In his book on the history of Ottoman Lebanon, Engin Akarli argues that prelates such as Bostani and Archbishop Dibs of Beirut purposefully rallied the Maronites against the Ottoman government following the Ottoman state's defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. Unfortunately for Bostani, the French ambassador in Constantinople and the British consul in Beirut, including the Apostolic Delegate Luigi Piavi, all sided with Rustem Pasha against him. French pressures at home would ultimately push the French government in reinstating Bostani.
