Abstract

This article examines the effects of the Ottoman Empire’s restriction on Bible colportage in the early 1900s on Ottoman-US relations. This restriction adversely affected representatives of the American Bible Society (ABS), which had been active in Ottoman lands since the second quarter of the nineteenth century. ABS colporteurs were prevented from working in many parts of the empire. The ABS appealed to the United States for help with this situation. By putting pressure on the Ottoman Empire through its legation in Istanbul, the US made efforts to lift the ban on Bible colportage. However, the Ottoman administration, claiming that colporteurs were spreading nationalist ideas under the pretext of selling Bibles, did not want to allow Bible colportage, despite the pressure. This problem, which became a small-scale crisis between the two countries, is examined in detail in this article through an analysis of archival documents.

摘要

本文探讨了 1900 年代初奥斯曼帝国对圣经图书转让的限制对奥斯曼帝国与美国关系的影响。这一限制对美国圣经公会（ABS）的代表产生了不利影响，该公会自 19 世纪下半叶以来一直活跃在奥斯曼领土上。ABS 的交易员被禁止在帝国的许多地方工作。ABS 呼吁美国帮助解决这一问题。美国通过驻伊斯坦布尔公使馆向奥斯曼帝国施压，努力解除圣经捆绑禁令。然而，奥斯曼政府声称图书搬运者以出售圣经为借口传播民族主义思想，尽管面临压力，但并不想允许圣经搬运。这个问题演变成两国之间的小规模危机，