National Knowledge and Technological Advancement Initiatives in Late Ottoman and Republic of Türkiye (1860-1960)

The aim of this study is to discuss the domestic production and technological development efforts made during the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Türkiye between 1860 and 1960, a time period in which political, economic, and military conditions were prohibitive. Despite all of the adverse circumstances of the time, the Ottoman Empire quickly reacted and attempted to make significant initiatives in the fields of domestic production and infrastructure in the age Industrial Revolution which challenged almost all of the existing socio-economic structure. These initiatives were attempted in the period preceding the First World War, when there was no capital, the burdens of capitulation increased, state revenues were transferred to the General Directorate of Public Debt, and a year without a war did not pass. Although these critical initiatives, which began as a result of military and administrative requirements, were disrupted and destructed between 1912 and 1922 due to the war conditions, they were much further advanced with the early Republican industrial Türkiyement. Despite obstacles similar to those experienced during the Ottoman period, the 1929 Great Depression, and the impossibilities encountered during Second World War, Türkiye's claim to domestic production and technological development has not declined.