East Encounters West: France and the Ottoman Empire in the Eighteenth Century

by Fatma Müge Göçek

In 1720, an Ottoman ambassador was sent to the court of the Child King Louis XV to observe Western civilization and report on what he saw and how it could be applied in the Ottoman Empire. Based on the accounts of this ambassador, East Encounters West studies the impact of the West on the Ottoman empire and the impact of this Ottoman embassy on the two societies. In France, the presence of the embassy yielded only a brief fashion of Turquerie, whereas in the Ottoman empire, it yielded the first official printing press, signalling an important step toward Western style. Gocek here assesses the reasons behind these differential impacts through three factors: the Western technological advances, consequent commercial expansion, and the different reactions of various social groups in the Ottoman empire to these developments. Her analysis reveals a far-reaching and complex Westernization process that permeated Turkish society as it was approved and imported by dignitaries and eventually passed onto average households. Sketching the process of Westernization from the perspective of Easterners, this unique book throws new light on the cultural differences between these two major civilizations and on the nature of cultural transmission and diffusion.

Genres: History

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Jindřich Zapletal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book deals with an Ottoman embassy to France in the beginning of 18th century from both Ottoman and French angle, compares it with other Ottoman embassies to the West, and spends quite some time on the reception of new cultural/administrative/political impulses resulting from this embassy in Istanbul. I loved the topic and the comprehensive way in which it is treated. There are many cultural anecdotes and famous personalities. The complex environment of both early 18th century Istanbul and Paris is described in simple and practical terms.

Keep in mind that when the author wrote this book, she was still a graduate student. On one hand, every professor would want to have a graduate student with this much erudition and scholarly stamina. On the other hand, the book is written in an inexperienced hand, with an assumption of a naive audience and an occasional factual error. But, especially if you indeed are naive about the topic of the book, this is not such a bad thing.

[Nara · Rating 4 out of 5]

So it all came down to clocks ..