliament, and not in the Jewish Temple of Mount Moriah. Ottoman Jews have the same rights and responsibilities and the same hope as the Jews of Britain, Germany and France. I wish to create a powerful Jewish economic center in the empire embedded in universal democracy. I do not wish to be subject, like all Ottoman Jews, to the whims of a Judean autocracy.’ [3]
Albert Antebi
This speech in front of the Ottoman Parliament during the start of the Zaidi Revolt of Yemen, which saw the Yemeni Jews rise in support of the Ottoman Empire against Imam Yahya cemented Antebi’s position as a universal enemy of the European Zionists, who hated his position regarding Ottomanism and General Zionism. When a pro-Zionist paper named ha-Tzvi attacked Antebi in December, 1924, the Sephardic Community of the Ottoman Empire or simply the SCOE (‘scow’ as the people called it) filed a lawsuit against the paper for character assassination and fraudulent claims.
Thus began the bitter struggle between the Pro-Ottoman Jews and the Anti-Ottoman Jews in the Ottoman Empire……”
Excerpts from Bountiful Empire: Ottoman Cuisine – A History by Priscilla Mary Anne
“……At the crossroads of Central Asia, the Middle East, Asia Minor and the European Balkans, Ottoman Cuisine drew on the rich culinary heritages of each and every part of the Empire and its origins. Ottoman Muslims, Christians and Jews throughout Ottoman territory essentially came to share a common cuisine, only really separated by dietary restrictions of their respective faiths. The synthesis of Christian, Islamic and Jewish culinary arts was cemented in the sixteenth century which has been called by Austrian Iranologist Bert Fragner as the ‘Ottoman Culinary and Agricultural Empire’.
In the early twentieth century as the Ottoman Empire entered the mid-1920s, the Ottoman Empire felt an increase in growth in classical Ottoman cuisine exploding throughout the Ottoman Empire. Traditional Ottoman Cuisine had long been dropped since the late 1880s in favor of western type restaurants and western type dishes in urban areas, but that was no longer the case as the Ottomans transitioned into the mid-1920s.
Osman Fuad
Future Osman IV
Classical Ottoman Cuisine can be marked at the 1517 Conquest of Syria and Egypt. The breadbasket of the Mediterranean for much of its history, the conquest of Egypt provided the Ottomans with an ever increasing variety of soups, vegetables, pickles, pastries and fruits to choose from. In order to gain a taste for everything, Ottoman elites at the time adopted the custom of serving many dishes one by one, and diners only ate one or two morsels of each dish before it was whipped away and replaced by another dish. This type of dinners had fallen out of place within the Ottoman Empire by the early 1800s in favor of Selim III’s and Mahmud II’s more streamlined culinary systems, but under the auspices of Osman Fuad, or the future Osman IV, the Ottoman Empire began to revert to this ‘multiple’ diner system as the food situation in the empire continued to grow. Of course, sticking to the 1500s style of diner only was impractical, and mixed in with the traditional Ottoman dishes were also modern dishes imported from the West.
Unique beverages were also added as ingredients in the Ottoman Empire which only enhanced the taste of traditional dishes. Refined Sugar from Syria, Rose Water from Erdine/Adrianople, Pomegranate Syrup from Gallipoli, Saffron from Anatolia, Musk from the Ottoman Caucasus and Macedonia were all used to enhance the taste of normal and traditional ottoman culinary dishes. But perhaps the greatest influence of such sweet tastes are seen in the famous Ottoman Ashure Pudding and the infamous Turkish Delight. Made up of dates, raisins, seedless sultanas, currants, pine nuts, roasted hazelnuts, almonds, black eyed beans, broad beans, haricot beans, chickpeas, starch, rice flour, clarified butter, husked wheat, sugar musk and rose water, the Ottoman Ashure Pudding is the most widespread type of pudding that can be found within the Ottoman Empire. It’s delicious taste, and its rich history attributed at times with the Noah’s Ark, was revitalized by Osman Fuad in the 1920s after he established the Imperial Ottoman Culinary Association. Turkish Delights, dating back to 1777 never lost their popularity really, and served alongside eggs with fried onions in a dish known as Enderun Yumurtasi, the two dishes became the staple Ottoman dessert.
