Ottoman Empire abolishes the capitulations

On 9 September 1914 the government of the Ottoman Empire informed the ambassadors of foreign states in Constantinople that it would abolish the capitulations with effect from 1 October. This was the name of the system of privileges that for centuries had protected foreigners from Turkish courts and taxes. The decision had been taken the day before by the leadership of the ruling Committee of Union and Progress. For the Turks it was one of the most important moments in the history of their state, and for the powers, both the Entente and the Central Powers, a challenge thrown down at a time when Europe was busy with the war.

What the capitulations were

The name comes from the Latin word capitula, meaning chapters or points of an agreement, and not from capitulation in the sense of surrender. The sultans concluded the first such agreements, at the height of the empire’s power, with France and then with other European states, in order to facilitate trade. The oldest well-documented one is considered to be the agreement with France of 1569, although tradition traces the capitulations back to the time of Suleiman the Magnificent. Over time the privileges came to cover the citizens of almost all the powers.

The capitulations gave foreigners far-reaching extraterritoriality. The cases of foreign citizens were heard not by Turkish courts but by the consular courts of their own states. Foreigners were exempt from many taxes, and the Ottoman police could not search their homes without the consul’s consent. Nor could the state raise customs duties on its own, because a change of tariff required the consent of the powers. Foreign post offices operated in many cities. In the 19th century, as the empire weakened, the capitulations became an instrument of European influence and a symbol of humiliation. The Ottoman authorities regarded them as an obstacle to reform and a source of enormous losses to the treasury.

The note of 9 September

In the note handed to the ambassadors, the government of the Grand Vizier Said Halim Pasha, who was also foreign minister, explained that the capitulations were incompatible with the sovereignty of the state and made it impossible to build a modern judiciary. It also stressed the injustice of a system in which foreigners enjoyed the wealth of the country without bearing the burden of taxation. From 1 October relations with foreigners were to rest on the general principles of international law.

The moment had been carefully chosen. The powers were fighting one another in Europe, and none of them could afford an armed intervention. Both sides were, moreover, courting Turkey. The Entente powers, wanting to keep it neutral, had signalled in August their readiness to discuss changes to the capitulations, but they were unable to offer enough to bring Constantinople over to their side. The Turks decided not to wait on anyone’s favour.

The powers protest

The reaction was immediate. The ambassadors of six powers, Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and also Germany and Austria-Hungary, handed the Sublime Porte identical notes of protest. They argued that the capitulations derived from international treaties and could not be abolished unilaterally. The protest of Berlin and Vienna was particularly telling, because since the beginning of August Germany had been bound to Turkey by a secret alliance. German diplomats were surprised and irritated, because German firms and citizens also enjoyed the privileges. Berlin in turn complained that the Entente countries were spreading rumours that the Turks were acting at German instigation.

The ambassador of the neutral United States, Henry Morgenthau, protested separately. He considered the joint protest too weak and declared that his government would not recognise the unilateral abolition of the capitulations.

The road to war

The protests changed nothing. On 1 October the capitulations ceased to apply in practice, although the powers never formally recognised this. In Constantinople the abolition of the capitulations was greeted with enthusiasm, as the recovery of the state’s full independence.

The abolition of the capitulations was another step by the empire towards war. As early as August Turkey had admitted the German warships Goeben and Breslau into its waters. At the end of September it closed the Dardanelles to shipping, and at the end of October ships of the Turkish-German fleet attacked Russian ports on the Black Sea. In November 1914 the Ottoman Empire found itself at war with Russia, Great Britain and France.

In the end the capitulations were finally buried only by the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923. In it the powers recognised their complete abolition.