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Metternich and the Syrian Question: 1840–1841

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2010

Miroslav Šedivý
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Extract

The second Ottoman-Egyptian crisis from 1839 to 1841 was one of the most important chapters in the history of the Eastern question. At that time, the fragile structure of the Ottoman Empire trembled in its foundations under the pressure of the ambitious, powerful Egyptian governor, Mohammed Ali, who at the end of the 1830s controlled Egypt along with Sudan, Crete, a considerable part of the Arabian Peninsula, and even Syria. Although formally he was the sultan's subject administering some Ottoman provinces, in reality Mohammed Ali governed his dominions as an independent ruler, hence dividing the Ottoman Empire into two parts, one of them ruled from Constantinople and the other from Alexandria. The sultan's attempt to terminate the existence of this dual system ended in disaster; and in the midsummer of 1839, the empire found itself without its army, navy, and monarch, who died at the end of June.

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Articles
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Austrian History Yearbook , Volume 41 , April 2010 , pp. 88 - 116
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Copyright © Center for Austrian Studies, University of Minnesota 2010

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References

1 More information on the Near Eastern Crisis of 1839–1841 can be found in de Guichen, Eugéne vicomte, La crise d'Orient de 1839 à 1841 et l'Europe (Paris, 1921)Google Scholar; Hasenclever, Adolf, Die orientalische Frage in den Jahren 1838–1841. Ursprung des Meerengenvertrages vom 13. Juli 1841 (Leipzig, 1914)Google Scholar; Sir Webster, Charles, The Foreign Policy of Palmerston 1830–1841. Britain, the Liberal Movement and the Eastern Question, vol. II (London, 1951), 621–737Google Scholar; Anderson, M. S., The Eastern Question 1774–1923: A Study in International Relations (New York, 1966), 95–107CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Puryear, Vernon John, International Economics and Diplomacy in the Near East, 1834–1853 (Stanford, 1969), 146–76Google Scholar; Rodkey, Frederick Stanley, The Turko-Egyptian Question in the Relations of England, France and Russia 1832–1841 (Urbana, IL, 1924), 80–238Google Scholar; Kutluoğlu, Muhammed H., The Egyptian Question (1831–1841): The Expansionist Policy of Mehmed Ali Paşa in Syria and Asia Minor and the Reaction of the Sublime Porte (Istanbul, 1998), 133–88Google Scholar. For information on the Austrian policy during the crisis, see my paper “Austria and the Near East: Metternich's Foreign Policy During the Second Mehmed Ali Crisis 1839–41,” Archiv orientální: Quarterly Journal of Asian and African Studies 74, no. 1 (2006), 1–36.

2 Metternich used he term “the Syrian question” for the first time at the end of 1839. Farah, Caesar E., “The Quadruple Alliance and Proposed Ottoman Reforms in Syria, 1839–1841,” International Journal of Turkish Studies 2, no. 1 (1981), 101Google Scholar.

3 However, it does not lessen the quality of this fundamental and voluminous monograph. Owing to the extent of the covered period and topics, its author could not analyze all aspects of the Syrian question in detail. As to Austrian activities in 1840–1841, Farah is usually accurate in his reasoning. Farah, Caesar E., The Politics of Interventionism in Ottoman Lebanon, 1840–1861 (London, 2000)Google Scholar.

4 This opinion can be found among others in Khalil Fattal, Nohra, Joseph Abou, L'Autriche et le Liban. Esquisse historique et promenade à travers les petites histoires d'une vieille amitié (Paris, 1996), 24Google Scholar; Khalaf, Samir, “Communal Conflict in Nineteenth-Century Lebanon,” in Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society, vol. 2, ed. Braude, Benjamin and Lewis, Bernard (New York, 1982), 117Google Scholar; Salibi, Kamal S., The Modern History of Lebanon (London, 1965), 42Google Scholar.

5 According to Elliav, the topic should be contained in Metternich's alleged instructions to Stürmer and Meysenburg (not Meysenbuch as stated by Elliav), dated 6 February 1840. However, no instructions with such content were found. Elliav, Mordechai, “Das österreichische Konsulat in Jerusalem und die jüdische Bevölkerung,” in Prag—Czernowitz—Jerusalem. Der österreichische Staat und die Juden vom Zeitalter des Absolutismus bis zum Ende der Monarchie, ed. Drabek, Anna M., Mordechai, Eliav, and Stourzh, Gerald (Eisendstadt, 1984), 35Google Scholar.

