The observations of the French ambassador François Antoine Andréossy on the Ottoman Empire in the first quarter of the 19th century

The primary aim of this study is to identify elements of the modernization process of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, based on the work titled Constantinople et Le Bosphore de La Thrace, pendant les années 1812, 1813 et 1814, et pendant les années 1826 by François Antoine Andréossy, who was appointed as the French ambassador to Istanbul during the early years of Sultan Mahmud II's reign. In this context, the fact that this work—containing the observations of Andréossy, a contemporary eyewitness to the period—has not previously been the subject of academic inquiry, and the opportunity to evaluate the elements of modernization from the perspective of a French diplomat, are among the principal factors that enhance the originality and significance of this study. Concepts with strong semantic weight such as modernization and diplomacy will be frequently employed as part of the core terminology of the study. The phenomenon of modernization, which began to manifest in the centuries preceding Mahmut II's accession to the throne but gained marked momentum during his reign, constitutes one of the fundamental issues to which this research attaches particular importance. The institutions of diplomacy and the embassy, when considered alongside the modernization process, will be analyzed within the framework of questions such as whether they align with or diverge from the notions of Westernization and reform.