A History Of The Levant Company Pdf

The International History Review, 41/5 (2019), p. 981-1002. DOI: 10.1080/07075332.2018.1482940 This article explores the multiple circles of diplomatic agents and their social belonging in the context of the international crisis in... more

The International History Review, 41/5 (2019), p. 981-1002.
DOI: 10.1080/07075332.2018.1482940
This article explores the multiple circles of diplomatic agents and their social belonging in the context of the international crisis in late eighteenth-century Istanbul, drawing upon the private papers of the imperial internuncio at Pera between 1779 and 1802. The son of an Irish Jacobite supporter who became a Jesuit and then a radical reformer in Vienna, Peter Herbert von Rathkeal was also a member of the Pera society in which he was born and raised. An agent of one of the most influential trans-imperial households established in Friuli, and a member of the Austrian and British nobilities, Herbert sought to become an eminent actor of the Ottoman diplomatic scene while remaining the patron of a cosmopolitan commercial-cum-political clientele. To study Herbert’s actions is to question the model of diplomatie de type ancien in a cross-cultural and fast-changing context of crisis. Despite the collapse of the old diplomatic order with the breakdown of the French Revolution, and despite rising tensions generated by the increasingly sensitive
‘Eastern Question’, this article reveals how Herbert von Rathkeal managed to maintain a certain stability in Istanbul due to the economic and social resources, which his different circles of belonging opened up for him.

Uluslararası X. Türk Deniz Ticareti Tarihi Sempozyumu, 12-13 April 2018
Girne Üniversitesi, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti

Osmanlı Devleti ile ticari ve diplomatik ilişkiler yürüten Avrupa devletleri, öncelikle Osmanlı Devleti’nden ahidname veya kapitülasyon almak zorundaydılar. Ahidname alan devletlerin tüccarları, Osmanlı limanlarında ve şehirlerinde... more

Osmanlı Devleti ile ticari ve diplomatik ilişkiler yürüten Avrupa devletleri, öncelikle Osmanlı Devleti’nden ahidname veya kapitülasyon almak zorundaydılar. Ahidname alan devletlerin tüccarları, Osmanlı limanlarında ve şehirlerinde ticaretlerini yapabilirlerdi. Devletleri ise tüccarlarının sorunlarıyla ilgilenmek, ticareti geliştirmek ve diplomatik ilişkileri yürütebilmek amacıyla İstanbul’da elçi bulundurur, gerekli gördükleri yerlere aynı amaçlarla konsolos atarlardı. Atanan bu konsoloslar, kendilerine yardımcı olması için yanlarında belli sayıda tercüman bulundururlardı. Bu tür diplomatik temsilcilerin kayıtları, Osmanlı yöneticileri tarafından titizlikle takip edilir ve ilgili devlet için ayrılan bir deftere kaydedilirdi. Bu defterler, Osmanlı Arşivi’nde Düvel-i Ecnebiye Defterleri denilen bir seriyi oluşturmaktadır.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi’nde İngiltere ile ilgili kayıtların bulunduğu
çeşitli Ecnebi Defterleri bulunmaktadır. Ancak bu defterlerin
tamamı Düvel-i Ecnebiye fonunda değildir. Dolayısıyla bu durum, ilgili
defterlerin araştırıcılar tarafından ulaşılırlığını ve kullanılabilirliğini
sınırlandırmaktadır.
Çalışmamızda XVIII. yüzyılda İngiltere ile ilgili diplomatik ve ticari kayıtların yer aldığı defterler ortaya konularak, bunların içerikleri ve kapsamları incelenecektir. Söz konusu defterlerde yer alan kayıtların diplomasi ve ticaret tarihinin yanı sıra başka hangi tür çalışmalara kaynaklık edebileceği üzerinde durulacaktır. Bunun yanı sıra Düvel-i Ecnebiye Defterlerinin hangi yönlerden temkinli kullanılması gerektiği tartışılacaktır. Bu bildiriyle, ilgili defter serileri hakkında detaylı bilgiler ortaya konularak arşiv çalışmalarına katkı yapılması hedeflenmektedir.

