Sinop During the National Struggle

Sinop, has witnessed the struggles of domination of various nations throughout the history since it has hosted the only natural harbor in the region. Because of this, it became one of the first places conquered by the Turks, after they entered Anatolia with the Manzikert Victory. In the following period, Sinop, became the capital of different Turkish principalities such as Pervaneogullari and Candarogullari, and came under Ottoman rule in 1461. Under the Ottoman rule, Sinop, was governed administratively as a judgeship affiliated to the Kastamonu Sanjak. But after the administrative regornizations of the Tanzimat period the city gained the status of a sanjak affiliated to the Kastamonu Province. Then, finally, in June 1920, it was separated from Kastamonu and became an independent province itself. The Entente Powers assumed that they had subjugated the Ottoman Empire with the Armistice of Mudros signed on October 30, 1918. Based on this assumption, they were trying to put pressure on the local administration and to take the region under their control by using minority elements, under the pretext of supervising the implementation of the armistice provisions in Sinop. Being aware of the intentions of the Allied Powers, the Istanbul Government was trying to take measures to prevent the occupation of the region which would violate the terms of the armistice. The government decided to send Mustafa Kemal Pasha as the 9th Army Inspector to the region with an extensive authortiy in order to establish public order. Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who left Istanbul on May 16, 1919 to go to Samsun, stopped in Sinop on May 18, 1919. During his meeting with the notables of the city, he received information about the activities of the Pontus Society branch in Sinop and warned people he met. After that, the national organization gained a momentum in Sinop, and regional resistance organizations were established in the city-center and districts of Sinop. In this context, protest rallies were held in Sinop and its districts against the occupation of Izmir by the Greeks, and protest telegrams were sent to the representatives of the Entente Powers in Istanbul and the Istanbul Government. More effective measures have been taken against the activities of the Allied Powers in the region and the Pontus movements. In line with the directives of Mustafa Kemal Pasha, delegates were sent to the Sivas Congress, and elections were held for the Parliamentary Assembly and the First Grand National Assembly of Turkey. It has been struggled against disorder and banditry in Sinop. Sinop ports and piers performed important services in the supply of weapons, ammunition and materials needed by the army in the struggles against the Greeks on the Western Front. The people of Sinop also supported the National Struggle financially with their aid to the Tekalif-i Milliye Commissions and the Red Crescent Society. The victories on the Western Front, the Treaty of Lausanne and the proclamation of the Republic were celebrated with enthusiasm in Sinop.

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