Training of Mechanics and Seamen Apprentices in the Ottoman Navy in Early 20th Century

Ottoman authorities became aware about the deficiencies of the Ottoman navy in the18th century. From then on, work was undertaken to modernize the navy in order to enable the Ottoman State to compete with Western powers in the seas. Experts were recruited to modernize the shipyards; new ships were constructed and purchased from Western countries. Efforts to modernize the Ottoman navy were not devoid of difficulties. The most important problem was the lack of personnel endowed with technical knowledge to build and use the modern ships. It was decided that mechanics and sailors should be trained in schools before being employed in the ships and shipyards. Thus, the School for Mechanics Apprentices (Makineci ？？rak Okulu) and the School for Seamen Apprentices (Gemici ？？rak Okulu) opened in 1914 and 1915 respectively. According to the regulations and ordinances of these naval vocational schools, the students would be trained both in the classroom and on board of ships. The present article aims to study the training of the mechanics apprentices and the seamen apprentices in the early 20th century Turkey