MIDDLE EAST HISTORY POLITICS CULTURE XI-XII Middle East | Page 297

of "national economy» (Turk. millî İktisat ) emerged which initially was aimed
at replacing Armenian or Greek businessmen with “Turks” and Muslims or, at
the very least, to ruin the Armenians and Greeks. When the First World War
broke out laws were adopted in the Ottoman Empire at the state level to
boycott the Armenian manufacturers, then to seize their property. As a result,
a huge system of plunder was put into motion. So this rough plan of
nationalisation put the basis of Turkish industrial class and Turkish economy
by destroying the Christian entrepreneurs and the whole economical life of
the Empire.
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