SLAVERY in the OTTOMAN EMPIRE and ITS DEMISE, 1800-1909 This Page Intentionally Left Blank Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and Its Demise, 1800-1909
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SLAVERY IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND ITS DEMISE, 1800-1909 This page intentionally left blank Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and its Demise, 1800-1909 Y Hakan Erdem Assistant Professor of Hist01y Bogazi9i University, Istanbul in association with Palgrave Macmillan First published in Great Britain !996 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world This book is published in the St Antony's Series General Editor: Alex Pravda A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-39557-6 ISBN 978-0-230-37297-9978-0-230-37297-9(ebook) (eBook) DOlDDI 10.1057/9780230310.1057/9780230372979 72979 First published in the United States of America 1996 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBNISBN 978-0-312-16209-2978-0-312-16209-2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Erdem, Y Hakan. Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and its demise, 1800-1909 I Y Hakan Erdem. p. em. includes bibliographical references and index. ISBNISBN 978-0-312-16209-2(cloth)978-0-312-16209-2 (cloth) I. Slavery-Turkey-History-19th century. 2. Turkey-History -Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918. 3. Slave-trade-Turkey-History-19th century. 4. Antislavery movements-History. I. Title. HTI238.E73 1996 306.3'62'0956'09034--dc20 96--7125 CIP © Y Hakan Erdem 1996 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1996 978-0-333-64323-5 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the tenns of any licence pem1itting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 To Duygu This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgements ix Glossary X List of Abbreviations XV A Note on Pronunciation XVI Introduction xvii 1 Employment of Slaves in the Classical Ottoman Empire 1 The dev~irme: The emergence of the Ottoman military-governmental slave system 1 Slaves as·soldiers and administrators and their status 6 Slaves in agriculture 11 Industrial slavery 15 2 Traditional Ottoman Policies towards Slavery before the Tanzimat 18 The pencik tax as a means of market control 19 Enslavement and sale of Muslims as slaves 20 Unlawful and lawful enslavement of non-Muslim subjects 23 Employment of slaves by non-Muslims 27 Treatment of war captives 29 Illegal use of slaves and supervision of slave-dealers 33 The prohibition of the slave trade to Egypt 39 3 Means of Enslavement and Slave Acquisition in the Late Ottoman Empire: Continuation of Ottoman Slavery after 1839 43 Means of enslavement and acquisition of slaves 44 Recovery of the Ottoman slave system 55 The ethnic origins of slaves in the late Empire 58 Employment of slaves 62 4 British Policy and Ottoman Slavery 67 Was there a British attempt to abolish Ottoman slavery in 1840? 68 vii viii Contents British perceptions of the general prohibition of the African slave trade 74 Differences of opinions and consensus in the British camp 79 The role of 'Muslim public opinion' in British policy-making 85 5 Ottoman Policy during the Tanzimat Period, 1846-76 94 Abolition of the Istanbul Slave Market, 1846 95 Ottoman anti-slave trade measures until 1857 99 The general prohibition of the black slave trade, 1857 107 Ottoman measures against the internal Circassian slave trade and slavery 113 6 Ottoman Policy during the Reign of Abdiilhamid II and the Advent of the Young Turks, 1876-1909 125 Anti-slavery measures and the accession hat of Abdiilhamid, 1876 126 Renewal of the 1857 Jerman in the First Constitutional Period, 1877 128 The Anglo-Ottoman Convention for the suppression of the black slave trade, 1880 132 The draft laws of 1882 and 1883 136 The law of 1889 and the General Act of the Brussels Conference, 1890 142 The advent of the Young Turks, 1908-9 147 7 The Emancipation and Care of Slaves in the Late Ottoman Empire 152 Was manumission automatic in the late Ottoman Empire? 