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FIGHTING FOR FINANCIAL INFLUENCE IN OTTOMAN LANDS ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR I: SMYRNA-AIDIN RAILWAY NEGOTIATIONS

Year 2023, Issue: 26, 261 - 272, 01.07.2023
https://doi.org/10.33431/belgi.1275078

Abstract

İzmir-Aydın Demiryolu Şirketi, I. Dünya Savaşı patlak vermeden önce Küçük Asya'daki tek İngiliz demiryolu şirketiydi. Demiryolu, tarımsal ürünleri ve madenleri İzmir Limanı'na taşımak için Britanya İmparatorluğu için çok önemliydi. 2 Kasım 1912'de İzmir-Aydın Demiryolu Şirketi'nin İstanbul'daki temsilcisi, Nafia Nezareti Demiryolu Dairesi Başkanı'na bir imtiyaz başvurusunda bulundu ve bir kopyası da Sadrazamlığa verildi. Başvurulan imtiyaz, Eğirdir şehrinden yaklaşık 20 kilometre uzaklıkta Eğirdir gölünün doğu kıyısındaki bir noktadan başlayıp Beyşehir gölünün kıyısında son bulan yaklaşık 80 km'lik bir hattın inşa edilmesi ve işletilmesiydi. Osmanlı Hükümeti hattın uzatılmasını, yeni tekeller oluşturmak ya da petrol, alkollü içkiler, şeker, kibrit, çıra, sigara kağıdı ve iskambil kağıtlarına tüketim vergisi koymak gibi ekonomik kazanımlar elde etmek için bir koz olarak kullanmaya çalıştı. Ancak bir yıl sonra İtalyan Hükümeti, Adalia'dan Burdur'a kadar bir demiryolu inşasını incelemek üzere bir sözleşme imzaladı. İzmir-Aydın Demiryolu müzakereleri, I. Dünya Savaşı arifesinde iki Büyük Güç arasındaki güç dinamiklerini ortaya koymaktadır.

References

  • REFERENCES
  • 1.Archives
  • The British Library (TBL)
  • (TBL) L/PS/11/66 (TBL) L/PS/11/39, P 4736/1912 (TBL) L/PS/11/64, P 3921/1913 (TBL) L/PS/11/65, P 4224/1913 (TBL) L/PS/11/68, P 4905/1913 (TBL) L/PS/11/71, P 155/1914 (TBL) L/PS/11/74, P 840/1914
  • The National Archives (TNA)
  • (TNA) FO 78/2255 (TNA) FO 608/102/3
  • 2.Secondary Sources
  • Adanır, Fikret (2005), “Turkey’s Entry into the Concert of Europe”. European Review, Vol.13, No.3, pp. 395-417.
  • Bosworth, Richard (1970), “Britain and Italy’s Acquisition of the Dodecanese, 1912-1915”, The Historical Journal, pp. 683-705.
  • Bosworth, Richard (2005), Italy, the Least of the Great Powers: Italian Foreign Policy before the First World War, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Childs, Timothy (1990), Italo-Turkish Diplomacy and the War Over Libya 1911-1912, Leiden: Brill.
  • Crampton, R.J. (1974), “The Decline of the Concert of Europe in the Balkans, 1913-1914,” The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 52, No.128, pp. 393-419.
  • Kent, Marian, ed. (2005), The Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire, London: Frank Cass.
  • Le Traité de Paris Du 30 Mars Étudié Dans Ses Causes et Ses Effets par le Correspondant Diplomatique du Constitutionnel, Paris, Amyot, 1856.
  • McLean, David (1976), “British Finance and Foreign Policy in Turkey: The Smyrna-Aidin Railway Settlement 1913-14,” The Historical Journal, Vol. 19, No.2, pp. 521-530.
  • Okyay, Vildan (1981), “Batı Anadolu Bölgesi’nde Ulaşım Sistemindeki Değişikliğin Merkezler Kademelenmesi Üzerindeki Etkileri (1844-1914),” ODTÜ Gelişme Dergisi, Vol. 8, No. 3/4, pp.649-682.
  • Petricioli, Marta (1983), L’Italia in Asia Minore: Equilibrio mediterraneo e ambizioni imperialiste alla vigilia della prima guerra mondiale, Firenze: Sansoni.
  • Webster, Richard (1975), Industrial Imperialism in Italy 1908-1915, Los Angeles: California Press.

