Perceptions of Turks within the context of Ottoman wars according to Punch magazine (1853-1918)

There were six important disputes that impacted Turks between 1853 and 1918. These include the Crimean War of 1853-1856, the Russian War of 1877-1878, the Greek War of 1897, the Tripolitan War of 1911-1912, the Balkan War of 1912-1913, and the First World War of 1914-1918. This sequence of conflicts, severely weakened the Ottoman Empire. Despite the fact that the Ottoman Empire, which had been at war for years, strove to maintain its existence, its failures in the battles produced diverse impressions among neighboring governments. The "Turkish perception", which dates back to ancient times, especially in Europe, was further triggered by these wars. The Ottoman Empire, a powerful country that had prevailed in many difficult battles and started to lose wars that it would not have lost in the past, which led to its fell into the language of Europe with weak imagery like "Sick Man". The perception of Turks in Europe was mirrored in a variety of platforms including the period's publications, books, and theater. "Punch" or the "London Charivari" is one of the locations where these reflections are visible. It is briefly referred to as "Punch". The British humor publication "Punch" is noteworthy because it uses cartoons to capture the moment's most important events. The cartoons in this magazine are first-hand sources for the period. The cartoons of the era were popular and still spoken about decades later. These cartoons demonstrate how the Turks were made fun of by Europeans for losing their wars. They used hyperbole to mock the state's monarch. The aim of this study is to look into how the cartoons from the aforementioned conflict periods portrayed Turks in order to understand and interpret them from a different angle. By choosing cartoons that are supposed to mirror the viewpoint of Turks, it has been attempted to convey to the reader how the British view Turks for this purpose.