The structure of Ottoman society through the eyes of Scottish traveler Charles MacFarlane

The aim of this study is to examine the Ottoman social structure based on the travels of Charles MacFarlane, a traveler and writer, to the Ottoman lands between 1827-1828, 1847-1848 and the works he wrote as a result of these travels. The research in question focuses on the cultural activities, religious life, entertainment, characteristics, livelihoods and socio-economic differences of Turks, Greeks and Armenians. When the periods of 1827-1828 and 1847-1848, which constitute the subject of the thesis, are analyzed, it is understood that both the Ottoman Empire and the Ottoman social structure underwent a change. Charles MacFarlane briefly explains the reason for his visits to the Ottoman lands as follows: The outdated state of research and travel writings about the Ottoman Empire and the desire to see the modernization and innovation movements taking place throughout the Empire on the spot, awakened in him the desire to travel to the lands in question. While the first part of this journey took place between 1827 and 1828, the period between 1847 and 1848 was the second part of the journey. In his first voyage, MacFarlane touches upon the three great nations that make up Ottoman society, namely the Turks, Greeks and Armenians. Approximately twenty years after his first trip, MacFarlane revisited the Ottoman lands in 1847 and wanted to see the reform and renewal movements on the spot. He compares the intervening twenty-year period in military, economic and social terms and presents the general state of the country from a broad perspective. MacFarlane tries to explain what the Tanzimat Edict of 1839 meant to Ottoman society. MacFarlane points out that every citizen living in the Ottoman lands, regardless of race and sect, was tried to establish security of life and property, but the reform movements that were tried to be realized were not successful. As a result, the political, social, economic and military crises or tensions in the Ottoman Empire directly or indirectly affected the society. In this study, Charles MacFarlane's two travelogues and one book, published in 1829, 1850 and 1853respectively, were utilized. "Constantinople in 1828", a two-volume travelogue, "Turkey and Its Destiny", another two-volume travelogue, and "Kismet: Or, The Doom of Turkey", which was written based on these travelogues, constituted the main sources of the research. Other studies and researches on the same plane with the subject of our study were examined and analyzed.