Reflection of British imperialism In The Ottoman Empire: Baltalimanı Trade Agreement

Abstract

In the process that started with mercantilism and continued with the industrial revolution, European states recorded significant production increases. Britain, which started the industrial revolution, opened up to foreign markets in order to market its increasing production and to buy the raw materials it needs. The short distance of the Ottoman Empire market to Britain and the dense population of the empire stand out as attractive conditions for England. During the mercantilism period, the Ottoman capital was eroded and the economic structure weakened due to the capitulation agreements. For this reason, the Ottoman economy was caught vulnerable to the industrial revolution. With the favorable political conditions, the Baltalimanı Trade Agreement was signed between Britain and the Ottoman Empire in 1838. The purpose of this study is to reveal the mechanisms of the process leading to the agreement and to analyze the results of the agreement. With the entry into force of the agreement, Ottoman domestic production collapsed. In addition, the Ottoman economy became dependent on foreign countries and fell into a debt trap. In this framework, the results of the agreement in terms of European financial capital were also analyzed. Another outcome of this study was to reveal the changing political structure of the Ottoman Empire with the agreement. It is aimed to shed light on today’s globalizing economic world by revealing the causes and consequences of the Baltalimanı Trade Agreement in the historical process.