Friday, 8 March 2024

Why didn't the Ottoman Empire found overseas colonies in the Pacific and the Americas?

The Ottoman Empire had the capacity, manpower and resources to take many lands, but going far beyond the centre of their influence was not an easy affair.

When the Americas were discovered in 1492 the Ottomans had still not conquered much of the territory they would possess for centuries. It took them about a century more to create the superpower they became. It was not until the time of Selim the Stern that they were able to expand at a fast pace, defeating the Persians and Mamelukes, adding parts of Mesopotamia and Egypt to their empire.

Selim Sert (The Stern), father of Suleyman the magnificent.

By the time they were a world power at the time of Suleyman the Law Giver, the Spanish had already subdued much of the New World, with the Portuguese, English and French following suit. The Ottomans used their Algerian and Moroccan vassals to raid in the Atlantic, reaching even up to Iceland with the help of a Dutch turncoat, but conquering, holding and sustaining a colony so far from home was not feasible. All other powers had direct access to the Atlantic and their fleets outmatched the Ottoman one. Out of the three only France was amiably disposed towards the Ottomans, but that would go sour in case their interests were contested. Keeping a continuous line of communication, support and supply from the Mediterranean to America would demand a huge amount of resources, manpower and effort. In all likelihood it would fail miserably, with convoys being cut off and annihilated by the enemy fleets and buccaneers and the local garrison attacked by the more numerous and powerful, long established enemy forces.

Suleiman the Law Giver also known as the Magnificent.

To get land in the Pacific it had to conquer all countries and kingdoms from Persia to China, reaching the shores opposite Japan. Impossibility. In lieu of that, it struck a close alliance with the Muslim Mughal Empire which gave them bases in the Indian Ocean and was a thorn in their enemy's Persia’s side, keeping them in check. It also established trade roots with all Muslim states of the region, some of them in the Pacific.

The Russian bear in the north was becoming a real threat, the Persian Empire was always an uncertain proposition and Spain along with Austria were in a constant state of war with the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire’s failure to conquer Central Europe, even at the height of its power under Suleyman, shows it was up to its limits and its potential for far off conquests was not only curved but undesirable too.


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