Pro-Ottoman French journalist: Who is Alexandre Blacque?

(1797-1837) French journalist. He defended the rights of the Ottomans against Europe in the newspapers he published in Izmir and Istanbul. Born in Paris, died in Malta. Since his father, who was a lawyer, defended King Louis XVI during the French Revolution in 1789, he could not take shelter in France and took refuge in the Ottoman Empire and settled in Izmir.

Alexandre Blacque, known as Blak Bey among the Ottomans, had also studied law. He gained the trust of the French merchants in Izmir because he protected their interests, and in 1821 he wrote articles for the Le Spectateur Oriental newspaper published by the French named Roux in Izmir.

In this newspaper, which he bought after a while, he criticized the Greeks, who took large-scale actions in the Aegean islands for independence, and France, England, and Russia, who supported them. In October 1827, his newspaper was closed for a month due to these criticisms. In December 1827, when these three states cut off their relations with the Ottoman Empire and their ambassadors left the country, the Dutch consul, who was tasked with protecting French interests in Izmir, seized the printing house.

Blak Bei (Bey) began publishing the weekly Courrier de Smyrne newspaper in January 1828. In this newspaper, he defended the Ottomans and harshly attacked the Greeks and Russians. In August 1830, as a result of the continuous applications made by the Russians to the Ottoman Empire, an investigation was opened against the newspaper. The French embassy threatened Blak Bey to have his newspaper shut down. Mahmud II, who was watching the situation closely, intervened and summoned Blak Bey to Istanbul to publish an official newspaper on behalf of the Ottoman Empire (1831). Thereupon, Blak Bey moved his printing house to Istanbul and started publishing the semi-official Le Moniteur Ottoman newspaper.

This newspaper, which aimed to explain the political situation of the Ottoman Empire to foreigners, reflected the political views of the Ottoman administration as well as the French translations of the articles in the official Calendar-i Vekayi. While Blak Bey was rewarded by Mahmud II for his usefulness, he was also the target of the reactions of the European states.

Blak Bei, who fell ill while continuing his duty at Le Moniteur Ottoman, died in Malta on his way to France for treatment. The true cause of his death has not been clarified.

After his death, the education of his son Edouard Blacque (1825-1895) was undertaken by the Ottoman State, and Edouard Blacque became the US ambassador of the Ottoman State.