Some Observations About the Austrian Policies Towards The Catholic Armenians in the XVIIIth and XIXth Centuries

The purpose of this study was to reveal the Austrian policies towards the Catholic Armenians in the 18th and 19th centuries and the effects of these policies on the relationships between Austria and the Ottoman Empire. In the present research, the reason of Austria’s support to the Catholic Armenians and the results of this condition were also be evaluated. It is accepted that Mekhitar, a Catholic Armenian priest, and the Mekhitarist priests, the members of Mekhitar’s religious order, had a separate place in the development of the relationships of the Catholic Armenians with the European states. In this regard, activities of the Mekhitarist and the influences on the Catholic Armenians living in the Ottoman country were investigated in the present study. Revealing the activities of the Mekhitarist priests had an importance in terms of recognition of Catholic sect in the Ottoman country in 1830 by Sultan II. Mahmud officially and understanding the relations between the Ottoman Empire and Austria during this period. In this study, available documents about Catholic Armenians and Mekhitarists in the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Ministry, the works of the researchers who were the members of the Mekhitarist Unity and others sources related to the period were examined