Unlike the Western World, which held a disdain for uncooked fruits and vegetables, this prejudice was not shared by Ottoman cooks, which was inherited from their predecessor in Anatolia and the Balkans – the Byzantine Empire. Vegetable dishes were and still are highly regarded in the Ottoman Empire. It is customary and tradition for any Ottoman family having a garden to grow most of their own vegetables and fruits, be they Christian, Muslim or Jew. Oranges and Grapes are the most esteemed fruits in the Ottoman Empire as early as the 1500s, as depicted by the fact this anecdote from the 16th century Ottoman court.
‘When asked to send a gift to the English Sovereign, their Queen, the Sultan, Mehmed III, decided to send grapes of various types, personally picked from his orchard to the English Queen. This, he considered, to be the greatest of any culinary gift.’ [4]
While specialized restaurants are a staple everywhere in the world, the Ottomans take it to a whole new level. Cook-Shops as they are known in the Ottoman Empire, only specialize in variations of the same dish. Anything else is looked down upon. General Restaurants are therefore only found in European, Chinese or Indian Restaurants of the Ottoman Empire. Cook-Shops operate under the traditional Ottoman belief that a cook must be the master of a single dish to become the best chef. Of course, the most famous of Cook-Shops in the Ottoman Empire – and as such a popular stereotype of the Empire – are the Kebab Shops. They are the most widespread in the entire Empire, and despite attempts by Abdulaziz to replace them with European Style Meat Restaurants, the Kebab stores endured and in the 1920s experienced a massive boom. The Kebab became the most luxurious dish in the Empire by the 19th century, and as per French physician Francois Pouqueville ‘Foreigners and natives alike in this country are in accord that this dish, the kebab, is the most delicious in this country and I perfectly agree with them.’ [5]
Ottoman Kebab and Delight, the staple traditional foodstuff of the Ottoman Empire
And though, like all Islamic majority countries, the Ottomans frowned upon drinking, private drinking was quietly ignored by the Ottoman government. Christians and Jews were public with their drinking, and until 1938, only Christians and Jews were allowed to own, administer and control Taverns in the Ottoman Empire, though the tavern laws about restricting sales to Islamic customers were promptly ignored by anyone willing to drink booze. Raki is of course the staple Ottoman alcoholic beverage, made up of twice-distilled grapes and anise. The Alcohol Consumption Act in the Ottoman Empire, introduced in 1921 allowed Ottoman citizens, to have an alcohol consumption of around 0.4 liters for Muslims and around 1.8 liters for Non-Christians. The age of allowing alcohol consumption was formalized to be 20 years of age, and being drunk in public, outside of the vicinity of private settings and/or taverns was made to be a legal offense. Though the Ottoman Empire continued and continues to be a dry country in comparison to the rest of the Balkans and Europe, problems such as Muslims wearing Christian identification cards at times to skip over alcohol consumption restrictions continue to plague the country. And of course, the largest non-alcoholic beverage in the empire, shared alike by Christians, Muslims and Jews with great relish is none other than Coffee………” [6]
Excerpts from The Fight for Westralia by F. R. Beasley
“……Secessionism in Australia was always most popular in Western Australia, which had always been reluctant to join the Commonwealth, and many Western Australians, who believed that they were suffering as a result of the unequal federal system were wooed in by the thought of independence, but it had never been mainstream thought until 1907, when James MacCullum Smith and Alfred T. Chandler started to become prolific pro-secession writers and supporters. In 1912, Chandler and Smith founded the Dominion League, which was a civil platform advocating for Westralian independence as a Dominion of the British Empire. Chandler became the first president of the Dominion League and the League began to agitate with the Australian government to hold a binding referendum regarding secession from the Australian Commonwealth.
One of the key backers of the Westralian Movement was Peter Mulhall, a Mining Magnate from Perth, who was extremely rich and extremely influential in supporting the Dominion League monetarily. He became personally involved in the League in 1919 when he married Lorna Chandler, Alfred Chandler’s daughter, who was also an avowed secessionist. But the greatest aide for the Westralian Movement would come in the form of Keith Watson, a 24 year old, charismatic and dynamic secessionist who used a lot of logical oratory speeches to try and sway peoples. It was he who persuaded Smith and Chandler that creating a proper political party for the Secessionists would be the way to go and in early 1924, the Westralian National Party was founded as the political part of the Dominion League, eager to gain independence using proper democratic means.
