International relations, especially for Western countries, are based on interests rather than religious or national reasons. Therefore, when looking at history, it is necessary to put aside religious and national sentiments, so as not to lose sight of the real causes of events. It is instructive to look at the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the following way. In the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire had access to a great resource: oil. Competition between colonial states, industrial development, and the discovery of the automobile engine made this resource even more attractive.
American giant: Standard Oil
The British Empire discovered oil reserves in Mesopotamia in 1871. Shortly thereafter, oil experts were sent to Ottoman territory under the guise of archaeologists. In America, the first oil was extracted in Pennsylvania in 1859, and Standard Oil His Company was founded in 1870 under the leadership of John D. Rockefeller. By 1880, Standard Oil had turned into a giant cartel that controlled 95% of the American oil market.
When Germany belatedly joined the colonial race, there was fierce competition between the United States (Standard Oil Company), which owned more than half of the world's oil production, and the United Kingdom (Shell) and Germany (Deutsche Bank), who were aiming for it. has begun. It's to get a share of the cake that used to be oil from the Middle East.
Sultan Abdulhamid II knew that Mesopotamian oil had whetted the appetites of his rivals and knew the true intentions of those working on his land under the guise of archaeologists.He bought time by maintaining a balanced foreign policy between Britain, Germany, and the United States.
He was preparing a report on oil in the area. Moreover, he purchased oil fields from his treasury, Hajne-e-Humayun, and registered them in his personal treasury, namely Hajne-e-Hassa, so that the oil fields would not be lost after a possible war due to increased competition. did.
gulbenkian
Karouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, an Ottoman-Armenian born in Istanbul, was an oil genius. His father was a tax collector in the Ottoman Empire. Gulbenkian traveled a lot with his father, so he knew the geography of the Ottoman Empire well. In his youth, he worked at Mantashev Oil Company, a subsidiary of Asiatic Petroleum in Baku. The company's main partners were Royal Dutch, Shell, and the Rothschild family.
After his experience in the Caucasus, Gulbenkian interned in London with Frederick S. Lane, who ran the Rothschild family's oil business. He was instrumental in the merger of the British Shell Company and the Dutch Royal Dutch Company in 1907 to counter Standard Oil's near-monopoly.
revolution of 1908
In 1903, the Ottoman Empire signed the Baghdad Treaty, granting Germany concessions to oil reserves within a 25-kilometer (15-mile) radius of the Baghdad Railway. Towards the end of 1907, rumors spread that Deutsche Bank was attempting to use its political influence over the Ottoman Empire to establish an oil monopoly in Mesopotamia.
The Germans wanted to extend the Baghdad Railway into Mesopotamia from Konya to Baghdad. This gossip meant the end of Sultan Abdulhamid's play.
Gulbenkian opened an office in Istanbul on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 shattered the Germans' dreams of monopoly, and the British now entered the market. As soon as the Young Turks came to power, they returned the Sultan's private oil fields to the Treasury. He also appointed Gulbenkian as the government's financial advisor.
turkish oil company
Standard Oil was split into smaller companies such as Exxon, Chevron, and Mobil in 1911 because it had become a monopoly. Rothschild also sold his stake in Baku Oil to Royal Dutch Shell in 1912. Gulbenkian founded Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC) in the same year. TPC's stock distribution is as follows: Deutsche Bank 25%. Gulbenkian Bank has 40%, and Turkish National Bank, which was established in Istanbul by the British after the Young Turk Revolution, has 35%.
What is interesting is that although both companies have Turkish names, neither Turkish National Bank nor TPC had Turkish shareholders.
Gulbenkian subsequently transferred his 25% stake to Royal Dutch Shell. The National Bank of Turkey was dissolved with the participation of the Anglo-Persian Company (APOC, later British Petroleum), which belonged to the British government. The new allocation of TPC shares is as follows: Deutsche Bank 25%; APOC, 47.5%, Royal Dutch Shell, 22.5%. Gulbenkian's share has fallen to 5%.
Afterwards, Gulbenkian became famous as “Mr. Five Percent.''
As shareholders in the company, Britain and Germany agreed to mutually share the oil fields of the Ottoman Empire. On June 28, 1914, World War I began, one month after the Young Turk government granted oil reserves in the Mosul and Baghdad areas to his TPC.
World War I
Despite the promise, Britain did not want Germany as a partner in Mesopotamia. He opened the London Stock Exchange, which had been closed to Russians since the Crimean War, to the Tsar's ministers, attracting Russia to his side. This forced the Young Turks to move closer to Germany, and the predicted world war began.
