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Abstract
During the period after the battle of Navarino in 1827, steam warships were widely adopted by the major navies, and the rise of ironclads in the late 1850s marked the turning point both in warship construction and naval strategy as the dominant element of battle at sea. These rapid developments observed in European naval warfare throughout the nineteenth century had a remarkable effect on the strategic power of the Ottoman navy and the new era that started with the accession of Sultan Abdülaziz pioneered the emergence of the Ottoman armoured fleet. This brought about the need for qualified personnel to operate the increasing number of ironclads within a decade of his accession. Accordingly, this article examines the progress of the Ottoman Naval Academy and the reorganization of naval education in the same period. It starts by examining the primary criteria for selecting students during the admission process, and challenges whether the alterations made to rearrange the length of education and the student placement quotas were sufficient to meet the expectation for the targeted number of qualified personnel. From a detailed examination of archival sources, it has been found that the Naval Academy was more properly regulated and that it offered a far superior naval training during this period than was previously thought. The reasons for this are detailed by considering the nature of the new training methods, the quality of the curriculum and the standards of teaching.
Notes
1 Safvet, Bahriyemiz Tarihinden Filasalar, 61.
2 Çoker, Deniz Harp Okulumuz, 15–6; Gökçay, Deniz İkmal Eğitimi ve Okulları, 21; Uzunçarşılı, Osmanlı Devleti’nin Merkez, 510.
3 Istanbul Naval Museum Commandership Archive (hereafter DMA), Şura-yı Bahriye (Registers of the Naval Council, hereafter ŞUB), 27–55A, 21 Jan. 1857.
4 DMA, Mektubi (Registers of the Chief Secretariat of the Navy, hereafter MKT), 60–28, 11 Mar. 1865.
5 Prime Ministerial Ottoman Archive (hereafter BOA), İrade-Meclis-i Mahsus-İ.MMS (Decrees for the Special Council, hereafter İ.MMS), 46–1982, 25 Jul. 1873.
6 BOA, İrade-i Dahiliye (Decrees for the Interior Ministry, hereafter İ.DH), 533–36946, 29 Jan. 1865.
7 BOA, İ.DH, 733–60062, 27 Aug. 1876.
8 DMA, Mektepler (Registers of Naval Schools, hereafter MKP), 4463/6–1–4, 30 May 1875.
9 DMA, MKP, 4463/7–1–2, 10 Jun. 1875.
10 DMA, MKP, 4463/30–1, 17 Nov. 1875.
11 DMA, MKP, 4463–11, 12 May 1874.
12 DMA, MKT, 60–38, 3 Nov. 1864.
13 DMA, MKP, 4463/28–1–2, 30 Nov. 1868.
14 DMA, MKP, 4463–11, 12 May 1874.
15 BOA, Maarif Nezareti Mektubi Kalemi (Registers of the Chief Secretariat of the Ministry of Education, hereafter MF.MKT), 31–164, 22 Sep. 1875.
16 BOA, MF.MKT, 41–19, 17 Aug. 1876.
17 Süleyman Nutki, Bahriye Kur’a Neferi, 3–5.
18 Walsh, A Residence in Constantinople, 198; Heinzelmann, Cihaddan Vatan Savunmasına Osmanlı, 206–7.
19 Heinzelmann, Cihaddan Vatan Savunmasına Osmanlı, 207.
20 Ibid., 207–8, 210.
21 Kaynar, Mustafa Reşit Paşa ve Tanzimat, 178.
22 Zürcher, Arming the State, 82; Gülsoy, Osmanlı Gayrimüslimlerinin, 39–40.
23 Düstur-i Askeri 1287, Mekteb-i Fünun-i Harbiye-i Şahane, Istanbul, 49.
24 BOA, İ.DH. 626–43544, 2 Dec.1870.
25 Yıldız, Neferin Adı Yok, 291–2.
26 Örenç, ‘Deniz Kuvvetleri ve Deniz Harp Sanayii’, 211–12; Panzac, La Marine Ottoman, 347.
27 DMA, ŞUB, 1865, 79–80, 19 Jul. 1863; DMA, MKT, 52–5, 19 Jul. 1863.
28 BOA, İrade-Meclis-i Mahsus (Decrees for the Special Council, hereafter İ.MMS), 46–1982, 25 Jul. 1873.
29 BOA, İ.MMS, 52–2262, 20 Apr. 1875; BOA, Sadaret Mektubi Kalemi Mühimme Defterleri-A. MKT.MHM (Registers of Chief Secretariat of the Office of Grand Vizier, hereafter A.MKT. MHM), 478–33, 26 May 1875; DMA, MKP, 4463/07–2–2, 17 Jun. 1875; DMA, MKP, 4463/34/1–5, 18 May 1876; DMA, MKT, 6021–6–6, 30 May 1875.
