Consequently, during the reign of Selim III, the relationship between Europe and the Ottoman Empire flourished. The Ottoman Empire strengthened its diplomatic relations with the West. As mentioned in the book "Turkey, a modern history", for example, permanent Ottoman embassies were established in many major European cities such as Paris, London, Berlin, and Vienna. Nevertheless, the Ottomans also …show more content…
Despite learning European languages, some Ottomans were also sent to Europe for higher education. Moreover, a new medical school was established and the existing naval engineering school was reformed. This shows how much the social and intellectual life has changed in the Ottoman Empire, since the Ottomans had a chance to study diverse subjects and develop a different kind of mentality. In terms of politics, as mentioned in the documentary, the Ottomans were not interested in international trade; therefore, they stimulated consumption of domestic products and regulated imports. Among the reforms made by Selim III is the adoption of Western war instruments and techniques together with the creation of a new military program called "Nizam-i Cedid". This new program changed the military life in the Ottoman Empire by separating military functions from administrative functions to avoid corruption.
As we discussed in class, the Tanzimat system introduced a law system that recognized equality to Muslim and non-Muslim millets living within Ottoman territories. As a response, non-Muslim millets felt more self-confident as they were granted more equality inside the empire. However, as argued by Seçil Akgun in his article about Tanzimat in the Ottoman Empire, the reforms that confronted traditions were often disapproved by conservative groups, specially the