Mekertich Portukalian (; October 21, 1848 – October 1921) was an

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n teacher and journalist who founded the first Armenian political party, the

Armenakan Party The Armenakan Party (in Armenian Արմենական Կուսակցութիւն) was an Armenian political party established in Van, Ottoman Empire in 1885 by Mekertich Portukalian as an underground organization against the ruling system. It i ...

, in

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

in 1885. The son of a banker 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 ...

, Portukalian became a teacher and initially taught at

Tokat Tokat is a city of Turkey in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia. It is the seat of Tokat Province and Tokat District.

. in 1873 Portukalian was arrested by the Ottoman authorities and the school he directed in Tokat was closed. He was released the same year and became the editor of the journal ''Asia'' in Constantinople. After a trip to Western

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, he opened a school in Van in 1878. The school soon fell apart due to conflict among its members, and closed before the end of the year. During and immediately after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, he traveled to various cities in Russian and

Ottoman Armenia Armenians were a significant minority in the Ottoman Empire. They belonged to either the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, or the Armenian Protestant Church, each church serving as the basis of a millet. They played a ...

, calling on Armenians to take up armed struggle. After the war, he participated in the creation of the Black Cross revolutionary society in Van. Portukalian opened another school in Van in 1881. In 1885, he and his disciples founded the Armenakan Party, the first modern Armenian political party, which declared its goal to be the establishment of an independent Armenia by means of armed rebellion. In 1885, Portukalian's school in Van was closed by the Ottoman authorities, after which he was exiled and settled in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. In Marseille, Portukalian maintained his ties with the leaders of the party and began the publication of the first pro-revolutionary Armenian newspaper, ''Armenia''. Portukalian died in Marseille in 1921.

References

External links

*
Profile on the site of Armenakan party
(in Armenian) Armenian nationalists Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Political people from the Ottoman Empire Armenian Democratic Liberal Party politicians 1921 deaths Politicians from the Ottoman Empire 1848 births {{Ottoman-bio-stub Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to France

See also

References

External links