6 The sources used in the preparation of this paper but unquoted follow in alphabetical order: Bruneau, André, Traditions et politique de la France au Levant (Paris, 1932), 141Google Scholar; Davison, Roderic H., “Turkish Attitudes Concerning Christian-Muslim Equality in the Nineteenth Century,” in The Modern Middle East: A Reader, ed. Hourani, Albert, Khoury, Philip S., and Wilson, Mary C. (London, 1993), 61–81Google Scholar; Fischer, Robert-Tarek, “Habsburg und das Heilige Land. Grundzüge der österrechischen Palästinapolitik, 1840–1918,” in Das Erwachen Palästinas im 19. Jahrhundert, ed. Perry, Yaron and Petry, Erik (Stuttgart, 2001), 61–69Google Scholar; Fischer, Robert-Tarek, Österreich im Nahen Osten (Vienna, 2006), 122Google Scholar; Goren, Haim and Ben-Arieh, Yehoshua, “Catholic Austria and Jerusalem in the Nineteenth Century: The Beginnings,” in Austrian Presence in the Holy Land in the 19th and early 20th Century, ed. Wrba, Marian (Tel Aviv, 1996), 7–24Google Scholar; Hitti, Philip K., Lebanon in History: From the Earliest Times to the Present (London, 1957), 428–32Google Scholar; Ma'oz, Moshe, “Communal Conflicts in Ottoman Syria during the Reform Era: The Role of Political And Economical Factors,” in Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society, vol. 2, ed. Braude, Benjamin and Lewis, Bernard (New York, 1982), 91–105Google Scholar; Ma'oz, Moshe, Ottoman Reform in Syria and Palestine 1840–1861: The Impact of the Tanzimat on Politics and Society (Oxford, 1968), 210–17Google Scholar; Rondot, Pierre, Les Chrétiens d'Orient (Paris, 1955), 94–103Google Scholar.

7 Basic information on the Egyptian administration in Syria and the situation of the Christians in this region can be found in Krämer, Gudrun, Geschichte Palästinas. Von der osmanischen Eroberung bis zur Gründung des Staates Israel (Munich, 2003), 85Google Scholar; Harik, Iliya F., Politics and Change in a Traditional Society Lebanon, 1711–1845 (Princeton, NJ, 1968), 244–45Google Scholar.

8 The insurrection was caused by Mohammed Ali's attempt to deprive the Maronites of weapons given to them some time before for the fight against the Druze. The Egyptian governor later denied this accusation and declared that his order was misunderstood by Ibrahim Pasha who, however, really requested their delivery from the Christians. Catafago to Laurin, Sidon, 2 June 1840, Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv, Vienna (hereafter: HHStA), Staatenabteilungen (hereafter: StA), Türkei VI, 74; Laurin to Stürmer, Alexandria, 9 June 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 74; Cobban, Helena, The Making of Modern Lebanon (London, 1987), 43–44Google Scholar.

9 Laurin to Stürmer, Alexandria, 26 June 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 74; Laurin to Metternich, Alexandria, 26 June 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78.

10 Ibid.

11 The extract of Laurin's reports written on 18 and 19 June 1840, attached to Metternich to Neumann, Vienna, 11 July 1840, HHStA, StA, England 230.

12 Lerchenfeld to Ludwig I von Bayern, Vienna, 19 July 1840, Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, München (hereafter: BHStA), Ministerium des Äußern (hereafter: MA), Vienna 2409.

13 Metternich to Neumann, Vienna, 11 July 1840, HHStA, StA, England 230. According to Laurin's report from the autumn of the same year, there were 170,000 Maronites in Syria, most of them in Mount Lebanon. Laurin's Memoir with the Census of the Christian Population in Syria, attached to Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 18 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77.

14 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 16 July 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 74.

