Capitalism in the Ottoman Balkans: Industrialization and Modernity in Macedonia

Description

The Ottoman Empire, as it approached its end, went through rapid economic and social development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Profound changes took place in its European territories, particularly and prominently in Macedonia. In the decades before the First World War, industrial capitalism began to emerge in Ottoman Macedonia and its impact was felt across society. The port city of Salonica was at the epicentre of this transformation, led by its Jewish community. But the most remarkable site of development was found deep in provincial Macedonia, where industrial capitalism sprang from domestic sources in spite of unfavourable conditions. Ottoman Greek traders and industrialists from the region of Mount Vermion actively shaped the economic trajectory of ‘Turkey in Europe’ and competed successfully against Jewish capitalists from Salonica. The story of Ottoman Macedonian capitalism was nearly forgotten in the century that followed the demise of the Empire. This book pieces it together by unearthing Ottoman archival materials combined with Greek sources and field research. It offers a fresh perspective on late Ottoman economic history and will be an invaluable resource for scholars of Ottoman, Greek and Turkish history Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents Plates Illustrations Abbreviations Notes on Weights, Measures and Currency Notes on Transliteration, Spelling and Pronunciation Notes on Archives Acknowledgements 1 The emergence of industrial capitalism in Ottoman Macedonia: A tale to be told 1.1 Historical development condensed 1.2 The geographical and historical terrain of Macedonia 1.2.1 Thessaloniki 1.2.2 Mount Vermion 1.2.2.1 The road to Giannitsa and Edhessa 1.2.2.2 The road to Veroia and Naoussa 2 Analysing Ottoman capitalism: Theoretical and empirical resources 2.1 Ottoman ‘decline’ and transformation 2.2 State, community and religion in the emergence of Ottoman capitalism 2.3 The broad outlines of textile capitalism in Macedonia 2.4 Historical literature and original sources 2.4.1 The yearbooks of the vilayet of Thessaloniki (Selanik Vilayet Salnameleri) 2.4.2 Ottoman archives 3 Administrative mechanisms and population changes in the vilayet of Thessaloniki 3.1 Administrative reforms of the Ottoman state in the nineteenth century 3.2 Administrative structures in the vilayet of Thessaloniki during the era of Tanzimat 3.3 Population trends in Macedonia 3.4 Ethnic and religious composition of the population 4 The straightjacket of çiftlik agriculture in Macedonia 4.1 Rise and fall of the timar system 4.2 Commercialization of agriculture, spread of tax farming and rise of çiftlik estates 4.3 Ayan and kircali 4.4 The disintegration of the vakif of Gazi Evrenos Bey 4.5 Agricultural output in the vilayet of Thessaloniki, 1870–1912 4.6 Agricultural output in Veroia, Edhessa and Naoussa, 1870–1912 4.7 Agrarian relations: The straightjacket of the çiftlik 4.8 Muslim and Christian çiftlik holding 5 The commercial roots of Ottoman textile capitalism 5.1 Merchants and industrial capitalism: Theoretical considerations 5.2 Merchants and capitalism in Ottoman Macedonia 5.3 Thessaloniki trade grows rapidly until the early 1870s 5.4 Fluctuations and growth of trade in Thessaloniki from the 1870s to the 1910s 5.5 Trade in the kaza of Veroia and Edhessa 5.6 Who were the Naoussa merchants? 6 Private industrial capitalism in Ottoman Macedonia 6.1 Responding to the import wave 6.2 Jewish, Christian and Muslim traders, industrialists and bankers in Thessaloniki 6.3 Emergence of industrial capitalism, 1870–90 6.4 Advance of industrialization, 1890–1902 6.5 Peak of industrial growth, 1902–12 6.5.1 Cotton industrialists expand in Mount Vermion and diversify to Thessaloniki 6.5.2 Expanding into woollens 6.6 The reasons for the ascendancy of the provincial cotton mills 6.7 Explaining the dominance of provincial woollen mills 6.8 Economics of industrial textile capitalism 6.9 A notable and precarious success 7 The Ottoman state creates a framework for industrialization 7.1 Rediscovering economic intervention 7.2 A controlling state encourages private industrial investment, 1870–1902 7.3 State and industrialists establish regular relations, 1902–12 7.4 An intrusive, authoritarian, bureaucratic and supportive state 8 Ascendant industrialists, emerging working class, turbulent communities 8.1 Social and communal parameters of capitalist transformation 8.2 A nascent capitalist class in Mount Vermion: Controlling the community and dealing with the state 8.3 The emergence of a working class 8.4 The clash of nationalisms 9 Precarious capitalism Bibliography Name Index Subject Index