OTl, the Ottomans avoided the spate of revolutions that hit the rest of Europe in 1848, although there was significant opposition to the Tanzimat period's policy of centralization and modernization. But what if there had been one? The cholera epidemic of 1847-1848 that swept across the empire seems like something that could very easily trigger it. After all, bad harvests were to blame for most of the rest of Europe's dissent (specifically, but not limited to, France and Prussia).
Would this be the final nail in the coffin for the empire- to cause her foreign backers (like England) to decide that "it was good while it lasted"? How would Russia react to the news- I imagine Nikolai I will still try for the Dardenelles/Constantinople like he attempted to in the 1830s- of the Ottoman internal discord? Would Russia ally with Egypt, Greece and France to partition the empire? Or would this cause an earlier Crimean War? If so, how would that go? How would the alliances (for and against) form? Or is everyone too damn busy dealing with their own anarchy and by the time the dust settles, they find that Russia and Egypt (who both avoided the 1848 OTL) have redrawn the borders?
What would the results be if the empire does survive? Does the Tanzimat end nearly thirty year s ahead of schedule? Are the Ottomans forced to a revanchist stance for the territories Russia, Greece and Egypt took? Are there any places in the Balkans that proclaim their independence earlier than OTL?
@raharris1973 @Nuraghe @alexmilman
Would this be the final nail in the coffin for the empire- to cause her foreign backers (like England) to decide that "it was good while it lasted"? How would Russia react to the news- I imagine Nikolai I will still try for the Dardenelles/Constantinople like he attempted to in the 1830s- of the Ottoman internal discord? Would Russia ally with Egypt, Greece and France to partition the empire? Or would this cause an earlier Crimean War? If so, how would that go? How would the alliances (for and against) form? Or is everyone too damn busy dealing with their own anarchy and by the time the dust settles, they find that Russia and Egypt (who both avoided the 1848 OTL) have redrawn the borders?
What would the results be if the empire does survive? Does the Tanzimat end nearly thirty year s ahead of schedule? Are the Ottomans forced to a revanchist stance for the territories Russia, Greece and Egypt took? Are there any places in the Balkans that proclaim their independence earlier than OTL?
@raharris1973 @Nuraghe @alexmilman