The activities of dutch merchants in the Ottoman ports in the 17th century (1665-1680) according to genoese consular letters

Abstract

The significance of the archives of the European states in the study of Ottoman history is quite remarkable. The Genoese State Archives (Archivio di Stato di Genova) was among these archives which contain considerable amount of documents concerning to the Ottoman State. Some of these documents are about the Dutch, one of the European states that came to the Ottoman ports in the context of commercial and political relations. The Ottoman-Dutch relationship which started with the obtaining of capitulation in the first quarter of the 17th century continued increasingly in the subsequent periods. Especially the trade conducted through Izmir and Istanbul is highly important. The relationship had progressed in economic context along with the political and the military one. This situation was particularly evident during when Dutch merchant rented their ships out at a time of ongoing Cretan War. These issues were also reflected in the letters of the Genoese Consuls working in important Ottoman cities such as Izmir and Istanbul. Thus, Durazzo, Sinibaldo Fieschi, Pompeo Giustiniani, Agostino Spinola who worked in Istanbul along with Ottavio Doria, Giovanni Luigi Gentile, Garibaldo, Luigi Cartabono who worked in Izmir in the second half of the 17th century were among some of these consuls. According to the information given by the aforementioned consuls, especially the Dutch merchants used the ports of Istanbul and Izmir very actively during the Battle of Crete. In fact, the activities of Dutch merchants named Gabatto, Bartogliati, Giorgio Bloma and Isaach de Bois confirms this case. In this trade, especially the counterfeited coins and money as well as fabrics that they brought to the Ottoman ports were extremely important. Occasionally, during their commercial activities, they also encountered danger due to the pirates from the Garp Ocaklari. Therefore they were preferred to arrive to the Ottoman ports as convoys. It should also be noted that the wars that took place between the Ottomans and Venice for the capture of Crete had a negative impact on the Dutch trade in Izmir. Although we can increase the number of such cases, an evaluation will be made on some examples that illuminate the entire picture. The main source of our study will be the Consular letters and reports belonging to the Genoa State Archive and the registers in the State Papers collection of the British National Archives.