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Article

Claiming Rights via Telegraph Wires: Telegrams from Batumi Refugees in Ladik to Istanbul (1881-1889)

Title and abstract are a translation · original language: Turkish

  1. HACETTEPE ÜNİVERSİTESİ

Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters, Volume 41, Issue 1 (2022) pp. 274–286

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Abstract

This article examines how twenty households of refugees from Batumi who settled in Ladik, an administrative district of Amasya, after the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877-1878, used the telegraph in their attempts to present their urgent grievances over such basic issues as finding accommodation, food, and work to the government in Istanbul. As they were unable to get any satisfaction for their grievances from the local authorities, and as no telegraphic infrastructure existed in Ladik, the refugees went to Samsun and Amasya, the nearest places where there were telegraph services. This action represents an unusual instance of the using of telegraph technology as a complaint mechanism, for while examples of a similar nature can be found in regions where telegraph technologies, which had appeared in Anatolia only twenty years earlier, had already been established and were in use, there was no telegraphic infrastructure in Ladik at that time. The fact that the refugees in Ladik thus chose to travel a considerable distance in order to use the telegraph to communicate with Istanbul thus sets their actions apart. By providing direct access to Istanbul, bypassing local authorities and local channels of complaint, the telegraph played a vital role in state-society relations. It was as a result of the telegraphs sent to the Ottoman Refugee Commission in Istanbul that the state issued orders to officials in the province of Sivas from 1881 until 1889 to improve the conditions of the refugees.

Abstract (Turkish)

Telgrafın Tellerinde Aranan Hak: Ladik’teki Batum Muhacirlerinden İstanbul’a Telgraflar (1881-1889)

Bu makale, 1877-1878 Osmanlı Rus Savaşı’ndan sonra Amasya’ya bağlı bir kaza olan Ladik’e göç etmek zorunda kalan Batum muhacirlerinin barınma, beslenme ve çalışma gibi en temel ihtiyaçlar konusundaki şikayetlerini telgrafla İstanbul’a iletmeye çalışmalarını incelemektedir. 20 hane civarında olan muhacirler, telgrafın henüz olmadığı Ladik’te, yerel otorite mercilerinde çözüm bulamadıkları sorunlarını kolektif bir biçimde Babıali’ye iletmek için bulundukları yerden ayrılarak en yakın telgraf merkezlerinin olduğu Samsun ve Amasya’ya gitmişlerdir. Bu girişim Anadolu’ya henüz 20 yıl önce girmeye başlayan telgraf teknolojisinin bir şikayet mekanizması olarak kullanılmasında kendine has bir örnek teşkil etmektedir. Osmanlı Devleti’nde gözlemlenebilen pek çok benzer örnek, telgraf teknolojilerinin hali hazırda kurulduğu, kullanımının yaygınlaşmaya başladığı coğrafyalarda tespit edilebilirken Ladik’teki muhacirlerin durumları bu bakımdan ayrışmaktadır. Ladik’i ve Ladik’e iskan ettirilen Batum muhacirlerini farklı kılan husus o dönemde Ladik’te telgraf iletişimini mümkün kılacak herhangi bir altyapı çalışmasının henüz yapılmamış olmasıdır. 1881 ve 1889 yılları arasında Muhacirin Komisyonu’na gönderilen telgraflar sayesinde devlet, Sivas Vilayet Meclisi’ne muhacirlerin şartlarında iyileştirmeler yapılmasına yönelik emirler vermiştir. Bu durum telgrafın yerel otoriteyi ve yerelin şikayet mercilerini teğet geçerek doğrudan İstanbul’a ulaşabilmeyi sağlayan bir araç olmasının yanında devlet-toplum ilişkisi bağlamında ne denli yapıcı bir rol üstlendiğini göstermesi açısından da oldukça önemlidir.

