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Sea of Troubles: The European Conquest of the Islamic Mediterranean and the Origins of the First World War, 1750–1918
By 1750, approximately three quarters of the Mediterranean coastline and its hinterlands were controlled by a vast Islamic power, the centuries-old Ottoman Empire. However, by the twentieth century, this great civilisation, once regarded by Christian Europe with awe and fear, had been completely subjugated, its territories occupied by European nations.
The history of imperialism in the Mediterranean involves not one but six European powers - Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Austria-Hungary and Russia - jostling for control of the trade, lands and wealth of those they saw as the existential `other'. The competition between these states made their conquest of the Islamic Mediterranean a far more difficult and extended task than they encountered elsewhere in the world. Yet, as new contenders entered the contest, and as the rivalries in the Mediterranean intensified in the early twentieth century, events would spiral out of control as the continent headed towards the First World War.
Set against a background of intense imperial rivalry, Sea of Troubles is the definitive account of the European conquest of the Levant and North Africa in the last three centuries.
The history of imperialism in the Mediterranean involves not one but six European powers - Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Austria-Hungary and Russia - jostling for control of the trade, lands and wealth of those they saw as the existential `other'. The competition between these states made their conquest of the Islamic Mediterranean a far more difficult and extended task than they encountered elsewhere in the world. Yet, as new contenders entered the contest, and as the rivalries in the Mediterranean intensified in the early twentieth century, events would spiral out of control as the continent headed towards the First World War.
Set against a background of intense imperial rivalry, Sea of Troubles is the definitive account of the European conquest of the Levant and North Africa in the last three centuries.
584 pages, Hardcover
First published January 30, 2024
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May 28, 2024In July 1860 Dr Mikhayil Mishaqa narrowly escaped death when an angry mob tried to lynch him in the backstreets of Damascus. A successful silk merchant and adviser to Lebanese princes, Mishaqa left his Levantine village for the city in 1834, where he trained as a doctor before becoming a US vice-consul. Ensconced in the heart of Ottoman Syria, Mishaqa soon joined the ranks of the Damascene Christian notables. But his prestigious position offered him little protection that July as Muslims in Mount Lebanon and Damascus turned on their Christian neighbours, killing more than 10,000 and 5,000 respectively in what Eugene Rogan calls a ‘genocidal moment’. Mishaqa and his family suffered numerous injuries and saw their house ransacked. Miraculously, they survived.
The Ottomans were no strangers to violence. The descendants of Osman Gazi cut a bloody path out of Anatolia to conquer and enslave until they had built a vast empire encompassing southeastern Europe, North Africa and much of the Middle East. But by the 16th century Sultan Suleiman I – known in the West as ‘the Magnificent’ and in Turkey and the Arab world as ‘the Lawgiver’ – had established the rule of law and sectarian bloodletting became a thing of the past. During the 19th century this began to change. Instances of violence between Ottoman Muslims and Christians became more frequent and more bloody all the way up to the end of the First World War. What had unsettled the order established by Suleiman? The question is addressed in two new books. In his enthralling Sea of Troubles Ian Rutledge offers a grand overview of the tensions that led to the decline of the Ottoman Empire and locates their source in the spread of capitalism and the ensuing inter-imperialist struggle. Rogan, meanwhile, zooms in and brilliantly captures the tragic outcome of this struggle. Read together, they shed much light on Ottoman modernity.
Read the rest of the review at HistoryToday.com.
William Eichler writes on the history and politics of Israel, Palestine and Turkey.
The Ottomans were no strangers to violence. The descendants of Osman Gazi cut a bloody path out of Anatolia to conquer and enslave until they had built a vast empire encompassing southeastern Europe, North Africa and much of the Middle East. But by the 16th century Sultan Suleiman I – known in the West as ‘the Magnificent’ and in Turkey and the Arab world as ‘the Lawgiver’ – had established the rule of law and sectarian bloodletting became a thing of the past. During the 19th century this began to change. Instances of violence between Ottoman Muslims and Christians became more frequent and more bloody all the way up to the end of the First World War. What had unsettled the order established by Suleiman? The question is addressed in two new books. In his enthralling Sea of Troubles Ian Rutledge offers a grand overview of the tensions that led to the decline of the Ottoman Empire and locates their source in the spread of capitalism and the ensuing inter-imperialist struggle. Rogan, meanwhile, zooms in and brilliantly captures the tragic outcome of this struggle. Read together, they shed much light on Ottoman modernity.
Read the rest of the review at HistoryToday.com.
William Eichler writes on the history and politics of Israel, Palestine and Turkey.
February 19, 2026
4.75/5
It’s a political-economic history of the Islamic Mediterranean from 1750ish to 1914 and its decline and subjugation to the European powers. It’s split between the Ottoman Empire, Egypt (technically under Ottoman rule but sort of doing its own thing) and the Ottoman regencies (which is a fancy way of saying the Barbary pirates on the North African coastline).
I thought the book was really good and did a good job of explaining things. For the politics the motivations of each power (mainly the Ottomans, Britain, France and Russia) were well explained. The economics was also done well, the Ottoman land system and the failures of the tax farm system sound boring but I quite liked reading about them. Later on in the book there’s a good chapter on Ottoman industrialisation attempts and why they failed. Finally the process where the Islamic powers ended up heavily in/debt in the later 19th century and how they ended up European financial domination was also well explained.
I only have a couple of minor dislikes. The parts detailing the French conquest of Algeria in the 1830s were more focussed and in-depth than the rest of the book but I personally found them a bit less interesting. And the title mentioning the outbreak of WWI feels a bit like a publishers trick to get a few more sales (it worked on me). There’s some stuff about Morocco, the Italian War in Libya and the Balkan Wars but these are right at the end of the book. The bulk of the book is 18th and 19th century.
This is my third book on the Ottoman Empire (the other 2 being about the WWI era and its final years) and I wish I had read this first because it provides a lot of information and context. Overall I really enjoyed it and if you are interested in 18th and 19th century politics in the Mediterranean it’s definitely worth reading.
It’s a political-economic history of the Islamic Mediterranean from 1750ish to 1914 and its decline and subjugation to the European powers. It’s split between the Ottoman Empire, Egypt (technically under Ottoman rule but sort of doing its own thing) and the Ottoman regencies (which is a fancy way of saying the Barbary pirates on the North African coastline).
I thought the book was really good and did a good job of explaining things. For the politics the motivations of each power (mainly the Ottomans, Britain, France and Russia) were well explained. The economics was also done well, the Ottoman land system and the failures of the tax farm system sound boring but I quite liked reading about them. Later on in the book there’s a good chapter on Ottoman industrialisation attempts and why they failed. Finally the process where the Islamic powers ended up heavily in/debt in the later 19th century and how they ended up European financial domination was also well explained.
I only have a couple of minor dislikes. The parts detailing the French conquest of Algeria in the 1830s were more focussed and in-depth than the rest of the book but I personally found them a bit less interesting. And the title mentioning the outbreak of WWI feels a bit like a publishers trick to get a few more sales (it worked on me). There’s some stuff about Morocco, the Italian War in Libya and the Balkan Wars but these are right at the end of the book. The bulk of the book is 18th and 19th century.
This is my third book on the Ottoman Empire (the other 2 being about the WWI era and its final years) and I wish I had read this first because it provides a lot of information and context. Overall I really enjoyed it and if you are interested in 18th and 19th century politics in the Mediterranean it’s definitely worth reading.
April 26, 2024
How boring this book is! Skip it ! Save your time and money! And if you want to read an excellent book about the reasons for the outburst of WW1 , pick up Christopher Clark's "The Sleepwalkers".
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