[Ottoman-Flagged Ships, 1830S–1860S: Hull, Rig, and Geography
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
■■ABSTRACT1 This paper presents major hull and rig types among Otto- man-flagged merchant ships from the 1830s to the 1860s and discusses the effects of nautical and climatic con- ditions on the physical features of merchant ships. The statistics demonstrate that brigs, especially frigate-built brigs, were the most common merchant ships. The arti - cle argues that despite the prevalence of Atlantic-origin ships in Ottoman waters, local geographical factors were the primary cause in determining the physical properties Ottoman-Flagged of Ottoman-built merchant ships, especially in the Mar - mara and Black Seas. Due to these nautical and climatic Ships, 1830s–1860s: conditions, trehantiri was still the most common traditio- nal ship in the Aegean Sea, and the production of perama Hull, Rig, and was concentrated around Istanbul. However, these ships were mixed with martigo that sailed offshore the Black Geography Sea. Dhow-like ships, which could sail both offshore and in the narrow waterways common in the Straits and Da - Dr. Ekin Mahmuzlu nube River, were also common. Historian Data de recepció: 11 de juliol de 2019 Keywords: South Black Sea, Marmara, Ottoman-flagged Versió definitiva: 4 de desembre de 2019 ships, hull, rig. That is no country for old men, […] The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas, Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long Whatever is begotten, born, and dies, Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unageing intellect, […] And therefore I have sailed the seas and come To the holy city of Byzantium, “Sailing to Byzantium” [ William Butler Yeats Dr. Ekin Mahmuzlu Ottoman-Flagged Ships, 1830s–1860s: Hull, Rig, and Geography D 120 ■■RESUMEN■ a great impact on their maritime history. Accordingly, the nautical and climatic conditions of a journey to Istanbul Este trabajo presenta los principales tipos de casco y apa- were the most important factors behind the physical prop- rejo entre los buques mercantes que, con bandera otoma- erties of wooden ships in the Marmara and Black Seas. na, navegaron desde la década de 1830 hasta la de 1860. This article presents the preliminary results of a study También analiza los efectos de las condiciones náuticas y on Ottoman commercial shipping and maritime trade from climáticas en las características físicas de dichos buques. 1804 to 1914. The primary objective of this article is to intro- Las estadísticas demuestran que los bergantines eran los duce the physical features of early nineteenth-century Otto- buques más comunes. El artículo argumenta que, a pe- man-flagged merchant ships and then to discuss the effect sar de la prevalencia de los barcos de origen atlántico en of geography on Ottoman wooden ship-building technolo- aguas otomanas, los factores geográficos locales fueron gy in the case of ship-building in the Marmara and South la causa principal que determinaba las propiedades físi- Black Sea from 1831 to 1853. The geographical and historical cas de los barcos mercantes construidos por los otoma- uniqueness of this region provides opportunities to examine nos, especialmente en el Mármara y el mar Negro. the role of geography in technological transfer to the Otto- Debido a las condiciones náuticas y climáticas particula- man Empire in the early nineteenth century. res, el trehantiri seguía siendo el barco tradicional más co- mún en el mar Egeo, mientras que la producción de perama Unlike the East Mediterranean Ottoman ports, the Mar- se concentró alrededor de Estambul. Estos barcos convivían mara and Black Sea ports were connected to the world con el martigo, que navegaba por el mar Negro. Del mismo only by the Straits. These Straits were officially closed to modo, los barcos del tipo dhow también eran habitules, ya foreign ships until 1774, and transmarine shipping between que podían navegar tanto en alta mar como en las estre- the Mediterranean and Black Sea remained limited until the chas vías fluviales comunes en el estrecho y el río Danubio. 1810s. Due to their isolation from the rest of the world, the merchant ships in the Marmara and Black Seas evolved in- Palabras clave: mar Negro Sur, Mármara, marina otomana, dependently from early-modern ship technologies. Conse- cascos, aparejos. quently, the most common types of merchant ships in the Marmara and Black Seas in the eighteenth century, perama ■■INTRODUCTION (the traditional ship of the Marmara Sea), şayka (the tradi- Long-distance merchant ships were built to sail among tional ship of the Black Sea rivers), and volik (the best ship various ports, but Ottoman-flagged merchant ships had for sailing in muddy, shallow waters), bore few similarities 2 one specific destination: Istanbul. This might seem contra- to Mediterranean merchant ships . However, with the open- dictory to the nature of long-distance shipping; however, ing of the Marmara and Black Seas to global markets, new in the Ottoman case, all roads led to new Rome, not to the ship