Since the beginning of British contact with the Middle East in the sixteenth century, the people and countries they have interacted with have been treated as “Others” different from the British. As their relationship changed, especially with the rise of imperialism, new ideas of the “Other” were influenced by the lure of power for their empire as well as curiosity to learn more about the Middle East. From the introductory letters between Sultan Murad III and Queen Elizabeth I, power has been at the forefront of the relationship between Britain and the Middle East. In his initial letter to her, Murad addresses it as a command, like one would give to a subject, and promised that he would trade with her if she would become his vassal. In her response, Elizabeth, in the words of The Sultan and the Queen’s author Jerry Brotton, “boasts of her own imperial aspirations.” This idea of a cautious relationship on both sides continues through to the 19th century. …show more content…
This “curiosity for all things from the Orient” also manifested itself in transculturation, where “many” Britons transformed themselves into Muslims. This speaks to the level of interest in the way of the Ottomans, that some went so far as to change everything in their lives. Nabil Matar notes that “members of the lower classes who adopted Islam … saw no religious or cultural divide between them and the Other that they could not easily and willingly cross.” There is no better example of Britain’s curiosity about Islam and the Middle East than this - people that changed themselves to be an “Other” in their own land, and this curiosity would continue over time as