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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.
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Christine Laidlaw holds a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. Following an itinerant career in the Diplomatic Service she has settled back in Scotland.
THE BRITISH IN THE LEVANT Trade and Perceptions of the Ottoman Empire in the Eighteenth Century
CHRISTINE LAIDLAW
TAURIS ACADEMIC STUDIES an imprint of
I.B.Tauris Publishers • NEW YORK
LO N D O N
Published in 2010 by Tauris Academic Studies, an imprint of I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com Distributed in the United States and Canada Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © 2010 Christine Margaret Laidlaw The right of Christine Margaret Laidlaw to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Library of Ottoman Studies 21 ISBN: 978 1 84885 335 5 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress catalog card: available Camera-ready copy edited and supplied by Oxford Publishing Services, Oxford Printed and bound in India by Thomson Press (India)
For my parents, Frank and Isobel in grateful and loving memory.
Contents
List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Preface
ix xi xiii
1.
1 5 11
Introduction and Background to the Levant Company Outline of Existing Literature Sources and Proposed Methodology Britain’s Relations with the Ottoman Empire in the Eighteenth Century Background to the Levant Company The Company in the Seventeenth Century The Company in the Eighteenth Century
14 18 22 24
2.
The Administrators Company Organization and Finances The Salaried Officials Emoluments Order and Discipline Travellers, Houseguests and Hangers-on Ambassador John Murray Conclusion
29 30 31 35 40 41 49 73
3.
The Chaplains The Seventeenth Century The Lure of the Levant Commercial Activity Proselytization The Chaplains of the Eighteenth Century
75 76 82 89 91 96
vii
CONTENTS
Istanbul and Izmir Conclusion
108 114
4.
The Physicians Istanbul Mackenzie and Mackittrick Izmir Dr Andrew Turnbull Aleppo George Strachan The Eighteenth-Century Scottish Doctors The Edinburgh Medical School The Russells Alexander Russell (8 September 1714–28 November 1768) Patrick Russell (7 February 1727–2 July 1805) Adam Freer (c.1747–1811) Conclusion
117 119 122 126 127 130 131 133 134 136 137 143 150 160
5.
Family Life and Recreation Background The Position of the East India Company Families in Istanbul Izmir in