Book Review
A French Civil Servant’s Six Criticisms of the Turks
Comparing the 1760’s Ottoman Empire to today’s Turkey
The Turks, who first formed a community in Central Asia and then spread to wide geography from Eastern Europe to China, naturally interacted with many nations and civilizations.
Especially after it settled in lands such as Anatolia where many nations and religions coexist, it became a neighbor with Western civilization and mutual relations increased in this process. As such, Western ambassadors, voyagers, missionaries, and merchants came to the lands of the Turks and had the opportunity to observe them.
Baron de Tott also came to Istanbul as the secretary of Charles Gravier, who was appointed as the French ambassador in 1755. de Tott’s main tasks were to learn Turkish, to analyze the situation of the Ottoman Empire, and to present reports on this subject. He stayed in Istanbul for about 15 years and later wrote about his relations with the Turks in his memoirs.
Here are six of his critiques about the Turks in his time, some of them are still correct even today.