James Smith with Keith Watson
The first political victory that the party received was Edith Cowan, the first Australian to be elected as a member of parliament, who defected to the WNP. Besides being a secessionist party, the WNP was also a populist and social reformist political party, and this was more heavily in line with what Cowan envisioned for Western Australia, and as such, the WNP received its first representation within the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. The WNP contested the 1924 Western Australian Legislative Elections, and managed to win 4 of the 50 contested seats, with Cowan and Smith being the leaders of the party within the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. During the elections, no party in Western Australia managed to win a majority with Labour coming up with 23 seats and Nationalists gaining 21 seats. Entering into coalition with the Nationalists, the WNP enabled Premier James Mitchell to continue on as the Premier of Western Australia, thus starting the rise of Keith Watson onto the West Australian political scene, and laying the foundations for the 1934 West Australian Referendum……”
Footnotes:-
[1] – Source from Between Beloved Ottomania and the Land of Israel by Michelle U. Campos.
[2] – True Fact
[3] – True Quote from iotl.
[4] – True fact as well.
[5] - Real Quote
[6] – Culinary Sources from Bountiful Empire a History of Ottoman Cuisine
Excerpts from The Rise of the Progressive Party by Howard Clinton
“……. Even though most of Hughes’s presidency is regarded as more or less a success, the last year of Hughes’s presidency – 1924 – has been regarded more or less as a failure, and for very good reasons. Hughes had been unable to resolve the race issue, with the debate degenerating in massive shouting matches in Congress, and the issue of what to do with the Philippines, still under military occupation still raged on. The economy was stagnating after the recovery of 1916-17, and foreign events such as the Ottoman-American schism and the rise of Mexican stability after the Mexican Revolution were all seen as foreign policy failures of the American government.
Other domestic issues also plagued the Hughes Administration. Thrill Killing was becoming a major issue in the United States, as evidenced by the murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks in Chicago by university students Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr earlier that year. Gangs continued to exude their influence in American politics and finance as the infamous Rondout Heist saw millions of dollars worth of material stolen by the Egan’s Rats Gang in Illinois. Native Americans continued to campaign for better rights, and this intensified after Congress voted down legislation giving Native Americans full citizenship rights in the country.
The Republican party itself was starting to show signs of internal division. As the Democrats transitioned to become the center-right political party, and the Progressives transitioned to become the center-left political party within the nation, the Republicans were caught within a sort of identity crisis before it started to move towards centrism. The rise of centrism within the Republican Party also discredited the somewhat progressive Vice President Robert La Follete who began to clash with the party during party meetings with increasing ferocity, much to the worry of the Republicans.
VP Robert La Follete
The Republican National Convention was heated as a result. The growing dominant Centrist faction within the party was forced to fight with the right and left wing of the party and though the centrists managed to gain the upper hand during the convention and the subsequent primary results, the bitter fighting left a decidedly bitter tastes on the tongues of most politicians involved. The candidate chosen for the Republican Nomination was all the more controversial, as the primary results came in for the man. James Eli Watson. Watson, though somewhat charismatic in his own right, was derided by many as nothing more than a simpleton who could do nothing but tell stories. However, as Senate Majority Leader, he had done an astoundingly fine job, which probably swayed the vote towards him. His vice-presidential candidate, was much more nuanced and well liked. Nicholas Murray Butler, was an American philosopher, diplomat and educator, and was known to be a prolific American educator. A respected man throughout American society, especially with his philosophical articles which became the very example of modernist philosophy, his candidacy as vice-president nominee was less controversial. The