30 DMA, MKP, 4463–7–2, 17 Jun. 1875.
31 DMA, MKP, 4463–10–2–1, 11 Oct. 1875; DMA, MKP, 4463–31–3. 19 Dec. 1875.
32 DMA, MKP, 4463–34–1–3, 18 May 1876; DMA, MKP, 4463–32–2, May 1876; BOA, İ.DH, 733–60062, 28 Sep. 1876.
33 Sayacı, Deniz Harp Okulu Tarihçesi, 236–8.
34 Although the main purpose was to increase the number of registered students and graduates, practices contrary to the regulation of student admission were avoided. Thus the application of Mehmet Efendi, who wanted to be registered in the Department of Navy on 30 Nov. 1868, was rejected due to the age limit of 14 in the same document (DMA, MKT, 4463–28–1–2, 30 Nov. 1868.
35 BOA, İ.MMS, 46–1982, 25 Jul. 1873; DMA, MKT, 174–89, 14 Jul. 1873; BOA, A.MKT. MHM, 459–64, 25 Jul. 1873; DMA, MKT, 181–123, 22 Aug. 1873. According to Panzac, La Marine Ottomane, 348, 216 lieutenants entered the navy, 176 as deck officers, 24 as mechanical engineers and 16 as shipbuilders from 1867 to 1875.
36 Sayacı, Deniz Harp Okulu Tarihçesi, 233.
37 DMA, MKP, 4463–3–2–1, 24 Mar, 1875.
38 Panzac, La Marine Ottomane, 349.
39 DMA, ŞUB, 1865–79–80, 19 Jul. 1863.
40 DMA, ŞUB, 1901, 53B–54A, 3 May 1870.
41 DMA, ŞUB, 1901, 53B–57A, 18 Apr. 1870.
42 Henry Felix Woods, known as Woods Pasha, graduated from Greenwich Royal Naval College and served with the Royal Navy. He was thought to be suitable for the lecturer position in the Naval Academy and took up the post on 22 October 1869. Following Sultan Abdülhamid II's accession he continued his service in the academy, mainly focusing on torpedo education, and was promoted to colonel for his services in the Ottoman–Russian War of 1877–8. He was conferred with the rank of vice admiral on 9 Oct. 1886. After the dethronement of Sultan Abdülhamid II he was retired from the Ottoman navy in 1911. Woods, Spunyarn.
43 Woods, Spunyarn: 21–5; Bal, Süleyman Nutki Bey’in Hatıraları, 5–11.
44 Bal, Süleyman Nutki Bey’in Hatıraları, 4–5; Woods, Spunyarn, 19–20.
45 DMA, ŞUB, 1901, 53B–54A (3 May 1870).
46 Ceride-i Askeriye (The Military Newspaper), 28 Jul. 1866.
47 Woods, Spunyarn, 12.
48 Ibid.
49 After graduating from the Military Engineering School, Sait Pasha (also known as British Sait Pasha) was sent to the University of Edinburgh in 1854. During his five-year visit, he carried out his studies at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, Enfield Armoury Factory, Waltham Gunpowder Mills and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Following his return, he was assigned to the Naval Board in 1867 and the Naval Academy as the minister in 1868. Gencer, Bahriye’de Yapılan Islahat, 287.
50 Woods, Spunyarn, II, 16.
51 He entered the Royal Navy in May 1844. After being commissioned in different squadrons, he served as naval attaché to several embassies in Europe including Istanbul between 1871 and 1872.
52 The National Archives, Kew (hereafter, TNA), ADM, 12–895, 14 Jun. 1872.
53 DMA, MKP, 4464–2–10, Aug. 1875.
54 DMA, MKP, 4463–34–1–5, 18 May 1876; BOA, İ.DH, 733–60062, 27 Aug. 1876.
55 Lambert, ‘The Development of Education’, 43–4.
56 Ibid.
57 Winton, ‘Life and Education’, 269.
58 Lambert, ‘The Development of Education’, 34–5.
59 Winton, ‘Life and Education’, 269.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Dilara Dal
Dilara Dal is a faculty member in the Department of History, Istanbul University. She completed her PhD dissertation at the University of Birmingham Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies in 2015.