The Kum Kapu demonstration occurred in the Kumkapı district of Constantinople on July 27, 1890. It ensued in skirmishing in which several demonstrators and four police officers were killed. The intent of the demonstration was "..to awaken the maltreated Armenians and to make the Sublime Porte fully aware of the miseries of the Armenians."

Background

Towards the close of the nineteenth century, Armenian revolutionary societies began to agitate for reform and renewed European attention to the Armenian Question. The Hnchak party in particular utilized the tactic of

mass demonstration A political demonstration is an action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause or people partaking in a protest against a cause of concern; it often consists of walking in a mass march format ...

to hasten the process. They had been suspected to be behind an earlier June 1890 protest in Erzerum that resulted in a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

July 27, 1890

On 27 July 1890, Harutiun Jangülian,

Mihran Damadian Mihran Damadian ( hy, Միհրան Տամատեան; 1863 – 1945) was an Armenian freedom fighter, political activist, writer and teacher. He was educated in the Armenian Catholic Moorat-Raphaelian School at Venice, Italy. He then became a te ...

and Hambartsum Boyajian interrupted the Divine Liturgy at the Armenian Cathedral in Constantinople to read a

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

and denounce the indifference of the Armenian patriarch and Armenian National Assembly. They soon forced the patriarch to join a procession heading to Yıldız Palace to demand implementation of Article 61 of the

1878 Treaty of Berlin The Treaty of Berlin (formally the Treaty between Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire for the Settlement of Affairs in the East) was signed on 13 July 1878. In the aftermath of the ...

. Even as the procession was gathering, police surrounded the crowd, and shots were fired that resulted in a number of deaths, including four policemen and three protestors.

Result

The Hunchaks concluded that the demonstrations at Kum Kapu were unsuccessful. At the same time, while there was no clear result from the event, the Hunchak press praised the courage shown by those present. Similar demonstrations on a lesser scale followed throughout most of the 1890s.Hovhanissian, Richard G. (1997) ''The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times.'' New York. St. Martin's Press, 218-9

Notes

{{Armenian Resistance 1890 protests Rebellions in the Ottoman Empire 19th century in Armenia Conflicts in 1890 1890 in the Ottoman Empire Armenian rebellions in the Ottoman Empire Rebellions in Turkey Riots and civil disorder in the Ottoman Empire July 1890 events 19th century in Istanbul Demonstrations