Democratic Party’s National Convention was far more muted in comparison. The race issue was driving a lot of men towards the hardline faction of the Democratic Party, yet the party higher ups also recognized that it was alienating a lot of their northern voters, and as a compromise the party decided to select James M. Cox, the 48th Governor of Ohio as their presidential nominee. Cox was popular for his handling of financial matters in Ohio, which had seen an economic boom under his governorship. Cooperation between private business’s labor and governmental bodies had increased, and constitutional amendments in favor of women’s suffrage, which was finally passed in the USA in 1921, was favored exclusively by the man. At the same time, Cox, also represented the firm turn to the center-right for the Democratic Party, as Cox was also turning out to be extremely anti-Italian, as fears about Italian communism racked the United States, and attacks on the American-Italian community continued to grow. At one point in time, Cox also proposed banning the learning of the Italian language until eighth grade, even in private schools, for he considered Italian to be a menace to Americanism. Though Cox was (mostly) an uncontroversial candidate, his vice-presidential nominee, William Gibbs McAdoo was far, far more controversial. This was mainly because McAdoo had previously until 1920 been a member of the Progressive Party (it’s right wing faction), and many Democrats were still wary about any Progressive affiliation, previous or otherwise. Furthermore, his links to the Wilsonian Era also stood to make a bad image among the general populace of the country. His rumored links to the KKK also did not sit well with many. The Progressives on the other hand, chose strong candidates, and unlike the Republicans and Democrats, both their presidential and vice presidential nominees were strong political men with little to no controversy surrounding them at all. John A. Elston, Representative from California won the Progressive Primaries in a landslide. Known to be a prolific politician, having supported several progressive policies over the years, and with extremely powerful oratory skills, he was a strong candidate for the Progressives to get behind as the Progressive Nominee for president. His vice-presidential nominee, Melville Clyde Kelly was similarly a man who was well liked by almost everyone, and a strong politician in his own right. In particular, Kelly’s strong support and implementation of the permission of private contracting of the airmail service, the Business Protection Act etc had made him the most popular vice-presidential candidate in the 1924 Election.
The 1924 Progressive Party National Convention
The 1924 US Presidential Elections turned out to be one of the most controversial election that ever took place on American soil.
Despite the multiple attributed failures of Hughes’s Presidency during the last years of its reign, the Republican Party made a strong showing as Watson won 222 Electoral Votes, and won the Popular Vote alongside it as well, whilst carrying 15 states. Cox was close behind Watson, winning 174 Electoral Votes, and more importantly winning 18 states. The Progressives astounded everyone by winning not only Wisconsin, but also winning California and Pennsylvania (both narrowly), whilst they lost Louisiana to the Democrats. This capture of two very important electoral states jump-started the Progressives from the two-digit rank in the Electoral College to the three-digit rank as they won 135 Electoral Votes. They also managed to carry 15 states.
But as you can see, no one managed to win the majority of the Electoral College, though Watson came close. A contingent election was called, and 18 states voted in favor of the Democrats, whilst 15 states each voted for the Republicans and the Progressives. This saw Cox become the Presidential Designate to succeed Hughes, and a huge up cry emerged throughout the United States of America. Watson had won the most electoral votes and the popular vote, so why was Cox being handed over the presidency, that was the general view of the American populace, especially from the Republicans and Progressives. As the Progressives made impressive gains in Congress and the Senate by winning seats in California and Pennsylvania, the Republicans and Progressives allied with one another, and opposed the election. There were talks about a joint candidate from the two parties contesting the election results, but Watson deciding to concede the elections threw a spanner into those negotiations, and instead cemented Cox as the President-Designate.
