Կովկասի Հայոց Բարեգործական ընկերության մասնաճյուղերից ստացված զեկուցագրերը

Abstract

In the second half of XIX century the Ottoman Empire continued implementing a strict policy at the state level against Christian nations who were under its rule, especially against Western Armenians. The violence against Armenians was most clearly manifested during the reign of Abdul Hamid II (1876-1908), the organizer of the first phase of the Armenian Genocide, when about 300,000 Armenians living in the territories of Western Armenia were slaughtered. Armenians who survived after these massacres migrated to different countries. Various charitable, public and religious organizations and companies, both Armenian and foreign, assisted the refugees. One such organization was the Caucasian Armenian Benevolent Society (CABS) established in 1881. In order to better organize the assistance the Council of CABS decided to set up committees in each of its branch, whose members were supposed to learn about the situation of refugees and collect detailed data on their number, social status and the required assistance. Based on these data CABS provided assistance to the refugees to the extent possible. The published documents indicated the number of refugees from Western Armenia, their social status and the assistance they had received.