15 Metternich to Neumann, Königswart, 31 July 1840, HHStA, StA, England 230.

16 Metternich to Stürmer, Königswart, 28 August 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78.

17 Ibid; Maltzan to Frederick William IV, Königswart, 7 September 1840, Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin (hereafter: GStA PK), Rep. 81 Gesandschaften (Residenturen) u. (General-) Konsulate nach 1807 Gesandschaft Wien II, Nr. 201 Bd. 3.

18 Metternich to Neumann, Königswart, 25 August 1840, HHStA, StA, England 230; see also, Metternich to Erberg, Königswart, 26 August 1840, HHStA, Staatskanzlei (hereafter: StK), Preussen 176.

19 Metternich to Ohms, Vienna, 7 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64.

20 Wandruszka, Adam, “Anton Steindl Ritter von Plessenet. Ein österreichischer Diplomat in der Levante,” Mitteilungen des österreichischen Staatsarchivs 25 (1972), 452Google Scholar.

21 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 17 September 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76.

22 Steindl to Wood, Djounie, 3 October 1840, in The Early Correspondence of Richard Wood 1831–1841, ed. Allen B. Cunningham (London, 1966), 172.

23 Steindl to Stürmer, Djounie, 7 October 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64.

24 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 31 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 18 and 21 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 18 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Wood to Ponsonby, Beirut, 29 October 1840, in Cunningham, The Early Correspondence, 179; Harik, Politics and Change, 254–55.

25 Metternich to Ohms, Vienna, 7 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64; Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 3 November and 18 December 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78.

26 Farah, The Politics of Interventionism, 37.

27 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 2 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77.

28 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 17 September 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76; Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 31 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 18 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Ponsonby to Wood, 16 September 1840, in Cunningham, The Early Correspondance, 163; A share in the achievement was dedicated to Steindl also by Wood who stated that Steindl showed “the greatest zeal and anxiety to carry through the instructions of H. Exc. M. le Baron de Stürmer.” Wood to Ponsonby, Djounie, 11 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76.

29 Steindl to Stürmer, Djounie, 7 October 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64.

30 Ibid.

31 Ibid.

32 Wood to Ponsonby, Djounie, 11 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76.

33 Ponsonby to Wood, 1 October 1840, in Cunningham, The Early Correspondence, 171.

34 Among others in Article 13 of the peace of Karlowitz signed on 26 January 1699, Article 11 of the peace of Passarowitz signed on 21 July 1718, Article 9 of the peace of Belgrade signed on 18 September 1739, and Article 12 of the peace of Svishtov signed on 4 August 1791. Schopoff, A., Les réformes et la protection des Chrétiens en Turquie 1673–1904 (Paris, 1904), 3–4Google Scholar; Haider-Wilson, Barbara, “Das Kultusprotektorat der Habsburgermonarchie im Osmanischen Reich. Zu seinen Rechtsgrundlagen und seiner Instrumentalisierung im 19. Jahrhundert (unter besonderer Berücksichtigung Jerusalems),” in Das Osmanische Reich und die Habsburgermonarchie. Akten des internationalen Kongresses zum 150-jährigen Bestehen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung Wien, 22.-25. September 2004, ed. Kurz, Marlene and Scheutz, Martin and Vocelka, Karl and Winkelbauer, Thomas (Vienna, 2005), 129Google Scholar.

35 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 21 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76.

36 Ibid; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 18 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77.

37 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 21 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76.

38 Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 3 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78; Metternich to Ohms, Vienna, 7 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64.

39 Metternich to Ohms, Vienna, 7 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64.

40 Ibid.

41 Ibid.

42 Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 3 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78.

43 Stürmer's instructions for Steindl were only verbal and therefore no written document exists. Nevertheless, it is evident from Steindl's and Laurin's statements to Yûsuf that they really were not prepared to solve the matter of Austrian protection. More on the absence of written instructions, see also Steindl to Wood, Djounie, 3 October 1840, in Cunningham, The Early Correspondence, 172.

44 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 31 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77.

45 More information on Metternich's fight against these French projects can be found in my paper “Metternich and the French in Constantinople 1830–1840,” in Egypt and Austria IV. Crossroads, ed. Johanna Holaubek and Hana Navrátilová and Wolf B. Oerter (Prag, 2007), 147–157.

