Sir Edwin Pears (18 March 1835 – 27 November 1919) was a British barrister, author and historian. He lived in
Constantinople (now
Istanbul) for about forty years and he is known for his 1911 book Turkey and its People.[1][2]
Early life
Pears was born on 18 March 1835 in
York,
England. He was educated privately and at the
University of London where he took first-class honours in Roman law and jurisprudence.[3]
Pears settled in
Constantinople in 1873. He practised in the
consular courts[4] and became president of the European bar there. He rose to become one of the leaders of the British colony in Constantinople.[5]
Pears travelled much through Turkish dominions, and studied Turkish history from both the Turkish and foreign perspectives.[6]
In this way, Pears acquired an intimate knowledge of
Turkey. In 1876, as correspondent of The Daily News, he sent letters home describing Ottoman atrocities and the
April Uprising in
Bulgaria.[7][8][9] The letters aroused popular demonstrations in England led by
William Ewart Gladstone.[6][10][11] At the time, the reports of these atrocities were generally disbelieved and Pears' letters placed all the incontrovertible facts before the English people.[12][13][14]
In 1909, Pears was
knighted, returning to London to receive the honour in person on 22 July 1909.[15]
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.[5] The book was an attempt to interpret Turkey to the western people.[6]
In 1916, Pears wrote Forty Years in Constantinople.[16] This book is regarded as essential reading for the study of the Ottoman constitutional revolution of 1908.[5]
Death
Pears died on 27 November 1919 in
Malta from an accident on his journey home from Constantinople.
^Страшимиров, Димитър Т. (1907).
История на априлското въстание. Vol. III (1 ed.). Пловдив: Издание и собственост на Пловдивската Окръжна Постоянна Комисия. p. 360. Retrieved 23 June 2016 – via Internet Archive.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "
Pears, Sir Edwin". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 32 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 47.