Soon the debate about the Electoral College and its very system was added into the pile of new issues that were cropping up in the United States of America……”
Excerpts from The Jews of the Ottoman Empire: The First Ottomanists by Zalman Shazar
“……. Much like most Jews throughout Europe and the entire world, Zionism became a communal and polarizing issue within the Ottoman Jewry by 1924. Despite the Ottoman Front for Jews denouncing Zionism as an ideology during the 1st Sinai Crisis, the idea of Zionism continued to rage on as a political debate within the Ottoman Jewry. The Ottoman Jews faced a real dilemma: What would their role be as both citizens of the Ottoman Empire and as Jews? Jews, much like most of the other ethnic groups in the Ottoman Empire identified both as ‘Ottoman’ and as ‘Jewish’. Ottoman Jews throughout the empire responded with a variety of opinions and contradictory appeals. Many rejected Zionism as a total betrayal of the beloved Ottomania. When the entirety of Europe closed their doors to Jews during the Medieval, Early Modern and Mid-Modern Era, the Ottomans were the only ones to allow Jews to live in relative peace. This had created a sense of Beloved Ottomania among the Jews, which they believed would be betrayed if Zionism were adopted by the general Jewish populace. Similarly, however, a good portion of Ottoman Jewry saw Zionism both as a legitimate expression of Jewish collective culture and as a boon to the social and economic utility of the Ottoman Empire. This distinct Ottoman interpretation of Zionism became coined by Aron Rodrigue, Esther Benbassa, and Sarah Abrevaya, all-important historians in the field of Middle Eastern Jewish History, as ‘Ottoman Zionism’, which stood distinct above all other Zionist splinters in its support for cultural Hebraism without the corresponding separatist political aims. Even Weizmann – a modern Zionist - before he was assassinated, had made not so subtle separatist claims in Egypt, but none of that was present in Ottoman Zionism. A defining feature of Ottoman Zionism was the insistence on the fluid merger and reconciliation of Ottomanism and Zionism. [1]
A Sephardi Jewish Couple in the Ottoman Empire c. 1905
Into the 20th Century, Sephardi Jews were, by and large, regarded the Ottoman Empire with a great deal of gratitude and affection as their historic savior. The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II’s open arms policy regarding Jews from Iberia in particular was still ingrained into popular Jewish memory in the Ottoman Empire, so much so that when in 1902, the Spanish government finally took down their official anti-Jewish laws and in 1905 invited the Sephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire back to Spain, the Spanish government was hit by utmost scorn and disdain by the Sephardic populace of the Ottoman Empire. [2] Furthermore, growing competition from British, French, Russian and Austrian markets and merchants, something which had been traditionally monopolized by the Jews in the empire had made the Jews supportive of common cause with the Muslim elements within a secular and constitutional Ottoman State. This spirit of cooperation was embodied in the 1908 Revolution in the Ottoman Empire, which saw Ottoman Jews and Arabs protesting side by side in favor of the new constitution and against the neo-absolutist elements in the Ottoman administration of Palestine and Syria.
Painting of Ottoman Palestine
Tensions regarding settlements and politics did stop cooperation for a few years, but Ottoman Palestine was a changing force in the Ottoman Empire and in 1922, major leaders of the three religions of Palestine – Christianity, Islam and Jews – signed the Jerusalem Compact with support from the Ottoman Government. The Compact sought to promote local reform and development creating a social network that transcended communal boundaries in Palestine. The Palestine Ottomanizing and Modernizing force came not from the higher class, but also from the lower and middle classes, unlike the other parts of the Empire. The ideology of Ottoman Zionism was cemented in 1924, when on December 2, 1924, Ottoman Jewish Youth Leader Haim-Moshe Shapira, and OJFO Leader, David-Ben Gurion (who was also the new Governor of Yemen) declared their final and unhesitating support of Ottomanism. In his speech before Muslim and Christian Arabs in Jaffa that day, Shapira stated ‘We are all citizens of the Ottoman Nation, and it is incumbent upon all of us to break out of our special associations and work together for fruitful futures.’ Furthermore, he encouraged Ottoman Jews to learn more than just Ottoman Turkish, but to learn Ottoman Arabic as well, whilst he encouraged the other Ottoman ethnic groups to learn Hebrew and/or Yiddish. His speech must have been rousing, for in the next year, a special election saw Shapira elected to the Ottoman Senate in 1925.
