Armenian Revolutionary Movement: The Development of Armenian Political Parties Through the Nineteenth Century

by Louise Nalbandian A comprehensive work dealing with the 19th century Armenian revolutionary movement and the subsequent rise of Armenian political parties. It covers in detail the history of the Armenian revolutionist’s armed struggle against the government of the Ottoman Turks beginning with the first major uprising in 1862 and extending to the culmination of the Turkish Armenian massacres of 1896. Incredibly daring yet loosely organized and sporadic uprisings directed by small secret societies characterized the early stage of Armenian political consciousness. But in 1885 the first Armenian political party, the Armenakan, was founded in Turkish Armenia, signaling the beginning of political maturity. Thereafter the leadership of the Armenian revolutionary forces passed into the hands of organized political parties; the Armenakan, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, and the Hunchakian Revolutionary Party. These same parties, with some changes, continue to remain active to this very day. The author analyzes the actions of the revolutionists within the framework of the political and intellectual history of the Armenians.