In British shipping in the Mediterranean Katerina Galani investigates the impact of the French and Napoleonic wars on British maritime economic activity. Due to the close cooperation of the public and private sector at sea, the British... more

In British shipping in the Mediterranean Katerina Galani investigates the impact of the French and Napoleonic wars on British maritime economic activity. Due to the close cooperation of the public and private sector at sea, the British adopted flexible business strategies to mitigate economic warfare and sustain shipping and trade in the Mediterranean.
The book offers a comprehensive approach by combining the study of international relations, ports, ships, business organisation, deep-sea voyages and intra-Mediterranean navigation. Katerina Galani conceptualises the Mediterranean as an economic entity and she insightfully examines, for the first time, free traders along with the chartered Levant Company. Her analysis draws upon a unique collection of British and Mediterranean sources to construct a multifaceted view of British maritime activity.

A lucrative, dangerous business: il consolato inglese ad Algeri, Tunisi e Tripoli nella seconda metà del XVII secolo. I conflitti pressoché ininterrotti che caratterizzarono i rapporti tra l’Inghilterra e gli Stati Barbareschi durante... more

A lucrative, dangerous business: il consolato inglese ad Algeri, Tunisi e Tripoli nella seconda metà del XVII secolo.
I conflitti pressoché ininterrotti che caratterizzarono i rapporti tra l’Inghilterra e gli Stati Barbareschi durante la seconda metà del Seicento hanno talvolta offuscato la figura consolare come promotrice e coordinatrice del commercio britannico - e non solo - con il Nordafrica. La preminenza della guerra di corsa come tratto fondamentale dell’economia barbaresca, nonché fattore determinante dei rapporti diplomatici con le potenze europee, ha infatti relegato lo studio dell’attività del console alla sfera politica e giurisdizionale. In realtà i consoli inglesi funsero, in questo periodo fondamentale per la penetrazione britannica nel Mediterraneo, da insostituibili mediatori commerciali per alcuni importanti gruppi mercantili, come i commercianti di grano londinesi e la ricca comunità ebraica di Livorno. Spesso la loro nomina dipendeva proprio dalla conoscenza che essi potevano vantare delle dinamiche economiche locali, e dalla capacità di raccogliere e trasmettere informazioni in merito con efficienza, al fine di salvaguardare gli interessi delle comunità mercantili che su di loro facevano affidamento. L’intercessione del console nell’agevolazione del traffico marittimo si rese, nel caso nordafricano, ancora più necessaria - e, talvolta, remunerativa - che altrove nel Mediterraneo, a fronte dell’instabilità nella politica interna ed estera endemica degli Stati Barbareschi. Questa essenziale funzione, grazie alla sua grande rilevanza, ha lasciato numerose tracce nella corrispondenza diplomatica, utili a ricostruire questo aspetto poco esplorato del consolato nordafricano britannico.

The British Embassy in Istanbul was unique among other diplomatic missions in the long eighteenth century in being financed by a private commercial monopoly, the Levant Company. In this detailed study, Michael Talbot shows how the... more

The British Embassy in Istanbul was unique among other diplomatic missions in the long eighteenth century in being financed by a private commercial monopoly, the Levant Company. In this detailed study, Michael Talbot shows how the intimate relation between commercial interest and diplomatic practice played out across the period, from the arrival of an ambassador from the restored British crown in 1661 to the sudden evacuation of his successor and the outbreak of the first British-Ottoman War in 1807. Using a rich variety of sources in English, Ottoman Turkish and Italian, some of them never before examined, including legal documents, financial ledgers and first-hand accounts from participants, he reconstructs the detail of diplomatic practice in rituals of gift-giving and hospitality within the Ottoman court; examines the at times very different meanings that they held for the British and Ottoman participants; and traces the ways in which the declining fortunes of the Levant Company directly affected the ability of the embassy to perform effectively within Ottoman conventions, at a time when rising levels of British violence in and around the Ottoman realm marked the journey towards British imperialism in the region.

