Ottoman travelers' perceptions of Africa in the Late Ottoman Empire (1860-1922)

A discussion of civilization, colonialism and race

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7338752
AutoresMustafa Serdar Palabıyık (0000-0001-5938-7017, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, autor de correspondencia)
Año2012
Volumen46
Páginas187-212
Fecha de publicación2012-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaNew Perspectives on Turkey (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0896-6346 • E-ISSN: 1305-3299
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0896634600001552
OpenAlexW2496108746
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas9

The Ottoman encounter with European colonialism over their African territories during the nineteenth century contributed to a renewed interest in Africa and its inhabitants. This resulted in several official and non-official travels to this continent at the end of which the travelers published their memoirs. This article intends to analyze Ottoman perceptions of Africa in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century by drawing upon Ottoman travelogues. It concludes that the travelers established paradoxical accounts regarding the implications of European colonialism for Africa and the ethnic taxonomy of the African people. They perceived European colonialism as a civilizing mechanism on the one hand, and treated it as the most significant reason of African “backwardness” on the other. Similarly, while they criticized the European colonial discourse based on the superiority of the white race over others, they established similar ethnic taxonomies establishing hierarchies among African tribes

Ancient history · Archaeology · Backwardness · Civilization · Colonialism · Economic growth · Ethnic group · Ethnology · Geography · Ottoman empire · Political science · Politics · Race (biology · Sociology · Gender Studies · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Travel Writing and Literature