[Translation] Constaninople. French Embassy in Therapia [end]
In the first quarter of the 16th century, Suleyman (of the Ottoman Empire) and Francois I, the French King, developed a strategic relationship as Francois I was in urgent need of an ally against his sworn enemy, Charles V (1500–1558), the Holy Roman Emperor. These ties were enhanced in commercial matters, when the Sultan granted the French specific economic privileges in the 16th century. Since then, France and Turkey enjoyed good relations, both commercial and general, till these privileges were abolished in 1923 when the "Treaty of Lausanne" was signed. Many of the early postcard images of the Ottoman Empire were printed by French publishers.
France and Turkey have fought each other in three wars. The first (1798-1800) was during the Egypt-Syria campaign of Napoleon. The second one was during the Battle of Gallipoli (April 1915-December 1915) when a joint Franco-British operation was launched to capture Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The last clash between France and Turkey was from 1919 to 1921 during an early stage of the Turkish War of Independence (19 May, 1919-29 October, 1923) that followed World War I.
When the Treaty of Ankara was signed between Turkish revolutionaries and France on 20 October 1921, conflict between the two nations officially ended and France annulled its claims granted by the "Treaty of Sevres" (August 10,1920) and recognized a new Turkish government in Ankara. |