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References

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Cite this publication

APA 7

Güneş, M. M. (2022). Claiming Rights via Telegraph Wires: Telegrams from Batumi Refugees in Ladik to Istanbul (1881-1889). Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters, 41(1), 274–286. https://doi.org/10.32600/huefd.1363041

BibTeX

@article{gunes2022claiming,
  author = {G{\"u}ne{\c{s}}, Mahir Melih},
  title = {{Claiming Rights via Telegraph Wires: Telegrams from Batumi Refugees in Ladik to Istanbul (1881-1889)}},
  journal = {Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters},
  volume = {41},
  number = {1},
  pages = {274--286},
  publisher = {Hacettepe {\"U}niversitesi},
  year = {2022},
  issn = {1301-5737},
  doi = {10.32600/huefd.1363041},
  url = {https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/telgrafin-tellerinde-aranan-hak-ladikteki-batum-muhacirlerinden-istanbula-telgraflar-1881-1889},
  language = {tr},
  keywords = {Yak{\i}n{\c{c}}a{\u{g}} Osmanl{\i} Tarihi},
  abstract = {This article examines how twenty households of refugees from Batumi who settled in Ladik, an administrative district of Amasya, after the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877-1878, used the telegraph in their attempts to present their urgent grievances over such basic issues as finding accommodation, food, and work to the government in Istanbul. As they were unable to get any satisfaction for their grievances from the local authorities, and as no telegraphic infrastructure existed in Ladik, the refugees went to Samsun and Amasya, the nearest places where there were telegraph services. This action represents an unusual instance of the using of telegraph technology as a complaint mechanism, for while examples of a similar nature can be found in regions where telegraph technologies, which had appeared in Anatolia only twenty years earlier, had already been established and were in use, there was no telegraphic infrastructure in Ladik at that time. The fact that the refugees in Ladik thus chose to travel a considerable distance in order to use the telegraph to communicate with Istanbul thus sets their actions apart. By providing direct access to Istanbul, bypassing local authorities and local channels of complaint, the telegraph played a vital role in state-society relations. It was as a result of the telegraphs sent to the Ottoman Refugee Commission in Istanbul that the state issued orders to officials in the province of Sivas from 1881 until 1889 to improve the conditions of the refugees.},
  affiliation = {HACETTEPE {\"U}N{\.I}VERS{\.I}TES{\.I}}
}
.bib

RIS

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Güneş, Mahir Melih
TI  - Claiming Rights via Telegraph Wires: Telegrams from Batumi Refugees in Ladik to Istanbul (1881-1889)
T2  - Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters
VL  - 41
IS  - 1
PY  - 2022
SP  - 274
EP  - 286
PB  - Hacettepe Üniversitesi
SN  - 1301-5737
DO  - 10.32600/huefd.1363041
UR  - https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/telgrafin-tellerinde-aranan-hak-ladikteki-batum-muhacirlerinden-istanbula-telgraflar-1881-1889
AB  - This article examines how twenty households of refugees from Batumi who settled in Ladik, an administrative district of Amasya, after the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877-1878, used the telegraph in their attempts to present their urgent grievances over such basic issues as finding accommodation, food, and work to the government in Istanbul. As they were unable to get any satisfaction for their grievances from the local authorities, and as no telegraphic infrastructure existed in Ladik, the refugees went to Samsun and Amasya, the nearest places where there were telegraph services. This action represents an unusual instance of the using of telegraph technology as a complaint mechanism, for while examples of a similar nature can be found in regions where telegraph technologies, which had appeared in Anatolia only twenty years earlier, had already been established and were in use, there was no telegraphic infrastructure in Ladik at that time. The fact that the refugees in Ladik thus chose to travel a considerable distance in order to use the telegraph to communicate with Istanbul thus sets their actions apart. By providing direct access to Istanbul, bypassing local authorities and local channels of complaint, the telegraph played a vital role in state-society relations. It was as a result of the telegraphs sent to the Ottoman Refugee Commission in Istanbul that the state issued orders to officials in the province of Sivas from 1881 until 1889 to improve the conditions of the refugees.
KW  - Yakınçağ Osmanlı Tarihi
LA  - tr
AD  - HACETTEPE ÜNİVERSİTESİ
ER  -
.ris