Bernard Randolph was one of the earliest English travelers to Greece, which he visited late in the 17th century. However, unlike other travelers of his time, he was interested more on his contemporary Greece than the country's ancient... more

Bernard Randolph was one of the earliest English travelers to Greece, which he visited late in the 17th century. However, unlike other travelers of his time, he was interested more on his contemporary Greece than the country's ancient past. His impressions have been recorded in two books which constitute significant historical sources (as in the case of Athens) but fail to shed sufficient light on his otherwise little known life (published in Greek in the monthly journal Ιστορία Εικονογραφημένη / History Illustrated, issue no. 581, November2016).

A term referring to various foreign coins, especially real de a ocho and maria theresa thaler, in Ottoman market.

Τhe Cretan War (1645-1669), between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire, has been more than a famous chapter of war history; it was an inspiration and a challenge for Western Europe. Trapped between their own old wars and the... more

Τhe Cretan War (1645-1669), between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire, has been more than a famous chapter of war history; it was an inspiration and a challenge for Western Europe. Trapped between their own old wars and the new commercial priorities, Catholics and Protestants alike, had to decide anew how to handle Islam; as crusaders or as merchants. This book describes the incredible complication of the triangular relationship between London, Venice and Constantinople during a most critical period of English history. The Serenissima was dragged in the politics of the English Civil War in an ill-destined venture to play
puritan piety against the spirit of capitalism; a fascinating story which is followed scene by scene. In the 1660s the Christian zeal of the restored English monarch and the sympathy of the public for the Venetian cause were outweighed by the need to give priority to mercantile interests that required good relations with the Ottomans.
It was a bad end of a desperate, almost romantic, story; but was it an unpredictable one?

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There is only very limited evidence for the life of the sixteenth century English renegade and eunuch slave, Hassan Agha, whose birth name was Samson Rowlie. Until now, he has been known from a single letter written in 1586, supplemented... more

There is only very limited evidence for the life of the sixteenth century English renegade and eunuch slave, Hassan Agha, whose birth name was Samson Rowlie. Until now, he has been known from a single letter written in 1586, supplemented by a striking watercolour portrait from 1588. However, new research on early English diplomatic relations with the Ottomans has uncovered further evidence of Hassan Agha's later life and continued contacts with his fellow Englishmen. This previously unstudied evidence includes a report of Hassan Agha's premature death in sinister circumstances, presumed murdered. This paper will present these original research findings in the context of England's early diplomatic and commercial relations with the Ottoman Levant. Particular attention will be paid to the position of eunuch slaves within Ottoman government and society, as well as questions of personal identity and loyalty amongst renegade ministers and officials. This will address the proposed conference topics of 'consular, diplomatic and commercial interactions' and 'individual or family histories that reveal aspects of the Levantine world'.

In 1954 M. S. Anderson, considering the impediments prohibiting a successful British mediation between Catherine II and Mustafa III, judged that Ambassador John Murray and Whitehall were carried away because they could not see the complex... more

In 1954 M. S. Anderson, considering the impediments prohibiting a
successful British mediation between Catherine II and Mustafa III,
judged that Ambassador John Murray and Whitehall were carried
away because they could not see the complex picture of Eastern
diplomacy. In this paper, it will be argued that the Ambassador’s
miscalculated optimism and the hastiness of London were due to a
neglected factor: the imprisonment of the Russian Resident at
Constantinople, Alexei Obrescoff. The Resident, an in-law of the
Abbotts, Factors of the Levant Company and Murray’s personal
friend, entrusted him with his infant children on the eve of his
detainment. This trust was an asset that Murray hoped to exploit in
the forthcoming international race to undertake the mediation, if
only he could free his friend. London hoped this appeal to the
Ottomans would please the Russians, but mediation slipped out of
Murray’s hands. The Abbotts assisted the Prussians and the
Austrians to reunite the Obrescoff family and thus gained them the
advantage. Embittered, Murray was dragged into a passionate but
unsuccessful clash with the Abbotts which emphasised both the
importance of Levantine networks in the exercise of ‘Oriental’
diplomacy and his unsuitability for the particular post.

