LES CAPITULATIONS FRANCO-OTTOMANES ET LES INSTITUTIONS ÉDUCATIVES ET CULTURELLES DANS LES BALKANS (XIXе – XXе SIÈCLES)
THE FRENCH – OTTOMAN CAPITULATIONS AND THE BALKAN EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

Summary/Abstract: The capitulations between France and the Ottoman Empire (1535 – 1536) opened the way of trade and navigation, as well as of the Catholic missions in the Levant. The training of consuls and dragomans in Eastern languages began in the 17th – 18th century, when Capuchins and Jesuits were the main school teachers in Constantinople and Paris. The beginning of the Ottoman Empire’s decline forced its rulers to turn to France, with which they had not had military conflicts and which was famous with the scientific and technological progress. Although the diplomatic relations between the two countries were unequal and inconsistent by the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, France managed to gain advantage over the other Western countries and to implement its own education system within the Eastern Empire. Thanks to the capitulations, which had been renewed many times over the years, Catholic missions opened their schools and enjoyed respect of the Ottoman rulers. In the period after the Crimean War, the education following European patterns gained popularity. The Catholic Congregations that had been created, along with some secular ones, attracted the attention of both foreigners and Ottoman subjects. « The Enlightenment Language » opened up an opportunity for modernization of mentality and, at the same time, provoked nationalist reactions from the students. French cultural and educational institutions underwent significant changes after the collapse of Turkey and the creation of national Balkan states.

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