FIGHTING FOR FINANCIAL INFLUENCE IN OTTOMAN LANDS ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR I: SMYRNA-AIDIN RAILWAY NEGOTIATIONS

Year 2023, Issue: 26, 261 - 272, 01.07.2023
https://doi.org/10.33431/belgi.1275078

Abstract

The Smyrna-Aidin Railway Company was the only British railway company in Asia Minor before the outbreak of World War I. The railway was essential to the British Empire to carry agricultural products and mines to the Smyrna Port. On 2 November 1912, the Smyrna-Aidin Railway Company’s agent at Constantinople submitted an application for a concession to the chief of the Railway Department of the Ministry of Public Works, and a copy was handed to the Grand Vizierate. The concession applied for was to construct and operate a line of approximately 80 km. starting from a point on the eastern shore of the lake of Eğirdir at a distance of about 20 kilometers from the city of Eğirdir, and ending at the shore of the lake of Beyşehir. The Ottoman Government tried to use the extension of the line as leverage to have economical gains such as creating new monopolies or imposing consumption duties on petroleum, spirits, sugar, matches, tinder, cigarette paper, and playing cards. However, a year later, the Italian Government signed a contract to study the construction of a railway from Adalia to Burdur. The negotiations over Smyrna-Aidin Railway exposes power dynamics between the two Great Powers on the eve of World War I.

References

  • REFERENCES
  • 1.Archives
  • The British Library (TBL)
  • (TBL) L/PS/11/66 (TBL) L/PS/11/39, P 4736/1912 (TBL) L/PS/11/64, P 3921/1913 (TBL) L/PS/11/65, P 4224/1913 (TBL) L/PS/11/68, P 4905/1913 (TBL) L/PS/11/71, P 155/1914 (TBL) L/PS/11/74, P 840/1914
  • The National Archives (TNA)
  • (TNA) FO 78/2255 (TNA) FO 608/102/3
  • 2.Secondary Sources
  • Adanır, Fikret (2005), “Turkey’s Entry into the Concert of Europe”. European Review, Vol.13, No.3, pp. 395-417.
  • Bosworth, Richard (1970), “Britain and Italy’s Acquisition of the Dodecanese, 1912-1915”, The Historical Journal, pp. 683-705.
  • Bosworth, Richard (2005), Italy, the Least of the Great Powers: Italian Foreign Policy before the First World War, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Childs, Timothy (1990), Italo-Turkish Diplomacy and the War Over Libya 1911-1912, Leiden: Brill.
  • Crampton, R.J. (1974), “The Decline of the Concert of Europe in the Balkans, 1913-1914,” The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 52, No.128, pp. 393-419.
  • Kent, Marian, ed. (2005), The Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire, London: Frank Cass.
  • Le Traité de Paris Du 30 Mars Étudié Dans Ses Causes et Ses Effets par le Correspondant Diplomatique du Constitutionnel, Paris, Amyot, 1856.
  • McLean, David (1976), “British Finance and Foreign Policy in Turkey: The Smyrna-Aidin Railway Settlement 1913-14,” The Historical Journal, Vol. 19, No.2, pp. 521-530.
  • Okyay, Vildan (1981), “Batı Anadolu Bölgesi’nde Ulaşım Sistemindeki Değişikliğin Merkezler Kademelenmesi Üzerindeki Etkileri (1844-1914),” ODTÜ Gelişme Dergisi, Vol. 8, No. 3/4, pp.649-682.
  • Petricioli, Marta (1983), L’Italia in Asia Minore: Equilibrio mediterraneo e ambizioni imperialiste alla vigilia della prima guerra mondiale, Firenze: Sansoni.
  • Webster, Richard (1975), Industrial Imperialism in Italy 1908-1915, Los Angeles: California Press.
There are 18 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Ceren Uçan 0000-0002-8003-0466

Publication Date July 1, 2023
Submission Date April 1, 2023
Acceptance Date June 27, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Issue: 26

Cite

Chicago Uçan, Ceren. “FIGHTING FOR FINANCIAL INFLUENCE IN OTTOMAN LANDS ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR I: SMYRNA-AIDIN RAILWAY NEGOTIATIONS”. Belgi Dergisi, no. 26 (July 2023): 261-72. https://doi.org/10.33431/belgi.1275078.

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