Sir Edwin Pears (18 March 1835 – 27 November 1919) was a British barrister, author and historian. He lived in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(now

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) for about forty years and he is known for his 1911 book ''Turkey and its People''.

Early life

Pears was born on 18 March 1835 in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was educated privately and at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

where he took first-class honours in Roman law and jurisprudence. Pears was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1870. He was also private secretary to

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and Clergy, churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early ...

, then

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

, and later

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

. Pears was also secretary to various associations connected with social work in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Constantinople

Pears settled in

in 1873. He practised in the

consular court Consular courts were law courts established by foreign powers in countries where they had extraterritorial rights. They were presided over by consular officers. Extraterritoriality Western powers when establishing diplomatic relations with coun ...

s and became president of the European bar there. He rose to become one of the leaders of the British colony in Constantinople. Pears travelled much through Turkish dominions, and studied Turkish history from both the Turkish and foreign perspectives. In this way, Pears acquired an intimate knowledge of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. In 1876, as correspondent of '' The Daily News'', he sent letters home describing Ottoman atrocities and the

April Uprising The April Uprising () was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The rebellion was suppressed by irregular Ottoman bashi-bazouk units that engaged in indiscriminate slaughter of both rebels ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. The letters aroused popular demonstrations in England led by

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

. At the time, the reports of these atrocities were generally disbelieved and Pears' letters placed all the incontrovertible facts before the English people. In 1909, Pears was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, returning to London to receive the honour in person on 22 July 1909. In 1911, Pears wrote the book ''Turkey and its People''. It is regarded as his most distinguished book. In that book, he displayed his expert knowledge of Byzantine Constantinople. The book contains original material on the nationalities of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The book was an attempt to interpret Turkey to the western people. In 1916, Pears wrote ''Forty Years in Constantinople''. This book is regarded as essential reading for the study of the Ottoman constitutional revolution of 1908.

Death

Pears died on 27 November 1919 in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

from an accident on his journey home from Constantinople. Sir Edwin Pears and Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton

Awards and decorations

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

(1909) * Commander of the Order of Merit of Bulgaria * Knight of the Order of the Saviour of Greece

Books

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Articles

Notes

References

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pears, Edwin 1835 births 1919 deaths Alumni of the University of London British historians