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| 1878 |
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| The Commission for Refugees was established to deal with the influx of Muslim immigrants. An estimated 1.5 million Muslims from the Balkans settled in Anatolia after 1876. Some 500,000 Circassians from the Caucasus also entered the empire between 1881 and 1914, and the crisis in Crete in 1897 sent thousands of Muslims fleeing to western Anatolia. The various immigrant groups contributed to the economic development of Anatolia while adding ethnic and linguistic diversity that slowed down their assimilation. | 1 |
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| 1880 |
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| Organization of the Ottoman Ministry of Police, a central part of Abdulhamid's apparatus of control. The ministry, which was headed by trusted confidants of the sultan, handled not only crime but also the supervision of society (including the monitoring of the press, theater, and travel). A separate secret police organization operated from the palace under the direct control of Abdulhamid. Its army of spies and informants reported on the activities of officials and citizens, many of whom suffered punishment. A system of censorship sought to control information and news. Criticism of the sultan was forbidden as well as the use of suggestive words, such as liberty, constitution, and assassination. The enforcement of the censorship was often more heavy-handed than efficient. | 2 |
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| 1881–93 |
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| The first comprehensive Ottoman population census included a count of women. It arrived at a total of 17.4 million inhabitants (allowing for gaps, the actual figure was probably about 20 million). | 3 |
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| 1881, April–May |
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| The French occupation of Tunisia. The Ottoman government issued protests to the European powers over the violation of Ottoman integrity. | 4 |
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| July |
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| Thessaly and parts of Epirus were ceded by the Ottoman Empire to Greece. | 5 |
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