For more than two centuries following its formation in 1581, the Levant Company enjoyed a monopoly of British trade with the Ottoman Empire and provided Britain's diplomatic representation at the Sultan's court and throughout the Ottoman territories. Rather than focusing on "the Turkey trade" itself, or on the merchants who engaged in it, Christine Laidlaw examines the supporting cast of Britons -- officials, clergymen, physicians and accompanying family members -- who lived and worked alongside the merchants at the Company's three principal trading posts at Istanbul, Izmir and Aleppo during the eighteenth century. This unique perspective will be invaluable for historians of the eighteenth century and the Ottoman Empire.
Author(s): Christine Laidlaw
Series: Library of Ottoman Studies 21
Publisher: Tauris Academic Studies
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 289
Contents......Page 8
List of Illustrations......Page 10
Acknowledgements......Page 12
Preface......Page 14
1. Introduction and Background to the Levant Company......Page 16
Outline of Existing Literature......Page 20
Sources and Proposed Methodology......Page 26
Britain's Relations with the Ottoman Empire in the Eighteenth Century......Page 29
Background to the Levant Company......Page 33
The Company in the Seventeenth Century......Page 37
The Company in the Eighteenth Century......Page 39
2. The Administrators......Page 44
Company Organization and Finances......Page 45
The Salaried Officials......Page 46
Emoluments......Page 50
Order and Discipline......Page 55
Travellers, Houseguests amd Hangers-On......Page 58
Ambassador John Murray......Page 64
Conclusion......Page 88
3. The Chaplains......Page 90
The Seventeenth Century......Page 91
The Lure of the Levant......Page 97
Commercial Activity......Page 104
Proselytization......Page 106
The Chaplains of the Eighteenth Century......Page 111
Istanbul and Izmir......Page 123
Conclusion......Page 129
4. The Physicians......Page 132
Istanbul......Page 134
Mackenzie and Mackittrick......Page 137
Izmir......Page 141
Dr Andrew Turnbull......Page 142
Aleppo......Page 145
George Strachan......Page 146
The Eighteenth-Century Scottish Doctors......Page 148
The Edinburgh Medical School......Page 149
The Russells......Page 151
Alexander Russell (8 September 1714-28 November 1768)......Page 152
Patrick Russell (7 February 1727-2 July 1805)......Page 158
Adam Freer (c.1747-1811)......Page 165
Conclusion......Page 175
5. Family Life and Recreation......Page 178
Background......Page 179
The Position of the East India Company......Page 186
Families in Istanbul......Page 189
Izmir in the Eighteenth Century......Page 200
Aleppo......Page 207
Conclusion......Page 229
6. Conclusion: The Decline and Eventual Demise of the Company......Page 232
Appendix: Chaplains at Istanbul, Izmir and Aleppo in the Eighteenth Century......Page 240
Notes......Page 246
References......Page 270
Index......Page 276
