Treaty of Lausanne and the Birth of a Democracy

In October of 1918 the First World War was nearing its end - and so was the Ottoman Empire. Allied troops occupied Istanbul, the capital, as well as several other cities and ports. Having allied itself with Germany and Austria during the War, the Ottoman Empire found itself at the mercy of the victorious Triple Entente (Britain, France and Italy) - who would soon dismember the empire and distribute its territories among themselves.

Founded in the 15th century in what is modern Turkey, the Ottoman Empire soon expanded to include most of the Middle East, as well as much of North Africa, the Balkans and South Eastern Europe. By the late 19th century, however, its glory days were long past, and other European powers dubbed it the sick man of Europe. The end of WWI was the coup de grace.

During the negotiations following the end of the war, the Allies decided to partition the Ottoman Empire's territories: what is now Israel-Palestine, Jordan and Iraq went to Britain; Syria, Lebanon, and Southeastern Turkey were to go to France; Italy was to have Southern and Southwestern Turkey, and Greece and Armenia were given pieces of the pie as well. With their capital occupied by foreign troops, the Ottoman government had no choice but to accept. The Treaty (known as the Treaty of Sevres) was ratified by the Ottoman government.

In Ankara, however, a Turkish nationalist movement had formed around the Turkish army, under the leadership of General Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists refused to accept the Treaty of Sevres; they were horrified at the prospect of Turkey becoming merely another colony of Britain and France. In addition, they refused to cede territory to Greece or Armenia.

In order to enforce the Treaty of Sevres, the allies decided to use force. The British held Istanbul, the French attacked from the south east, and - under cover from British and French warships - the Greeks landed and attacked from the west. Known in Turkey as the War of Independence, this conflict began in 1919 and ended four years later in 1923 in a stunning Turkish victory. With all their enemies driven from Turkish soil, a new treaty was negotiated.

This new treaty - the Treaty of Lausanne - resulted in the creation of the modern state of Turkey. Mustafa Kemal became its first leader, and set the nation on a path towards democracy - a path it still follows today. As of the writing of this article, Turkey is the only democracy in the Middle East - and the only Middle Eastern country to have successfully resisted colonization by Western Europe.