ABSTRACT
With the widespread use of the printing press and the rise of periodical publications in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Ottoman government became increasingly wary of the impact they had among its diverse communities. Hence, gradually the state imposed regulations on the press and publications in order to contain the spread of knowledge that it deemed hazardous to the fabric of its society. While many publishers, in line with the concerns of the state, indicated and limited the subject matter of their periodicals in order to receive necessary permissions for publication by excluding sensitive issues related to religion and politics, others had sought alternative venues to continue their work. Among the latter were a number of Young Ottomans who escaped to Europe where they established new periodicals that, relatively, escaped governmental control. In this chapter, I discuss Ali Suavi’s activities as a journalist and his periodical Ulûm Gazettes (Journal of Sciences), published in Paris in 1869–1870. Providing an analysis of the structure, purpose, and content of the Ulûm, I argue that the context of its publication had both advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage in being produced in a European colonial metropolis was that Ulûm became a vehicle of transmitting ideas between the Ottoman Empire and Europe. The disadvantages include higher prices for Ottoman readers as they had to bear postal service charges as well. Moreover, being produced solely by Suavi, the publisher-author, made it difficult to maintain quality work, and resulted in issues filled with bibliographies, lists, serial histories, and so forth, rather than analysis. I also claim that this periodical shows the limits of government to control media in the modern period, as the press and intellectuals could avoid it through physical movement.