46 Metternich to Lützow, Vienna, 21 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64.

47 Nohra, Joseph Abou, “L'Autriche et la question du Liban (1840–1865),” in Habsburgisch-osmanische Beziehungen. Relations Habsbourg-ottomanes, ed. Tietze, Andreas (Vienna, 1985), 296Google Scholar.

48 Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 7 March 1841, HHStA, StA, England 236.

49 Metternich to Neumann, Königswart, 25 August 1840, HHStA, StA, England 230.

50 Metternich to Stürmer, Königswart, 28 August 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78.

51 Guichen, La crise d'Orient, 391.

52 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 7 and 18 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76; The report of an innominate Frenchman settled in Alexandria, Alexandria, 5 October 1840, attached to Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 18 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76; Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 21 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Ohms to Metternich, Rome, 24 October 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 63; Hajjar, Joseph, L'Europe et les destinées du Proche-Orient (1815–1848) (Paris, 1970), 519Google Scholar.

53 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 21 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Bockelberg to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 31 October 1840, GStA PK, HA III, Ministerium des Auswärtigen I (hereafter: MdA I), 7359; Charles-Roux, François, Thiers et Méhémet–Ali. La grande crise orientale et européenne de 1840–1841 (Paris, 1951), 160Google Scholar.

54 Schlicht, Alfred, “The Role of Foreign Powers in the History of Lebanon and Syria from 1799 to 1861,” in Journal of Asian History 14, no. 2 (1980), 110Google Scholar.

55 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 2 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77.

56 Steindl's unpublished diary, Part II, 3 October 1840, attached to Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 18 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76; Bockelberg to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 31 October 1840, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7359.

57 The opinion that the doctors were offered with regard to the Christians is maintained by Joseph Abou Nohra in L'Autriche et la question du Liban, 315, and Hajjar in L'Europe et les destinées du Proche-Orient, 522.

58 Metternich to Neumann, Königswart, 31 July 1840, HHStA, StA, England 230; Beauvale to Palmerston, Königswart, 27 August, and Vienna, 28 October 1840, The National Archives: Public Record Office, London (hereafter: PRO), Foreign Office (hereafter: FO) 120/189; Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 30 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78.

59 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 14 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VIII, 15; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 7 July 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VIII, 16; Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 18 November 1840, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7283; Maltzan to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 13 November 1840, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7359; Maltzan to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 10 December 1840, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7360. In this place, I would like to express my thanks to Austrian historian Marcel Chahrour for information contributed and his help relating to the Austrian doctors' presence in Syria in 1841.

60 Metternich to Lützow, Vienna, 14 February 1841, HHStA, StK, Rom 67.

61 Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 3 February 1841, HHStA, StA, England 236.

62 Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 18 December 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78.

63 Ibid; Stürmer to Testa, Constantinople, [?] January 1841, attached to Ponsonby to Palmerston, Therapia, 1 February 1841, PRO, FO 78/430.

64 Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 3 February 1841, HHStA, StA, England 236.

65 Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 18 December 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78.

66 Ibid; Sainte-Aulaire to Guizot, Vienna, 27 January 1841, Archives du Ministère des Affaires étrangères, Paris (hereafter: AAE), Correspondance Politique (hereafter: CP), Autriche 429.

67 More information on Metternich's effort to maintain peace in Europe during the Rhine Crisis can be found in my paper “Metternich and the Rhine Crisis,” in Prague Papers on the History of International Relations (2006), 65–92.

68 Apponyi to Metternich, Paris, 5 and 7 January 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 320; Vereté, Mayir, “A Plan for the Internationalization of Jerusalem, 1840–1841,” in From Palmerston to Balfour. Collected Essays of Mayir Vereté, ed. Rose, Norman (London, 1992), 142–49Google Scholar.

69 The annual fighting between the Catholics and orthodox Christians in the church of the Holy Sepulcher during Easter was only the most visible tip of the iceberg. Egerton, Francis, Journal of a Tour in the Holy Land, in May and June, 1840 (London, 1841), 19Google Scholar; Frazee, Charles A., Catholics and Sultans. The Church and the Ottoman Empire. 1453–1923 (Cambridge, UK, 1983), 305CrossRefGoogle Scholar. According to Laurin's report, there were more orthodox Christians than all members of the churches recognizing the pope's primacy in Syria: 290,000 against 284,700. In Jerusalem and its environs, the majority of the former was overwhelming. Laurin's Memoir with the Census of the Christian Population in Syria, attached to Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 18 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77.

