Ottoman Official Attitudes Towards American Missionaries

Abstract

Members of various American missionary organizations, mainly affiHates of American Board of Commissionersfor Foreign Missions (ABCFM, the Board) started LO visit the Levant region in the second deeade of the nineteenth century. Moving out from Beirot, the missionaries established protestant churches, schools, hospita1s and other social facilities mostIy in non-Muslim populated areas of the Empire. While during early years of Ouoman-American encounters the Sublime Porte was indifferent towards missionary activities among its subjects, the official aUİtude gradually changed and bccame negative in the following years, paraııeling the increase in the number of complaints from non-Muslim elergy, the Muslims and the govemment officials. While the missionary activities gaye impetus to the awakening of nationalism among some of the non-Muslim subjeets of the Empire, such as Armenians and Bulgarians, Ottoman negatiye approach to American missionaries reached its climax during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Accordingly, this artiele evaluates the causes and process of the change in the Otloman official atlitude towards the American missionaries.