Armenian Genocide In 1915

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Although the massacre of a great number of Armenians in 1915 was an instantaneous response to the onset of World War I and not the result of a predetermined plan to eliminate the Armenians, the causes track all the way back to the Muslims’ rancor towards the Armenians’ economic and political success and to a growing sense of the Ottomans that Armenians were a dangerous component within their society. Armenians have been persecuted throughout the centuries mainly due to their refusal to renounce Christianity while living in the Ottoman Empire, which is predominantly Muslim. The Ottoman government, in its quest to unite all Turkish peoples in Europe, planned to annihilate the native Christian population which stood in its way.The brutal intolerance of the …show more content…
They tended to be better educated and wealthier than their Turkish neighbors, who in turn tended to resent their success. This hate was worsened by suspicions that the Armenians would be more loyal to Christian governments than they were to the Ottomans’ Islamic government. In addition, the Young Turks took over the Ottoman Empire with the idea of dedicating themselves to eliminating enemies of the state. They created reforms in order to restore Turkish glory. Unfortunately, part of these reforms meant getting rid of all non Muslim and non Turkish groups. The Young Turk revolution brought great hope for many people living in the Ottoman Empire. The reintroduction of the constitution, with its promises of equal rights, seemed to offer opportunities to people who had been left behind in the old ways of the empire. The Young Turk vision of a strong central government promised an alternative to the corruption and disorder of the sultan’s rule. For the Armenians, the constitution and its guaranteed equality seemed to offer many of the reforms they had long desired. However, there were still unresolved tensions within the Young Turk