Infanticide in Nineteenth Century Ottoman Society

Abstract

This article examines a largely overlooked topic in scholarship on Ottoman history and discusses the cases of the murder of infants in Ottoman towns and cities. Based on archival findings, the article asks questions such as: what were the motivations behind child murder, who carried out this act, who were the victims, what were the methods used, and how extensive was it in the Ottoman society? The nature of this crime also forces us to problematize the available documentation and hence the article also discusses the nature of the sources that offer us a glimpse of the infanticide cases. It demonstrates how social status and gendered hierarchies in Ottoman society intermingle in infanticide cases and the choice to murder babies as a means of birth control. In sum, this article discusses the links between child murder and poverty, illegitimacy, and, most important of all, the experience of being a lonely, single, and poor woman in Ottoman society.