Ask AI: 19th century in the history of Armenia

The 19th century in the history of Armenia covers the period from 1800 to 1899. Plague in Western Armenia The Russian Empire The 19th century definitively marked the end of traditional Armenian autonomy, with the centralization of power in the hands of the big powers of the century: the Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire and Persia. The Russian Empire had started to expand in the Caucasus region in the second half of the 18th century, notably by the annexation of the Eastern Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti in 1801. After the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) and Treaty of Gulistan, the entire region of Transcaucasia, including Eastern Armenia, was divided between Russia and Persia, with the Treaties of Turkmenchay (1828) and Adrianople (1829) finally consolidating Russia's control of the region. The Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1801 and Erekle II, the last king of Kartli-Kakheti was forced to sign the Treaty of Georgievsk by which Georgia's autonomy was abolished and it became an protectorate of the Russian Empire. Deportation and massacres of Armenians The Fate of the Armenians In the 19th century, the Armenian Question was the issue of the day as both the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire tried to gain more control over the Armenian people scattered in the Middle East. In 1862, the British Foreign Secretary Palmerston declared: "No government has ever done such terrible things against its own people..." The massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I are usually considered to be the first modern act of genocide. However, there had been earlier acts of genocide against the Armenians that were carried out by the Ottomans, most notably the Hamidian Massacres of the 1890s. Russian Armenia Russian Armenia in the 19th century In 1828, the Treaty of Turkmenchay officially ended the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813). As a result of this treaty, the southwestern part of Armenia, which was under the Persian rule, was ceded to the Russian Empire and it became known as Russian Armenia. Russian Armenia was made up of the provinces of Erzurum, Van, and Yerevan. In 1878, these