Esnaf

Esnaf is a Turkish word which means “guild” or “corporation”. During the Early Modern Period belonging to a guild gave people a voice and was an important part of ones identity. Handicraft producers were linked to one another by a range of social, political, and economic ties. Guilds varied among societies, social class, and genders. There were many misconceptions, differences, as well as similarities between Europe and the Ottoman Empire. There were hierarchies within guilds; sometimes they shared tools, worked together, or worked alone.

In the Early Modern Period, collective identity was mainly established by normative framework, but was also a result of the process of interaction itself, and could be manipulated according to the circumstances. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the Islamic state created a system, based upon an open- minded interpretation of Islam’s attitude toward rival monotheists that allowed inclusion for the Christians and Jews who populated the conquered lands of Anatolia and the Balkans. The uprising of Istanbul in 1651 was a successful protest against dominant authority. The people marched on the palace and got a powerful religious leader on their side in order to get the vizier to step down. They made their voices heard as a group within their guild, and gave people a sense of pride to belong to a guild. Economic activity within guilds was controlled by political powers.

Contrary to general assumption, even in the highly segmented world of the Early Modern Period, trading Diasporas did not simply act as middlemen within dominant societies, but also developed durable commercial ties with other merchant groups outside any institutional structure. Not all workers were equal among guilds; many of them had hierarchies which varied among different regions. “There might be four or five different shoemakers”. Being a part of a guild was a great way for people to create compositions; it became a major part of ones identity. It was assumed that guilds declined due to repressed innovations but in all truth guilds declined mainly due to political issues. Political authorities were very much a part of production within guilds and controlled all economic factors involved. The prosperity and commercial success of merchants were both a cause and consequence of their domination of urban politics. Guilds are often associated with the medieval times in nature but guilds have been along for a long time; even prior the medieval era. Guilds are often associated with Europe only as well, but in fact guilds were a massive part of the Ottoman Empire too. Guilds within the Ottoman Empire and Europe had both their similarities and differences.

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Wikipedia