Youssef Bey Karam (Arabic: يوسف بك كرم, romanized: Yūsuf Bik Karam; 15 May 1823 – 7 April 1889) was a Lebanese Maronite notable for fighting in the 1860 civil conflict and leading a rebellion in 1866–1867 against Ottoman rule in Mount Lebanon. His proclamations have been interpreted as an early expression of Lebanese nationalism.
Youssef Karam was born on 15 May 1823, to Sheikh Boutros Karam, and Mariam (daughter of Sheikh Antonios Abi Khattar Al Ayntourini) in Ehden, Lebanon. Raised in a family of six children: Catherine, Teresa, Rose, Eva, Mikhail and Youssef. His mother was strong, virtuous, possessed a strong personality; and had a strong influence on her son.
Youssef was a smart boy, with green eyes and fair complexion. He loved his hometown Ehden, with its majestic mountains and thick forests. He was French educated and at the age of 7, he was well versed in Arabic, French, Italian and Syriac languages. He trained in unarmed combat, horse riding, shooting and fencing. His education in French helped him establish strong links with the west, especially France. Youssef has a special appreciation of Arabic, which was exemplified in many poetic writings.
His father also decided to teach him the equestrian art. Sheikh Imad El Hachem from Aqoura, Byblos taught him swordsmanship and shooting. According to his teachers, Karam was excellent at horsemanship, equestrian art and fighting with nude sticks of palm. He fought Youssef Agha Chantiri at Prince Bachir Square in Bekfaya, the prince Ali Mansour Abillamah and Hanna Bey Abi Saab at the Prince Square in Broumana, and snatched victory from the three.
In 1840, Youssef aged 17 years, fought alongside his father and elder brother against the Egyptian armies then occupying Lebanon in the battles of Houna and Bazoun. Youssef showed remarkable skill as a warrior and leader, and his reputation and influence in the area steadily grew; so much so that in 1846, when his father died, Youssef succeeded him as ruler instead of his elder brother. Youssef ruled with fairness, and his credibility and influence as a soldier and politician continued to grow.
Youssef Karam became the acknowledged leader of the district, and in time one of the most powerful personalities in Lebanese Politics. And although politically and militarily very powerful, he remained ever loyal to his faith and to the Church. Karam's loyalty to the Church and to Bkerke, the seat of the Maronite Patriarch, never wavered, and this loyalty was to have far reaching implications in future years.
In 1858, when Tanyus Shahin and the farmers of the predominantly Maronite Keserwan District staged an uprising against their Maronite Sheikhs and landlords, the Khazen family, the Maronite Patriarch, conscious of Karam's influence and his loyalty to the Church, appealed to Karam to save the Sheikhs and restore peace to the area. Together, they negotiated a settlement to the conflict, but the class division in feudal Kesrawan remained.
Future conflicts however, were not to be so peacefully settled. During that period, when the Ottomans ruled Lebanon, there existed a certain amount of distrust between the Druze and Maronite Communities. The Druze felt threatened by the growing presence of the Christians Maronites in their traditional area of Mount Lebanon. The suspicion and distrust between the two Communities was allowed to be fueled by petty and personal conflicts until September 1859 when finally open conflict broke out between the Druze and Maronite Communities at Beit Mery, a town of different religious denominations. Karam reacted by calling a meeting of Community leaders at the village of Baan, and concluded an agreement with the Muslim ruler of Tripoli, Abed El Hamid Karami, to keep North Lebanon free from any religious conflict.
In May 1860, however, conflict again broke out between the two Communities, and a number of Maronite Monks and villagers were massacred. This time Karam reacted by raising an army of 500 men to protect the Maronites in the Mount Lebanon area. On 2 June 1860, Karam and his men marched to Bkerke and offered to the Maronite Patriarch their protection of Maronites.
In Karam's mind however, there was no doubt that the conflict between the Druze and the Maronites was being nurtured by Khorshid Pasha, the Ottoman Governor. Khourshid's culpability in the massacres is debated, as he had previously urged the British to stop arming Druze groups and the French to stop arming the Maronites. Khorshid Pasha saw Karam's calls for Lebanese self-rule as a threat to Turkish interests in Lebanon and the area, and convinced the European Ambassadors that Turkish presence in Lebanon was essential to maintain peace between warring factions in Lebanon. The French Ambassador to Lebanon convinced Karam to halt his march at Bikfaya, near Keserwan, in return for guarantees of safety for all Christians offered by Khorshid.
Several days later however, Christian villages were attacked by Druzes from Mount Lebanon and the Hawran. Karam and his men retaliated against Druze and Turkish forces, and succeeded in saving the majority of Christian towns and villages in the Keserwan area. Christian presence in the area was therefore established. Eventually, French ships reached the port of Beirut with supplies and the Turkish sea blockade ended. Peace was then restored whilst a new constitution was drafted to provide how Lebanon was to be governed. In the interim, two provisional Governors were appointed to rule Lebanon, one to rule Christians and the other to rule the Druze and Muslims. Karam was appointed the Christian Kaymakamate (Kaymakam) on 17 November 1860 until the 1861 agreement of the Reglement Organique, which would establish a single governor for the whole mountain. Again, Karam ruled with distinction, restoring law and order, re-organising public institutions and conducting an honest government. French occupied Beirut and parts of Mount Lebanon until mid-1861. As Kaymakam, Karam tendered his resignation a number of times in protest against what the new institutional system devised the Organic Law in 1861 and 1864.
The new statute created a substantial autonomy for Mount Lebanon within the Ottoman Empire. Executive powers were vested in an Ottoman governor of Catholic religion, nominated by the Sublime Porte and the representatives of European powers.
Opposing the new internationally sanctioned status quo, and angered at the idea that the new governor would not be a native, Karam refused to stick to the Organic Law, insisting for complete home rule for Mount Lebanon. The first governor Daud Pasha then issued an order exiling Karam to Turkey, where he remained until 1864.
After he was allowed to return to his hometown, Karam championed the end of the mutasarrifiya (autonomous province) system, the abolition of levies, and the redeployment of Ottoman troops out of Mount Lebanon.
Many battles followed, one of the earliest being at Maameltein, Jounieh on 6 January 1866. There Karam was attending Mass at St. Doumit Church when regular Ottoman troops attacked his men stationed outside the Church. A fierce battle followed, and Karam, aided by neighbouring villagers, defeated the Ottoman troops. Karam immediately wrote to Istanbul and European Governments detailing the causes of conflict, and claiming his people's right to defend themselves.
Daud Pasha however, was determined to rid himself of Karam and deal a fatal blow to the Lebanese nationalist movement. Subsequently, Karam settled down in the village of Bnachii with his 800 armed fighters. On January 21, the commander Amine Pasha entered Zgharta leading 3800 soldiers affiliated to the regime, 300 from Dragoon and 200 from Cossacks. The Medical Commander joined Amine Pasha along with 800 Lebanese soldiers and armies from Tripoli, which follow the regime. Amine Pasha, his officers and his chiefs of staff took off the doors of Youssef Bey Karam's house and resided there. On January 25, Amine Pasha left Zgharta with his soldiers, after having burnt many of its houses. The following day, Amine Pasha called Karam to meet him in Saint Jacob in Karmsaddeh. Karam accepted and was there in the morning of the 27th of the month. He showed his submission and put his sword between the hands of Amine Pasha as a sign of respect for the Turkish authority. The commander understood then, that Karam was not revolting against the government. Nevertheless, this meeting did not come to a happy end, since Daoud Pasha refused all the settlements between him and Karam.