Research Information System
1st International Annual Meeting of Sosyoekonomi Society, Munchen, Germany, 29 - 30 October 2015, vol.1, no.1, pp.40, (Summary Text)
This study is about the restrictive regulations related to presenting the goods produced within the Ottoman boundaries to the market before “Baltalimanı Trade Agreement” signed in 1838, which was one of the first reforms of market transition in economic history of Turkey. It analyses the approach of market interventions in Ottoman economic thought, through the sample of soap market. With this study it was aimed to explain what were intended by means of market control and which research questions were needed to be managed in Ottoman economic thought.
The origin of intervention of market regulator in Ottoman economic management can be traced back to the period when Istanbul was capital city. However, this study is based on the second half of the 18th century that the archival documents related to soap market that we could reach are mainly belong to. Among the archival documents there are instructions that were sent from Istanbul to the local managers and explanations concerning the problems that the local managers met while applying these instructions. Original documents that are used in this study are from General Directorate of State Archives of the Prime Ministry of the Republic of Turkey in Istanbul.
Olive oil was used as a basic raw material of soap which was made according to the technology of the period. Olive and olive oil production was made along the coastline of the Mediterranean due to the effects of climate. Access between procurement centres of olive oil and ports was extremely easy. It is understood that shipping facilities had different effects on the achievement of interventionist policy as they were infinitely convenient. It seems that the interventions which were used to strive against soap shortage in the capital city were unsuccessful even selling soap to the other cities except the capital city was prohibited. It is understood that soap was transported to the other cities illegally. As a result of the risk premium resulted from the risk of being punished soap prices increased countrywide.