Due to the war, Britain placed a lien on the company's German shares. Armenians under Russian influence in Anatolia blocked oil shipments and were expelled by the Young Turks. Two years later, the Bolsheviks, including Stalin, who had made a name for himself by striking at the Rothschild refineries, seized power in Russia. Standard Oil, thus neutralizing British companies, entered into an agreement with the Bolsheviks regarding Baku oil.
Britain offered Sharif Hussein an independent Arab state and attracted Arabs to his side. While the British spy TE Lawrence distracted Sharif's son Faisal with the aforementioned offer, the British Mark Sykes and the French Georges Picot had already concluded an agreement to divide the Arab lands between Britain and France. was. Palestine, the Persian Gulf, and eastern Iraq become British territory, and parts of Turkey, including Mosul, Syria, and Lebanon, become French territory. The remaining land was to be divided among semi-independent Arab states.
However, APOC, which had discovered Mosul oil before the war, was not satisfied with this agreement. They did not want to leave Mosul, which had huge reserves, to France. Turkey then withdrew from the war due to the collapse of the Palestinian front, which included Mustafa Kemal Pasha. The war ended and the Turks and Germans left Arabia and Mesopotamia. The British were not satisfied with the Arab lands and used the armistice as an opportunity to land troops in Mosul.
mosul oil
Britain, which controlled the inland sea thanks to the Suez Canal, did not want to lose control of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus. Arms dealer Basil Zakharov, one of APOC's shareholders, talked with his close friend British Prime Minister Lloyd George to persuade Greece to occupy Anatolia. Britain would use Greece under its control as a shield to protect the Strait by placing it in Istanbul and Çanakkale.
In April 1920, Britain signed an agreement with France at San Remo. France left Iraq's oil, including Mosul, to Britain in exchange for a 25% stake in Syria and TPC. Thus, at the end of the war, the shares of Syria that had been promised to defeated Germany and Faisal were given to France. Britain established a new nation called Iraq and installed Faisal, who had been neglected, as the head of state.
Zakharov owned companies, banks and newspapers in France. Here he represented both Royal Dutch Shell and APOC. He met with prominent French bureaucrats and politicians and gave them shares in his company. That is why France tolerated Britain's selfish policies. But America had no intention of leaving the cake to the British government.
Turkish War of Independence
Standard Oil quickly entered France by becoming a partner in France's Rothschild-controlled Banque de Paris et des Pays (BNP Paribas) and acquiring the Matin newspaper. Through this bank, Standard Oil's French division, Compagnie Standard Franco-Americaine, was established. The company bought several politicians and brought them to its side. The US government announced to France that if it ignored Standard Oil's interests, it would cut off all aid and oil shipments from the other side of the Atlantic. The Treaty of Sèvres, which invalidated Standard Oil, was rescinded at the request of the United States.
France, which was dependent on the United States for oil imports, needed to move closer to Standard Oil. French politician Henry Franklin-Brion visited Ankara and signed the Ankara Agreement with Mustafa Kemal, the new leader of the Turkish National Movement. In return for the assistance given to him, all oil operations that are or will be discovered on Turkish soil will be given to Standard Oil. Standard Oil, believing that Mosul would remain on the Turkish side, wanted to obtain oil from Mosul in this way.
The victory of Mustafa Kemal, who received Bolshevik support in exchange for Baku's oil and French and American support in exchange for Mosul, was no longer inevitable. Mustafa Kemal first marched on Izmir, then on Çanakkale and Istanbul. He succeeded in driving the Greeks out of Anatolia, which led to the overthrow of the British government of Lloyd George.
Unable to withstand American pressure, Britain agreed in Lausanne to place the Strait under the control of an international commission. On the other hand, the Mosul issue could not be resolved. This file was submitted to the League of Nations. After long negotiations with British companies, the United States abandoned its demands in the Ankara agreement. The League of Nations then returned Mosul to Britain. In return, Britain agreed to give her TPC stock to the Americans in 1928.
Businesses have come together again. Approximately 23.75% of the company was transferred to American companies Exxon, Mobil and Gulf. 47.5% goes to British companies Anglo-Persian and Royal Dutch Shell. and Standard Oil's French ally, Compagnie Française des Petroles, founded in 1924, was given 23.75%. The remaining 5% of his share was, of course, given again to Mr. Five Percent.
Everyone agreed on their share, but this time there was a disagreement over the borders of the Middle East oil fields. Borders had to be determined for oil in the Middle East, and no one was allowed to look for oil outside this border. So Gulbenkian drew a red line on the map. That line covered almost all of Anatolia and the Arabian Peninsula, to which he said, “This is the Ottoman Empire I knew in 1914. I was born there, I lived there, I served there. If anyone claims to know better, please be my guest.”
Everyone agreed on this frontier.