Despite the 1st Sinai Crisis, many European Zionists wished to reconcile with Ottoman Jews, and many were very concerned with the growing Ottoman Zionist ferver in the Ottoman Empire Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the future ‘Butcher of the Middle East’ lamented that ‘The Jews in the Empire of Osman act more like Ottoman Citizens of the Jewish Faith than as actual Zionist Jews.’ But that didn’t mean that the European Zionists did not find sympathizers within the Ottoman Jewry. The multiple Aliyahs to the Ottoman Empire had seen over 150,000 Jewish Immigrants immigrating to the Ottoman Empire from 1914 – 1924, and though a majority of the immigrants were more interested in a better life, and not in any political debate, a good visible amount of them were ascribed Zionists as well. For example, Yosef Aharonowitz, a Slavic Jew who had immigrated to the Empire attacked pro-Ottoman Jews in his seminal work The Jews of the Middle East in 1923, with Yosef denouncing pro-Ottoman Jews as assimilationists and that having a dual identity of being both Ottoman and Jewish was foolhardy to the man. In return, the native Jewish population of the Ottoman Empire came to see the Jewish immigrants in the Ottoman Empire as troublemakers. Though a vast majority of the immigrants were happy to stay under the Ottoman umbrella, a minority of vocal Zionists had ruined the image of the immigrants in the eyes of the native Ottoman Jewry. The native Jews believed that the immigrants threatened the communal equilibrium in the Ottoman Empire, and that if the immigrants continued to ascribe to Zionism, which was an enemy of Ottomanism, then the general pro-Jewish attitude of the Ottoman Empire could quickly turn to general anti-Jewish attitudes.
Albert Antebi, the leading Ottoman Jewish representative in the Ottoman Senate would once again reiterate: ‘I desire, just like all Ottoman Zionists, to achieve the conquest of Zion not by political means, but by social and economic means. The Jerusalem that I cherish is the Jerusalem of history and the spirit – that is the home of all Jews, all Moslems and all Christians in equality and not the modern temporal Jerusalem sought by Zionists. I want to be a Jewish Senator in the Ottoman Parliament, and not in the Jewish Temple of Mount Moriah. Ottoman Jews have the same rights and responsibilities and the same hope as the Jews of Britain, Germany and France. I wish to create a powerful Jewish economic center in the empire embedded in universal democracy. I do not wish to be subject, like all Ottoman Jews, to the whims of a Judean autocracy.’ [3]
Albert Antebi
This speech in front of the Ottoman Parliament during the start of the Zaidi Revolt of Yemen, which saw the Yemeni Jews rise in support of the Ottoman Empire against Imam Yahya cemented Antebi’s position as a universal enemy of the European Zionists, who hated his position regarding Ottomanism and General Zionism. When a pro-Zionist paper named ha-Tzvi attacked Antebi in December, 1924, the Sephardic Community of the Ottoman Empire or simply the SCOE (‘scow’ as the people called it) filed a lawsuit against the paper for character assassination and fraudulent claims.
Thus began the bitter struggle between the Pro-Ottoman Jews and the Anti-Ottoman Jews in the Ottoman Empire……”
Excerpts from Bountiful Empire: Ottoman Cuisine – A History by Priscilla Mary Anne
“……At the crossroads of Central Asia, the Middle East, Asia Minor and the European Balkans, Ottoman Cuisine drew on the rich culinary heritages of each and every part of the Empire and its origins. Ottoman Muslims, Christians and Jews throughout Ottoman territory essentially came to share a common cuisine, only really separated by dietary restrictions of their respective faiths. The synthesis of Christian, Islamic and Jewish culinary arts was cemented in the sixteenth century which has been called by Austrian Iranologist Bert Fragner as the ‘Ottoman Culinary and Agricultural Empire’.
In the early twentieth century as the Ottoman Empire entered the mid-1920s, the Ottoman Empire felt an increase in growth in classical Ottoman cuisine exploding throughout the Ottoman Empire. Traditional Ottoman Cuisine had long been dropped since the late 1880s in favor of western type restaurants and western type dishes in urban areas, but that was no longer the case as the Ottomans transitioned into the mid-1920s.
Osman Fuad
Future Osman IV
Classical Ottoman Cuisine can be marked at the 1517 Conquest of Syria and Egypt. The breadbasket of the Mediterranean for much of its history, the conquest of Egypt provided the Ottomans with an ever increasing variety of soups, vegetables, pickles, pastries and fruits to choose from. In order to gain a taste for everything, Ottoman elites at the time adopted the custom of serving many dishes one by one, and diners only ate one or two morsels of each dish before it was whipped away and replaced by another dish. This type of dinners had fallen out of place within the Ottoman Empire by the early 1800s in favor of Selim III’s and Mahmud II’s more streamlined culinary systems, but under the auspices of Osman Fuad, or the future Osman IV, the Ottoman Empire began to revert to this ‘multiple’ diner system as the food situation in the empire continued to grow. Of course, sticking to the 1500s style of diner only was impractical, and mixed in with the traditional Ottoman dishes were also modern dishes imported from the West.
