AN EVALUATION REGARDING THE INTERNATIONAL TREATIES DETERMINING THE STATUS OF THE STRAITS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
AN EVALUATION REGARDING THE INTERNATIONAL TREATIES DETERMINING THE STATUS OF THE STRAITS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Summary/Abstract: The Straits Question has been the subject of various bilateral and multilateral international treaties throughout history. With the power struggle between Great Britain and Russia in the 19th century, the status of the Straits ceased to be a matter solely for the Ottoman Empire to decide, and became an international issue. This study examines the international treaties that determine the status of the Straits from a historical perspective within the context of the Ottoman Empire. The first section covers the period from 1453 to 1774, when the Straits were under Ottoman rule and governed according to the principle of closeness. The second part evaluates how the Straits became a matter addressed first through bilateral agreements following Russia’s emergence as a Black Sea power, and later through the 1841 London Straits Convention and other multilateral treaties. The third part assesses the strategic role of the Straits during World War I and the arrangements established by the Treaty of Sèvres, signed by the Ottoman Empire on August 10, 1920, at the end of the war. This study, based on a retrospective qualitative analysis, emphasizes the impact of the Great Powers’ competition on treaties and how this situation limited the Ottoman Empire’s sphere of influence.

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