Which country was the original sick man of Europe?

On the 12th of May, 1860 the New York Times published an article where the phrase "Sick man of Europe" appeared for the first time. The source of the original idiom is hard to determine: Nicolas I of Russia called Turkey "a sick man - a very sick man" in his speech during the Crimean War, as quoted by John Russel. Anyway, the New York Times the full phrase which later became a cliche to describe a European country having a distress in economy.

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30 Comments

Richard G. Gomsrud

Turkey didn't exist until after World War I. It was a part of the Ottoman Empire to which that epithet was applied. That was almost 70 years before Turkey came into existence. Also the Ottoman Empire encompassed far more than Turkey.

Alec Boreham

In the 70's Britain was dubbed "The sick man of Europe"

S Dale Baugh

Correct or remove this question.

Al Breyette

The correct answer is the Ottoman Empire. Turkey did not even exist when this term was applied. For Turkey to be the correct answer the question should ask what modern country was called this and even this would have be reaching as the Ottoman empire included more than Turkey.Typical Frank question.

Chris Braid

The Ottoman empire not Turkey!

Deborah Gabriel

I've never heard that term before.

Cheryl Perkins

Still is.

John Cogar

Britain is the latest country to be given the dubious title of ‘the sick man of Europe’. In the mid-1800s, the Ottoman Empire was the first to be called ‘the sick man of Europe’. The term is believed to originate from Russian tsar Nicholas I, who referred to the weakening military prowess of the Ottomans.

Joseph A. Robitaille

A guess.

skullfire

This question should be corrected or removed.

David Roy

No Giselle, there was only one ORIGINAL country so called. The application of the epithet to other countries is later and by definition not original. By the way, you may want to look up the meaning of esoteric.