70 Metternich to Apponyi, Vienna, 12 July 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 322.

71 Metternich to Guizot, Vienna, 8 February 1841, HHStA, StA, Rom 67; see also Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 7 March 1841, HHStA, StA, England 236.

72 Apponyi to Metternich, Paris, 5 January 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 320.

73 Metternich to Apponyi, Vienna, 26 January 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 322.

74 Apponyi to Metternich, Paris, 16 February 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 320.

75 Vereté, A Plan for the Internationalization of Jerusalem, 152–53.

76 Sinno, Abdel-Raouf, Deutsche Interessen in Syrien und Palästina 1841–1898 (Berlin, 1982), 19Google Scholar.

77 Werther to Maltzan, Berlin, 24 February 1841, GStA PK, Rep. 81 Gesandschaften (Residenturen) u. (General-) Konsulate nach 1807, Gesandschaft Wien II, Nr. 204 Bd. 2.

78 The Prussian King's Memoir for Metternich, undated, attached to Werther to Maltzan, Berlin, 24 February 1841, GStA PK, Rep. 81 Gesandschaften (Residenturen) u. (General-) Konsulate nach 1807, Gesandschaft Wien II, Nr. 204 Bd. 2.

79 Maltzan to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 17 March 1841, GStA PK, Rep. 81 Gesandschaften (Residenturen) u. (General-) Konsulate nach 1807 Gesandschaft Wien II, Nr. 204 Bd. 2.

80 Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 7 March 1841, HHStA, StA, England 236.

81 Ibid; Lerchenfeld to Ludwig I von Bayern, Vienna, 30 March 1841, BHStA, MA, Wien 2410.

82 Beauvale to Palmerston, Vienna, 2 March 1841, PRO, FO 120/197.

83 Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 7 March 1841, HHStA, StA, England 236; Lerchenfeld to Ludwig I von Bayern, Vienna, 30 March 1841, BHStA, MA, Wien 2410.

84 Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 7 March 1841, HHStA, StA, England 236.

85 Ibid.

86 Palmerston to Beauvale, London, 11 March 1841, in Notes on the Diplomatic History of the Jewish Question. With Texts of Protocols, Treaty Stipulations and Other Public Acts and Official Documents, ed. Lucien Wolf (London, 1919), 117; Sinno, Deutsche Interessen in Syrien, 20; Hajjar, L'Europe et les destinées du Proche-Orient, 360.

87 Metternich to Lützow, Vienna, 14 February and 12 July 1841, HHStA, StK, Rom 67; Metternich to Guizot, Vienna, 8 February 1841, HHStA, StK, Rom 67; Apponyi to Metternich, Paris, 16 February 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 320; Metternich to Apponyi, Vienna, 12 July 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 322; Schölch, Alexander, “Jerusalem in the 19th Century (1831–1917 AD),” in Jerusalem in History, ed. Asali, K. J. (Buckhurst Hill, UK, 1989), 230Google Scholar; Degeorg, Gérard, Damaskus von den Ottomanen bis zur Gegenwart (Vienna, 2006), 130Google Scholar.

88 Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 30 June 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7284; Canitz to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 29 November 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7365.

89 Metternich to Apponyi, Vienna, 12 July 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 322.

90 Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 30 June 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7284.

91 Metternich to Apponyi, Vienna, 12 July 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 322.

92 Also, in this case, Elliav was incorrect with his dating when he claims that Metternich presented his project in the instructions to London on 5 October 1840. Elliav, Das österreichische Konsulat in Jerusalem, 36. No mention was found in them. Metternich to Neumann, Vienna, 5 October 1840, HHStA, StA, England 231. Wolf made the same mistake when he dated the “Memorandum Delivered by the Austrian Government to the Prussian Government” back to October 1840. In Wolf, Notes on the Diplomatic History, 111–13. No such document from October was found in any of visited archives.

93 Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 7 February 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 83.

