The Ottoman Consulates in Liverpool and Manchester (1810-1914): From Commercial to Political Activities during the Reign of Abdulhamid II

Hasanov, M (2026) The Ottoman Consulates in Liverpool and Manchester (1810-1914): From Commercial to Political Activities during the Reign of Abdulhamid II. Doctoral thesis, Liverpool John Moores University.

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Abstract

This dissertation examines the transformation of the Ottoman consulates in Liverpool and Manchester from their establishment in 1810 to their closure at the start of the First Word War in 1914, tracing a shift from primarily commercial intermediaries to political instruments under Sultan Abdulhamid II (r. 1876–1909). It argues that two forces—Pan-Islamism and the Armenian Question—shaped the functioning of the Ottoman consuls in Liverpool and Manchester, turning these posts into outposts of surveillance, religious diplomacy, and imperial image-management. Beginning with the appointment of the first merchant-consuls (e.g., Morris Lewin Mozley, Pierre Mussabini, Abdullah Ydlibi), the study shows how institutional reforms (notably the 1881 Consular Regulation) and the Sultan’s February 1891 directive to appoint “capable and morally upright Muslim consuls” in Liverpool and Manchester inaugurated a new, security-oriented mandate. From the early 1890s, acting on the Sultan’s directives, consuls cultivated ties with Abdullah Quilliam and the Liverpool Muslim Institute (LMI) to project the Caliph’s authority, while simultaneously monitoring Armenian mobilisation and propaganda in Manchester, and along transatlantic routes via Liverpool. Pan-Islamism operated unevenly, shaped by personnel, local frictions, and shifting priorities, and consuls alternated between cooperation with, and distance from, Muslim networks. The thesis concludes that provincial consulates functioned as adaptive instruments of soft power and security in a transnational setting. By integrating commercial, migratory, and religious arenas, this study demonstrates that Liverpool and Manchester became strategically important posts for Ottoman diplomacy. In this respect this thesis challenges the current historiography that has focused largely on Southeast Asia, where substantial Muslim populations facilitated political engagement, and has consequently overlooked the political roles of consuls elsewhere.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Ottoman; Political Activities
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions:	Humanities and Social Science
Date of acceptance:	4 June 2026
Date Deposited:	10 Nov 2026 14:24
Last Modified:	10 Nov 2026 14:24
Supervisors:	Harbord, K
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29847

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