Gulhane Proclamation and Ottoman Bill of Rights

The following is from my post on the Gulhane Proclamation and Ottoman Bill of Rights.  Both of these documents promised many more freedoms in the Ottoman Empire and to the people of the Balkans.  I found it very interesting that during this time there was independence and the creation of the United States and the French Revolution.  The Ottomans seemed to go along with what was happening around them and they created these rules and rights to appease the Balkan people along the way.  My post from the blackboard discussion is as follows:

Both of these documents seem very appropriate for the time in which they were written.  Because of the French Revolution and the U.S independence right before it, there is a sense of democracy in freedom that is present throughout the world.  It seems as though both of these documents were based on the US Bill of Rights and the French Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen.  This line in the Gulhane Proclamation sums up a lot of what is going on in these documents.  It states, 

"These Imperial concessions shall extend to all our subjects, of whatever Religion or sect they may be; they shall enjoy them without exceptions. We therefore grant perfect security to the inhabitants of our Empire, in their lives, their honor, and their fortunes, as they are secured to them by the sacred text of our Law."

This line itself proclaims that all of these rights and privelages shall be given to everyone, no mater what religion, race or sect they belong to.  It states that all people shall be able to enjoy these rights freely.  Once again this is extremely similar to the US Bill of rights and the Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen.  

Lastly, I would argue that the Balkans probably would be okay with the Ottomans preaching freedom and equal rights and free religion.  Even though they were conquered by the Ottomans, they still will be able to keep their rights and freedoms and that is obviously something that they would probably be okay with.