94 Metternich to Apponyi, Vienna, 26 January 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 322; Metternich to Esterházy, 3 February 1841, StA, England 236; Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 7 February 1841, StA, Türkei VI, 83; Metternich to Lützow, Vienna, 14 February 1841, Vienna, HHStA, StK, Rom 67; Sainte-Aulaire to Guizot, Vienna, 27 January 1841, AAE, CP, Autriche 429; Maltzan to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 2 February and 17 March 1841, GStA PK, Rep. 81 Gesandschaften (Residenturen) u. (General-) Konsulate nach 1807 Gesandschaft Wien II, Nr. 204 Bd. 2; Lerchenfeld to Ludwig I von Bayern, Vienna, 20 February 1841, BHStA, MA, Wien 4010.

95 Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 26 March 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 83.

96 Farah, Caesar E., “Austrian Diplomacy and the Mt. Lebanon Crisis in the Age of Metternich,” in Habsburgisch-osmanische Beziehungen. Relations Habsbourg-ottomanes, ed. Tietze, Andreas (Vienna, 1985), 330Google Scholar.

97 Metternich to Lützow, Vienna, 14 February 1841, HHStA, StK, Rom 67.

98 Sainte-Aulaire to Guizot, Vienna, 8 February 1841, AAE, CP, 429; see also Sainte-Aulaire to Guizot, Vienna, 23 January 1841, AAE, CP, 429.

99 Metternich to Guizot, Vienna, 8 February 1841, HHStA, StK, Rom 67.

100 Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 7 March 1841, HHStA, StA, England 236; Apponyi to Metternich, Paris, 16, 19 and 20 February 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 320.

101 Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 5 January, 10 February and 23 June 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7284 ; Königsmarck to Stiepovich, Büyükdere, 8 February 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7284; Jouplain, M., La Question du Liban (Paris, 1908), 260Google Scholar.

102 Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 18 December 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78; Metternich to Ohms, Vienna, 7 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64; Metternich to Lützow, Vienna, 21 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64.

103 Metternich to Lützow, Vienna, 21 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64.

104 Metternich to Ohms, Vienna, 7 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64.

105 For all, see Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 7 February 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 83.

106 Metternich to Ohms, Vienna, 7 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 64.

107 Lützow to Metternich, Rome, 20 June and 18 November 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 63; Ohms to Metternich, Rome, 10 October 1840, HHStA, StK, Rom 63; Lützow to Metternich, Rome, 28 March 1841, HHStA, StK, Rom 66; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 16 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81.

108 Beauvale to Palmerston, Vienna, March 2, 1841, PRO, FO 120/197; Guichen, La crise d'Orient, 469.

109 Clanricarde to Palmerston, St. Petersburg, February 23, 1841, in Wolf, Notes on the Diplomatic History, 113; Guichen, La crise d'Orient, 471; Hajjar, L'Europe et les destinées du Proche-Orient, 364–66.

110 Webster, The Foreign Policy of Palmerston, 764.

111 Ponsonby to Palmerston, Therapia, 25 February 1841, PRO, FO 78/432.

112 Lerchenfeld to Ludwig I von Bayern, Vienna, 20 February 1841, BHStA, MA, Wien 2410.

113 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 21 and 24 February 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 79.

114 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 24 March 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80.

115 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 14 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80.

116 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 25 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 23 December 1840, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7283.

117 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 28 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77.

118 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 10 September 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 75; Kutluoğlu, The Egyptian Question, 167.

119 Chebli, Michel, Une Histoire du Liban a l'époque des émirs (1635–1841) (Beirut, 1984), 336Google Scholar.

120 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 21 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77, also in PRO, FO 78/398; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 2 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 21 November 1840, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7283; Beauvale to Palmerston, Vienna, 1 November 1840, PRO, FO 120/189.

121 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 25 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 25 November 1840, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7283; Ponsonby to Palmerston, Therapia, 30 November 1840, PRO, FO 78/399; Wood Ponsonbymu, Beirut, 10 November 1840, PRO, FO 78/399; Farah, The Politics of Interventionism, 55.

