Young Turk Revolution

The Young Turk Revolution, which occurred in the Ottoman Empire in 1908. This movement was primarily a revolution in government practices. The revolution itself was fueled by the furious nationalistic spirit spreading through Europe at the time. This movement called for a multi-national, democratic state. It garnered support form groups like, Bulgarians, Jews, Arabs, and Greeks.

The Sultan Abdul Hamid II had previously suspended the Ottoman parliament in 1878. If one were to summarize this revolution in one sentence, it would be that the Young Turk Revolution caused the reversal of this suspension. The Sultan's irresponsible rule of the Ottoman Empire had angered a vastly diverse group of people, and they formed a union to challenge his power. Many believed the Sultan was the cause of the weak state of their empire.

The Revolution itself restored the Ottoman parliament and a policy of decolonization was promised. However, the process of restructuring old policies with new ones was easier said than done. Although it had ended the First Constitutional Era, and launched itself into the Second Constitutional Era, but replacing original monarchial structures with democratic processes was difficult to implement. The taking of the regime was relatively bloodless, but the implementation of regime was an entirely different situation. The new government found themselves concerned with colonialism and the borders of their country becoming splintered as other local revolutions took place. In addition to this chaos, their original allies of Britain and France had more plans on what to do with the land rather than help the government. However, this led to a alliance with Germany, which would lead to their eventual defeat in World War I.

Even the failure of the Ottoman Empire does not go forgotten. The Young Turk philosophy stayed with the region, and the construction of Turkey was led by a Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who also prided himself a Young Turk.