Unique beverages were also added as ingredients in the Ottoman Empire which only enhanced the taste of traditional dishes. Refined Sugar from Syria, Rose Water from Erdine/Adrianople, Pomegranate Syrup from Gallipoli, Saffron from Anatolia, Musk from the Ottoman Caucasus and Macedonia were all used to enhance the taste of normal and traditional ottoman culinary dishes. But perhaps the greatest influence of such sweet tastes are seen in the famous Ottoman Ashure Pudding and the infamous Turkish Delight. Made up of dates, raisins, seedless sultanas, currants, pine nuts, roasted hazelnuts, almonds, black eyed beans, broad beans, haricot beans, chickpeas, starch, rice flour, clarified butter, husked wheat, sugar musk and rose water, the Ottoman Ashure Pudding is the most widespread type of pudding that can be found within the Ottoman Empire. It’s delicious taste, and its rich history attributed at times with the Noah’s Ark, was revitalized by Osman Fuad in the 1920s after he established the Imperial Ottoman Culinary Association. Turkish Delights, dating back to 1777 never lost their popularity really, and served alongside eggs with fried onions in a dish known as Enderun Yumurtasi, the two dishes became the staple Ottoman dessert.
Unlike the Western World, which held a disdain for uncooked fruits and vegetables, this prejudice was not shared by Ottoman cooks, which was inherited from their predecessor in Anatolia and the Balkans – the Byzantine Empire. Vegetable dishes were and still are highly regarded in the Ottoman Empire. It is customary and tradition for any Ottoman family having a garden to grow most of their own vegetables and fruits, be they Christian, Muslim or Jew. Oranges and Grapes are the most esteemed fruits in the Ottoman Empire as early as the 1500s, as depicted by the fact this anecdote from the 16th century Ottoman court.
‘When asked to send a gift to the English Sovereign, their Queen, the Sultan, Mehmed III, decided to send grapes of various types, personally picked from his orchard to the English Queen. This, he considered, to be the greatest of any culinary gift.’ [4]
While specialized restaurants are a staple everywhere in the world, the Ottomans take it to a whole new level. Cook-Shops as they are known in the Ottoman Empire, only specialize in variations of the same dish. Anything else is looked down upon. General Restaurants are therefore only found in European, Chinese or Indian Restaurants of the Ottoman Empire. Cook-Shops operate under the traditional Ottoman belief that a cook must be the master of a single dish to become the best chef. Of course, the most famous of Cook-Shops in the Ottoman Empire – and as such a popular stereotype of the Empire – are the Kebab Shops. They are the most widespread in the entire Empire, and despite attempts by Abdulaziz to replace them with European Style Meat Restaurants, the Kebab stores endured and in the 1920s experienced a massive boom. The Kebab became the most luxurious dish in the Empire by the 19th century, and as per French physician Francois Pouqueville ‘Foreigners and natives alike in this country are in accord that this dish, the kebab, is the most delicious in this country and I perfectly agree with them.’ [5]
Ottoman Kebab and Delight, the staple traditional foodstuff of the Ottoman Empire
And though, like all Islamic majority countries, the Ottomans frowned upon drinking, private drinking was quietly ignored by the Ottoman government. Christians and Jews were public with their drinking, and until 1938, only Christians and Jews were allowed to own, administer and control Taverns in the Ottoman Empire, though the tavern laws about restricting sales to Islamic customers were promptly ignored by anyone willing to drink booze. Raki is of course the staple Ottoman alcoholic beverage, made up of twice-distilled grapes and anise. The Alcohol Consumption Act in the Ottoman Empire, introduced in 1921 allowed Ottoman citizens, to have an alcohol consumption of around 0.4 liters for Muslims and around 1.8 liters for Non-Christians. The age of allowing alcohol consumption was formalized to be 20 years of age, and being drunk in public, outside of the vicinity of private settings and/or taverns was made to be a legal offense. Though the Ottoman Empire continued and continues to be a dry country in comparison to the rest of the Balkans and Europe, problems such as Muslims wearing Christian identification cards at times to skip over alcohol consumption restrictions continue to plague the country. And of course, the largest non-alcoholic beverage in the empire, shared alike by Christians, Muslims and Jews with great relish is none other than Coffee………” [6]
Excerpts from The Fight for Westralia by F. R. Beasley
“……Secessionism in Australia was always most popular in Western Australia, which had always been reluctant to join the Commonwealth, and many Western Australians, who believed that they were suffering as a result of the unequal federal system were wooed in by the thought of independence, but it had never been mainstream thought until 1907, when James MacCullum Smith and Alfred T. Chandler started to become prolific pro-secession writers and supporters. In 1912, Chandler and Smith founded the Dominion League, which was a civil platform advocating for Westralian independence as a Dominion of the British Empire. Chandler became the first president of the Dominion League and the League began to agitate with the Australian government to hold a binding referendum regarding secession from the Australian Commonwealth.
