What were the political and economic weaknesses of the Otoman empire in the 19th century?

Sultan Ahmed I was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire from
1603-1617. He was concerned about the constant warfare and civil unrest that occurred
when a sultan died. The sons of the sultan would quarrel and inevitably, warfare would
ensue.

Ahmed's curious solution to this problem was that he
would no longer allow sons to become active in government. They were essentially
prisoners in the palace until it was their time to govern. In this spirit, the future
sultans would only learn to enjoy the extravagances of palace life and not learn the
skills needed to run a massive empire. This policy would consistently produce completely
incompetent rulers that could not possibly govern such a large empire. It also meant
that the sultans would no longer lead their armies in battle, which produced an elite
class of military men within the empire.

The lack of strong
central leadership led to corruption and bribery in the government that further weakened
the political system. The rise of an incompetent central government led to regional or
local governments gaining more autonomy and authority. Different regions of the empire
did not trust the sultan to protect their interests so they started to exert their own
authority. This resulted in a stark decline in tax revenue to Istanbul. With less
revenue, the government became more inept, and the military suffered as a result. This
all happened over the course of two centuries and coincided with the rise of the
European empires of England, France, Russia, and Austria.