122 Lerchenfeld to Ludwig I von Bayern, Vienna, 3 February 1841, BHStA, MA, Wien 2410.

123 Wood to Ponsonby, Beirut, 22 February 1841, PRO, FO 78/432; Ponsonby to Palmerston, Therapia, 22 February and 3 March 1841, PRO, FO 78/432; Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 3 March 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7284; Wood to Ponsonby, Beirut, 22 February 1841, in Cunningham, The Early Correspondance, 217.

124 The Order for the Seraskier of the Ottoman Army in Syria, 28 January 1841, attached to Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 24 February 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 79; Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 17 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 30 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80.

125 Wood to Rifaat Pasha, Therapia, 23 May 1841, in Correspondence with Her Majesty's Embassy at Constantinople Respecting the Affairs of Syria, PRO, FO 881/181; Ponsonby to Palmerston, Therapia, 23 May 1841, PRO, FO 78/434.

126 Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 26 May 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7284; Jouplain, La Question du Liban, 257–59.

127 Merlato to Stürmer, Damascus, 6 May 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81; see also the French translation in Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 26 May 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81.

128 Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 13 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 78.

129 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 29 March 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80; Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 10 May 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 14 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 2 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81.

130 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 14 May 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81.

131 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 17 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 30 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80; More on the Emir Bashir II's fall, see Laurin's Report, 16 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 2 November 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 77; Abraham, Antoine, Maronite-Druze Relations in Lebanon 1840-1860: A Prelude to Arab Nationalism (New York, 1975), 47Google Scholar.

132 Lerchenfeld to Ludwig I von Bayern, Vienna, 26 January 1841, BHStA, MA, Wien 2410.

133 Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 15 June 1841, HHStA, StA, England 237; Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 22 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 83.

134 Ponsonby to Palmerston, Therapia, 22 February 1841, PRO, FO 78/432; Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 31 March 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7284; Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 29 March 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 20 May 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81.

135 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 29 March and 17 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 30 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80; Laurent, Achille, Relations historique des affaires de Syrie, depuis 1840 jusqu'en 1842, tome I (Paris, 1846), 267Google Scholar; Chevallier, Dominique, La société du Mont Liban à l’époque de la révolution industrielle en Europe (Paris, 1971), 161Google Scholar.

136 Merlato to Stürmer, Damascus, 6 May 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 26 May and 2 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81.

137 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 26 May, 9 and 30 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81; Wood to Ponsonby, Pera, 8 June 1841, PRO, FO 78/434; The letter for Wood, 5 July 1841, attached to Ponsonby to Palmerston, Therapia, 31 July 1841, PRO, FO 78/434; Webster, The Foreign Policy of Palmerston, 760; Farah, The Politics of Interventionism, 89; Abou Nohra, L'Autriche et la question du Liban, 314.

138 Farah, The Politics of Interventionism, 74.

139 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 10 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80.

140 Beauvale to Palmerston, Vienna, 14 April 1841, PRO, FO 120/197.

141 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 2 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81.

142 Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 7 February 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 83.

143 Beauvale to Palmerston, Vienna, 2 December 1840, PRO, FO 120/189; see also Metternich [Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 26 December 1840,] HHStA, StA, England 231. At this point, it is necessary to mention the proposition that Stürmer discussed with the Porte about the creation of an autonomous Lebanese principality in 1840, a thesis that is based only on Pontois' three reports. If it was so, it had to be only a private matter because there is no corresponding reference in the Austrian or other researched diplomatic correspondence. Fattal and Nohra, L'Autriche et le Liban, 32; Nohra, L'Autriche et la question du Liban, 303.

144 Beauvale to Palmerston, Vienna, 2 December 1840, PRO, FO 120/189; Maltzan to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 26 December 1840, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7360; Metternich to Esterházy, Vienna, 3 February 1841, HHStA, StA, England 236; Sainte-Aulaire to Guizot, Vienna, 13 January 1841, AAE, CP, Autriche 429.

145 Beauvale to Palmerston, Vienna, 3 January and 4 April 1841, PRO, FO 120/197; Maltzan to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 2 February 1841 GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 6034.

146 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 6 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81; Bockelberg to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 15 June 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7364; Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 22 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 83.

147 Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 2 and 23 June 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7284; Ponsonby to Palmerston, Therapia, 8 June 1841, PRO, FO 78/434.