technologies arrived following the end of the Napole- open seas. No matter where the journey started, it always onic Wars in the 1810s. This technological change was so ended at “the mother of all cities”. The reason behind this radical and fast that all eighteenth century-type ships were curious situation was due to the nature of nineteenth-cen- crowded out by the new generation of merchant ships with- tury commerce in the Black Sea: the port of Istanbul was in a few decades. Statistics demonstrate that the ships built the main gateway to the rest of the world. Both the Mar - in the Ottoman Empire from 1831 until 1853 were similar to mara and Black Seas are inland seas only connected by newly arrived ocean-origin ships, while the eighteenth-cen- the Straits. Accordingly, every ship in the Marmara and tury merchant ships volik, şayka, and perama became Black Seas should pass the Bosporus to reach transma- coastal ships. rine ports, and the fact that most merchant ships in the This article argues that even though new types of ships Marmara and Black Seas were built to sail to Istanbul made originating from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans became drassana número 27 | 2019 | 120 - 168 121 the dominant types of ships in the Ottoman Empire by the man-flagged ships (from the 1830s to 1860s) out of 1,123 1830s, geography remained the most important factor in licenses—eliminating reissued licenses for the same ship. A determining the physical features of Ottoman-flagged mer- total of 467 of these 977 ships were newly-built ships, and chant ships built from 1831 to 1853. The nautical and clima- the remaining 510 licenses represent the old ships whose tic conditions in the Levant had two effects on the physical licenses were renewed for various reasons. properties of the ships. Firstly, the hull and rig formation These ship licenses contained information on the cap- of each ship was modified according to the physical requi- tain (his name and birthplace), on the ship (hull structure, rements for a voyage to Istanbul. As a result, there was a usually rig formation, number of masts, cargo capacity, geographic concentration of specific types of traditional and length), and on the ownership (name(s) and, usually, merchant ships in limited regions. Trehantiri was the most profession, hometown, and share(s) of the ship owner(s))5. common Aegean ship, and perama was the most common Since a new license was issued for any change in the basic ship in the region around Istanbul, while their martigo- information given in the license, from the replacement of hybrids were the best option to sail offshore on the Black captain to change in partnership, these documents shed Sea. Two dhow-like ships were built to sail in the narrow wa- light on Ottoman-flagged merchant shipping in the nine- terways and offshore seas: alamna to navigate the Straits teenth century. and kırlaç for the Danube River. The only exception was the The main purpose of an Ottoman ship license was to de- frigate-built brigs, which were built all around the Levant. scribe the physical properties of a ship in enough detail so Secondly, the cargo size and, indirectly, the type of the Otto- that the judges, port officers, and coastguards could easily man-flagged ships built in a port were strictly related to the identify it. For that reason, Ottoman officers identified mer- distance of this port to Istanbul. The farther away the port chant ships by pointing out their physical properties: length, was, the greater cargo capacity the ship had. cargo capacity, hull structure, number of masts, and rig formation. Since shipping licenses described the hull, num- 6 ■■A■NOTE■ON■THE■METHODOLOGY ber of the mast and rig separately with few exceptions , in this study each ship has been analyzed according to its hull The Ottoman archives possess an unexplored treasure structure and its rig formation/number of masts. trove of information on commercial shipping. The ongoing In general, the officers paid more attention to the shape research on nineteenth-century Ottoman maritime com- of the hull and the number of masts than the rig7. Any re- merce explores ship traffic records in Istanbul carefully markable modification in the bow or stern was always care- registered with details from 1780 to 18443 and the entire fully noted8. In this paper, these variations in the bow or collection of Ottoman ship licenses from the 1820s to the sterns were ignored to simplify the analysis. For example, all 1910s, which are dispersed among various archives and martigos with a curved/trehantiri bow (çekdirme başlı mar- catalogues. This article is based on the preliminary results tigo) are identified as martigos not trehantiris. However, of an analysis of a small proportion of sened-i bahris (ship in cases in which there was only a description of the bow, licenses) that have been used to create a database on the such as the perama-bow brig, then the hull type was accept- physical properties of Ottoman-flagged ships from 1831 to ed as a perama not a frigate, even though the Ottoman of- 1853.