İngiliz Levant Company üyesi tüccarlar İngiliz konsoloslarının himayesi altında İskenderun’da birer liman temsilcisi/konsolos vekili bulundurarak limandaki ticari faaliyetlerini organize etmişlerdir. Liman temsilcisi limandaki İngiliz... more

İngiliz Levant Company üyesi tüccarlar İngiliz konsoloslarının himayesi altında İskenderun’da birer liman temsilcisi/konsolos
vekili bulundurarak limandaki ticari faaliyetlerini organize etmişlerdir. Liman temsilcisi limandaki İngiliz
gemilerinin yükleme ve boşaltma işleri, İskenderun-Halep arasında karşılıklı mal transferi ve limanda mevcut Levant Company’ye
ait 6 İngiliz deposunun idaresi başta olmak üzere ticari organizasyonun tüm aşamalarından sorumlu idi. Temsilci
ithalat aşamasında malların gemiye yüklenmesi ve gemi kaptanına teslimi, gemi manifestolarını Halep konsolosluğu ile
Londra’ya birer kopyasının göndermekle yükümlüydü.
Bu bildiride 1704-1076 yılları arasında İskenderun limanından mal yükleyen gemilere ait İngiltere’nin İskenderun
liman temsilcisi Walter More tarafından tutulmuş İngiliz ticaret filosundan toplam 8 gemiye ait konşimento (bill of
lading) kayıtları esas alınarak yaklaşık iki yıllık bir dönem için İskenderun limanından Londra’ya yapılan ithalat ile ilgili bir
mikro inceleme yapılacaktır. Hâlihazırda İngiliz Ulusal Arşivi’nde (The National Archives) bulunan konşimento kayıtları
bu bildirinin birincil kaynağını teşkil etmektedir. Konşimentolar deniz ticareti organizasyonunda gemiye yüklenen malın
gemi kaptanına limandan teslimi ve gönderildiği yerde hangi tüccara teslim edileceğini göstermesi için düzenlenen nakliye
belgeleridir. Belgeler her bir birim mal ve tüccar adına ayrı ayrı düzenlenmiştir. Bu kayıtlarda gemi ve kaptan adı, malı
Halep’ten gönderen ve Londra’daki alıcısı olan tüccarların adları, malın cinsi ve ağırlık cinsinden miktarı gibi bilgiler içermektedir.
Farklı tüccarlar adına toplam 385 birim mal kaydını bulunmaktadır.
Bu kayıtların farklı korelâsyonlar içinde çapraz okunma yöntemiyle 1704-1706 yıllarında İskenderun’dan gerçekleştirilen
İngiliz ihracatının mal, bir gemiye yüklenen mal miktarı, gemi ve
toplam mal dağılımı gibi çeşitli sayısal verilere ulaşılması ve bunların yorumlanması hedeflenmiştir.
British Levant Company organized the commercial activities in Scanderoon by keeping a factor marine and
vice-consulate under the protection of Aleppo consulates. Factor marines were responsible for all stages of the commercial
organization primarily managing six English warehouses belonging to the Levant Company in the port and activities of
uploading and unloading English ships on the port, transferring goods mutually between Scanderoon and Aleppo. The factor
marine was also responsible for sending copy of ship manifestos and other documents relating the trade to the Aleppo
consulate and London.
In this paper, there will be a micro-examination of import activities from Scanderoon port to London, according
to the bills of loading records belonging to 8 British ships. These are the bills of loading having been sent to London by
Scanderoon factor marine Walter More between 1704-1076. These primary documents have been kept today at the National
Archives in London. These bills of loading are the documents that show us senders’ and purchasers’ names and kinds of
the commodities. These documents are arranged separately for each kind of commodities and each merchant. Names of
the ship and captain, kind and quantity of the commodities are also recorded in these documents. There are a total of 385
bills of loading records between 1704 and 1706. Based on these records, total British export from Scanderoon to London,
and export according to the quantity of commodities and each merchant’s share in the export will be studied for the years
between 1704 and 1706.