148 Hajjar, L'Europe et les destinées du Proche-Orient, 367.

149 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 16, 23 and 30 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81; Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 23 and 30 June 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7284; Bockelberg to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 30 June and 3 July 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 6034; Ponsonby to Palmerston, Therapia, 21 June 1841, PRO, FO 78/434; The Firman Adressed to Feriq Mehmed Tahir Pasha, 20 June 1841, PRO, FO 78/434; The Grand Vizier's Letter to the Pashas of Damascus, Aleppo, Sidon and Feriqs of Tripoli in Syria and Jerusalem, PRO, FO 78/434.

150 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 30 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81.

151 Metternich to Stürmer, Vienna, 29 June 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 83; Bockelberg to Frederick William IV, Vienna, 7 July 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 6034.

152 Metternich to Lützow, Vienna, 12 July 1841, HHStA, StK, Rom 67.

153 Farah, The Quadruple Alliance, 102; Hajjar, L'Europe et les destinées du Proche-Orient, 365.

154 Farah, The Politics of Interventionism, 52.

155 Ibid, 71; At the beginning of March 1841, Selim Pasha was constituted as an independent governor of Acre. Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 3 March 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80. Only the number of pashalics was reduced from four to three, but nothing indicates that this fact would be regretted by Metternich. Farah, The Politics of Interventionism, 81.

156 Steindl to Stürmer, Beirut, 10 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80; Farah, The Politics of Interventionism, 58.

157 Farah, The Quadruple Alliance, 126; see also Jahrmann, Werner, Frankreich und die orientalische Frage 1875/78 (Berlin, 1936), 13Google Scholar.

158 Königsmarck to Frederick William IV, Büyükdere, 7 July 1841, GStA PK, HA III, MdA I, 7284; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 11 August, 10 and 24 November 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 82.

159 von Münchhausen, Thankmar Freiherr, Mameluken, Paschas und Fellachen. Berichte aus dem Reich Mohammed Alis 1801-1849 (Stuttgart, Vienna, 1982), 372Google Scholar.

160 Lerchenfeld to Ludwig I von Bayern, Vienna, 20 June 1841, BHStA, MA, Wien 2410.

161 Schlicht, The Role of Foreign Powers in the History of Lebanon and Syria, 111.

162 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 14 July 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 81, and also PRO, FO 78/434; Schlicht, Alfred, Frankreich und die syrischen Christen 1799–1861. Minoritäten und europäischer Imperialismus im Vorderen Orient (Berlin, 1981), 39Google Scholar; Hajjar, L'Europe et les destinées du Proche-Orient, 515; Farah, The Politics of Interventionism, 60.

163 Metternich to Apponyi, Vienna, 28 July 1841, HHStA, StA, Frankreich 322. Metternich's animosity to the French endeavor for the exclusive protectorate was so great that he even recommended the pope to send only Italian clericals to Palestine and Lebanon because, in his opinion, the French sought to propagate the political influence of their nation. Metternich to Lützow, Vienna, 12 July 1841, HHStA, StK, Rom 67; Lützow to Metternich, Rome, 31 July 1841, Vienna, HHStA, StK, Rom 65.

164 Farah, The Politics of Interventionism, 77.

165 Ottenfels to Metternich, Constantinople, 31 December 1830, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 51; Ottenfels to Metternich, Constantinople, 26 January, 10 February, 11 and 26 March 1831, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 52.

166 Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 21 October 1840, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 76; Stürmer to Metternich, Constantinople, 30 April 1841, HHStA, StA, Türkei VI, 80.

167 Lützow to Metternich, Rome, 17 July and 13 November 1841, HHStA, StK, Rom 65; Metternich to Lützow, Königswart, 29 July and Vienna, 30 November 1841, HHStA, StK, Rom 67. Metternich's involvement in the Syrian question from July 1840 to June 1841 resulted from pragmatic, as well as humanitarian, reasons. The influence of his own religious faith, however, appears to have been minimal in this case. It is naturally difficult to assess to what degree the chancellor's religious persuasion motivated him, because he never mentioned it specifically in his instructions, in his personal correspondence, or in his discussions with foreign diplomats.