154 The question of fugitive slaves 160 The care of emancipated slaves 173 8 Conclusion 185 Notes 189 Bibliography 213 Index 219 Acknowledgements During the course of this study I have incurred many debts. My special thanks and gratitude go to Roger Owen for his never-failing encourage ment, interest and patience. I should like to acknowledge my debt and express my gratitude to Engin Akarh, Ali Akyildiz, Bekir Kemal Ataman, Cern Behar, Selim Deringil, Alan Duben, Giil Durmu~oglu, Marian Ellingworth, Mehmet Genr,:, Nejat Goyiinr,:, ~iikrii Hanioglu, Celia Kerslake, Metin Kunt, Giinay Kut, Ehud Toledano, Zafer Toprak and Arus Yumul for reading part or whole of the manuscript at its various stages, for leading me to data and for helping me in 'deciphering' Ottoman documents. For material support I am indebted to the Ministry of Education of Turkey, to the Committee for Modern Middle Eastern Studies, Oxford, and to the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, Newnham College, Cambridge. The staff at the Ba~bakanhk Ar§ivi in Istanbul, the Public Record Office in London, and Rhodes House, the Bodleian, the Middle East Centre and the Oriental Institute libraries, all in Oxford, were helpful and understand ing during my research. Finally, I should also like to thank to Arzu Boliikba§I, Sun a and Erdogan Erdem, Asian Kaya, and Giingor and Dogan Oner for the emo tional and moral support they have given. Y HAKAN ERDEM ix Glossary Abd a slave, a male slave Abd-i ab1k a runaway slave Abla lit. elder sister; experienced female black slave A cern Iranian Acemi oglanlar Novice janissaries Adet usage, custom Ag1rhk money, jewellery, clothes, etc., presented to the bride by the bridegroom according to previous agreement Ahd a covenant, agreement Ak'<e unit of currency, 1/120 of a piastre A man peace, pardon, mercy Arz Odas1 Throne Room in the Topkap1 Palace Asker! lit. military; ruling and religious elite Azad manumission Azadlu a freedman Azad kag1d1 manumission paper Bac-1 pazar market tax on slaves Bac-1 ubur transit tax on slaves see resm-i gerid Ba~1bozuk irregular troops Ba~tina land-plot, a farm Be-'anwa by force Bedel substitute Bedel-i 1tk manumission fee Bedestan covered market Bend egan pl. of bende, slaves, servants, household servants of a princely house Ber vech-i emanet direct tax collection through government officials Beyt-iil mal Public Treasury Bilasemen without compensation Bostanc1ba~1 Head Gardener, officer commanding the royal body guards Buyruldu order, decree by the Grand Vezir see emirnamey-i samiye Cariye a female slave, pl. cevari Celeb slave merchant Cizye Islamic poll-tax collected from the zimmfs Cizyegilzar cizye-paying subjects Ciilfis bah~i~i accession gift Cu'ul fee given to the captors of runaway slaves «;avu~ sergeant, pursuivant Dariilaceze asylum for freed women X Glossary XI Dar-iii barb Abode of war Dar-iii Islam Abode of Peace Dariilterbiye educational institution for freed children Deavi Nezareti Ministry of Judicial Pleas Dell at auctioneer, crier Dellaliye brokerage, commission Della! ba~1 head auctioneer Dev~irme lit. to gather, to recruit slaves for military-governmental purposes, child-levy Devletlfi His Highness Dhimma see zimmet Dhimmi see zimmf Ecanib pl. of ecnebi, foreigners, strangers Ehl-i 1rz honest, a man of integrity Emr-i ~erif order, decree by the Sultan Emirnamey-i samiye order, decree by the Grand Vezir see buyruldu Erbab-i ihtikar profiteers Esaret captivity, slavery Esaret maddesi question of slavery Esir a captive, a prisoner of war, a slave while in the market for sale, or on the road to a market Esirham Slaves' inn, slave market Eyalet province Fekk-i r1kkiyet lit. untying of slavery, manumission Ferman Imperial Edict Fe tva a religious ruling Godia/godya priestess and head of black females Gulam a male slave, pl. gilman Habe~ Abyssinia, Abyssinian Halay1k a female slave Hal-i rikk1yet state of slavery Hara'>giizar tribute or tax paying, tributary Harbi a person from the dar-iil harb Harem forbidden place, women's apartments Has Crown Farm Hassa anything specially belonging to the sovereign Hat writing, decree Hatt-1 Hiimayfin edicts endorsed by the Sultan's own hand Hilaf-1 ahd ve usiil against agreement and custom Hiikiim order Hiinkar kulu Sultan's slave Hiirriyet freedom, liberty Hiirriyet ilmuhaberi papers of liberty Hiir-iil as! of free stock XII Glossary ltk manumission ltk-1 mendup manumission as charity ltkname certificate of manumission irade Sultan's sanction hgay-i esaret abolition of slavery ihtisab Istanbul city mayoralty ihtisab agasi, ihtisab nazm regulator of markets, censor of public morals, levier of excise taxes; Istanbul city mayor ihtisab resmi market excise tax hm-i k1yafet physiognomy lstibdad autocracy istiUid begetting and acknowledging an offspring from a female slave therefore preparing the way for her eventual manu mission htizam tax-farm istirkak enslavement Kad1 judge Kad1asker chief military judge Kanun Sultan's law Kanun-u Esasi Constitution Kapukulu household slaves of the Sultan Kapukethiidasi steward, agent Karaba~ a female slave Kavas guard of an embassy or consulate, doorkeeper Kefaret expiation Kethiida warden, steward