Children in vulnerable positions in the 19th century Ottoman Empire
The text deals with the abuse of power towards children in the late Ottoman Empire. It shows that children were often in vulnerable positions, especially orphans and half-orphans, and that their fate was often the subject of public debate and political action. The situation of orphan girls was particularly precarious, as social, moral, financial and political constraints often prevented mothers from protecting their children. Whereas the government did not interfere in early forced marriages of girls, it became active in the religious identity of foundlings and forced conversions, especially in the context of increasing social and religious diversity and Western influence in the 19th century.