One of the key backers of the Westralian Movement was Peter Mulhall, a Mining Magnate from Perth, who was extremely rich and extremely influential in supporting the Dominion League monetarily. He became personally involved in the League in 1919 when he married Lorna Chandler, Alfred Chandler’s daughter, who was also an avowed secessionist. But the greatest aide for the Westralian Movement would come in the form of Keith Watson, a 24 year old, charismatic and dynamic secessionist who used a lot of logical oratory speeches to try and sway peoples. It was he who persuaded Smith and Chandler that creating a proper political party for the Secessionists would be the way to go and in early 1924, the Westralian National Party was founded as the political part of the Dominion League, eager to gain independence using proper democratic means.
James Smith with Keith Watson
The first political victory that the party received was Edith Cowan, the first Australian to be elected as a member of parliament, who defected to the WNP. Besides being a secessionist party, the WNP was also a populist and social reformist political party, and this was more heavily in line with what Cowan envisioned for Western Australia, and as such, the WNP received its first representation within the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. The WNP contested the 1924 Western Australian Legislative Elections, and managed to win 4 of the 50 contested seats, with Cowan and Smith being the leaders of the party within the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. During the elections, no party in Western Australia managed to win a majority with Labour coming up with 23 seats and Nationalists gaining 21 seats. Entering into coalition with the Nationalists, the WNP enabled Premier James Mitchell to continue on as the Premier of Western Australia, thus starting the rise of Keith Watson onto the West Australian political scene, and laying the foundations for the 1934 West Australian Referendum……”
Footnotes:-
[1] – Source from Between Beloved Ottomania and the Land of Israel by Michelle U. Campos.
[2] – True Fact
[3] – True Quote from iotl.
[4] – True fact as well.
[5] - Real Quote
[6] – Culinary Sources from Bountiful Empire a History of Ottoman Cuisine
I am highly dubious that Western Australian secessionism would get anywhere; it was a damp squib in OTL despite the lack of attention from both the Federal Government and Westminster. If it becomes a serious prospect, both will marshal resources to squash it. Britain has absolutely no interest, at a moment when it is trying to reduce costs in the Asia-Pacific and deal with an increasingly fragile security system there, to add another dominion.
oh its not going to be an independent country. Not at all. Most of the 'seccessionists' were regionalist voters more than actual separatist voters after all.
Just something different.
I guess a major headache for Canberra is a better word for it.
Pretty much!
Though alcohol is going to remain a headache of a culinary issue in the OE
I guess that the Italians are sucking up this timelines version of Americas anti Germans and anti communist sentiment. A world with out New York pizza is a much darker world.
On a more serious note what is going on with the Italian mafia, are they just sitting back and taking this?
the Italian Mafia are going to be very very interesting ittl. Will come in the future,
Enjoyed the cuisine and cultural updates of Ottoman Empire here. It's also a nice change of pace from usual political stuff.
Didn't really expect West Australian seccessionist part but not surprising because it's where I live as home. I doubt independent West Australia would be successful.
Didn't really expect West Australian seccessionist part but not surprising because it's where I live as home. I doubt independent West Australia would be successful.