The Question of Ottoman Ignorance before the Morea Rebellion of 1770: A Challenge to Widely Accepted Belief in the Light of New Ottoman Documents

Abstract

Most early Ottoman and European sources take it for granted that the Ottoman Empire was either indifferent to or unaware of the Russian intrigues going on in the Morea and therefore did not take any measures against Russia prior to the insurrection of 1770. Recent writings on this uprising do not really add anything to the discussion, simply accepting the Ottoman ignorance suggested by early Ottoman and European scholars. In the light of newly discovered archival sources this article submits that blaming the entire bureaucracy for a total ignorance of Russian intrigues or denying any possibility that the Russians might appear in the Mediterranean Sea is simply without foundation. Our archival documents contradict any allegation claiming that all Ottoman statesmen who were in charge of the empire at the time were ignorant. Instead, these sources indicate that some of the Ottoman statesmen took necessary precautionary measures (both in the Morea and many other regions under Ottoman domination) long before the coming of the Russians, which can be seen as proof of their awareness.