The Impact of Migrations in course and in the wake of the Balkan Wars on the Population of Turkey


YILDIRIM S.

CTAD-CUMHURIYET TARIHI ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI, vol.8, no.16, pp.75-92, 2012 (ESCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 8 Issue: 16
  • Publication Date: 2012
  • Journal Name: CTAD-CUMHURIYET TARIHI ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Page Numbers: pp.75-92
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The impact of the Balkan Wars on the Ottoman State has several dimensions. Apart from its economic, political and military dimensions, the migrations from the lost territories to Turkey caused great effects and consequences. First of all, the war destroyed the atmosphere where Muslim and non-muslim societies had been living together for centuries. Massive migrations that started as soon as the war broke out, continued almost a century. These migrations have great impacts on former and recent settlements. The most crucial impact was the demography. Migrations caused quantitative and structural changes in demography. In this article it is argued that those migrations would make serious contributions to the homogenization of the population in Turkey and would play a pivotal role in creation of a demographic structure coherant to the nation-state. Thus, this circumstance would pave the way for an atmosphere where the Republic would make an emphasis on a new and powerful nation under the "Turkish" supra identity.