The
Edict of Toleration took place during the process referred to as the
Eastern Question in relations between European powers, Britain in particular, and the
Ottoman Empire in its development at a time referred to as
Tanzimat internally which included other initiatives like ending the
Ottoman slave trade a few years later but overall as part of the
Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire – a process that continued into the 1920s. It was largely a result of pressure from the British government on the
Sublime Porte of the Ottomans, urging to stop the persecutions of the Christians, and eventually had an effect on the persecutions of Jews. It is one of the
edicts of toleration of history.