The Uses of Oppression by Marina Marks guest post

In the mid-19th Century, a generation of Ottoman Greeks were caught up in radical social and political changes, including the period of reforms known as Tanzimat. The Ottoman Greek press was both product and agent of these changes, and in The Uses of Oppression, Lady Marks explores its role.

The Uses of Oppression follows the Ottoman Greek press from its birth in 1830 to 1862, employing the vivid reflections of its editors, correspondents, advertisers, commentators, and readers as a lens through which to view the everyday lives of this generation of Ottoman Greeks—their social aspirations, their reactions to political events, their reception of Western-style norms, and other contemporary issues.

The Uses of Oppression is the first book drawing on the Greek press in the Ottoman Empire as a primary source, and the immediacy of the material allows the reader to feel the vigorous pulse of Ottoman society. Despite oppression by the Muslim state, the book reveals there was room for advancement and the Ottoman Greeks were occasionally able to manipulate the regime to their advantage.

Lady Marks’ extensive research of articles, reports and advertisements published during the mid-19th century, when censorship was minimal compared to later years, sheds new light on the Christian subjects of the Ottoman sultan. Concise and informative, this is a fascinating study of the early years of the press in the Ottoman Empire, focusing on newspapers published in the Greek language between 1831 to 1862.

‘The invaluable research of Marina Sakali, Lady Marks, using a remarkable array of Ottoman Greek newspapers as her principle source, throws light on a period of the late Ottoman Empire when creativity, optimism, and a yearning for progress on all fronts was surging among the Ottoman Greeks, despite their inferior civic status.’
Bruce Clark, Author and Journalist

Lady Marks holds a PhD in history from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies which led to her writing The Uses of Oppression. She is the chairman of the Michael Marks Charitable Trust. She has been awarded the Order of Merit by the Sovereign Order of Malta for her philanthropic work.

The following is an extract from the book:

“What sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is our unique potential to change our future. From the moment of our birth we are all drawn toward our destinies tied behind life’s constantly moving carriage whether we wish to be or not. However, unlike Zeno’s dog, which only has two choices, we also have a third: we can jump on that carriage and drive it towards a course that is to our advantage. For those of us who decide to take this third choice and set about finding the right direction toward which to steer our lives, we have at our disposal an important asset: the knowledge and understanding of our past; the choices made by billions of people who came before us to change their lives, recorded faithfully by history. 

“This book is the result of an effort, pursued over many years, to increase understanding of the social conditions in the Ottoman Empire during the middle years of the 19th century. At that time the Ottoman sultans set out to improve the plight of their Christian subjects, in an attempt to arrest the decline of the Ottoman Empire and update it in a Western European manner. Over nearly fifty years several reforms were introduced in the Ottoman state, usually referred to as the Tanzimat (“reforms”). 

“My goal was to find first-hand accounts by Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire who were intended to be the chief beneficiaries of the Tanzimat, in an attempt to answer several questions that have not been adequately addressed, such as: 

“What did the Christians think of the reforms, ostensibly designed to improve their life in the Empire?

“How did the Muslims react to the changes brought about by these reforms, which created such a major rupture with the established social and religious order in the Ottoman Empire?

“What were the benefits of the Tanzimat for the economy and society of the Empire and especially for its non-Muslim subjects?

“My research led me to the mass medium of newspapers published by Greeks in the Ottoman Empire. Newspapers, however, are ephemeral in nature and in this case were produced in a region that underwent violent changes over a long period of time; so the probability of their survival was scant. Nevertheless, I decided to pursue the newspaper trail, for I felt certain that the reward, should I find them, would be well worth the chase… “

Extract courtesy of Grace Pilkington Publicity

For further information, interview requests or to see a book, please contact gracepilkingtonpublicity@gmail.com