History of European consuls in the Ottoman Empire

The European consuls in the Ottoman Empire began as informal relationships between merchants residing in the Empire and the Sultan. The relationships were defined by the ahdname granted by the Sultan which would stipulate the religious freedom and exemption from the taxes that non-Muslim subjects had to pay. The religious implications of these relationships diminished over time as the commercial aspects took over.

The Italian city states initially appointed resident ambassadors to other Italian states to create some peace between the conflicting powers. From the twelfth-century onward the merchants from the Italian city states would organize and select a consul to represent them in the Ottoman Empire, but soon after these consuls were more formally chosen by the government. By the fifteenth-century other Western European nations adopted similar practices and diplomacy has been characterized as a Western European phenomenon ever since. Another cause of the consular phenomena was the military hardening of borders which meant that Europeans could not infiltrate another area by force so they relied on economic and commercial ties to gain entry. In the early stages of these consular relationships the Ottomans' did not reciprocate in sending consuls to European capitals, partly because European Christians were less welcoming towards Muslims than Muslims were towards Christians.

The consuls and the trading communities, of which they were in charge, had wide implications for European-Ottoman relationships. Since consuls and merchants would remain in Istanbul (and other Ottoman cities) for longer periods of time, they would return home with a more accurate depiction of the Ottoman culture than the earlier negative depiction. Reporting home with political news was one of the consul’s primary responsibilities which also helped in re-shaping the opinions of the Ottoman’s held by Europeans. A new respect–not necessarily for Ottoman people, but for the Ottoman accomplishments—eventually broke the old barriers and Ottomans appointed representatives to European states.

The Venetians appointed principal consuls to important commercial centers like Aleppo and Alexandria because this was where there was a large nation of their merchants. They also appointed vice-consuls to less important areas where they had less commercial interest. The principal consuls were in contact with their home country’s authorities, while the vice-consuls had a more informal position. The consuls were Venetian nobility and appointed on a three-year contract which for the most part was strongly adhered to. Also, it was important that they did not have commercial interests or have ties to the merchant community in the area to which they were appointed, but frequently that was not observed in practice. The consuls would have a fixed salary and no other means of income. The Venetian consul would have a council of twelve to assist him and would be responsible for approving all expenditures of the nation’s treasury. Also in the event of the consuls death, the council would appoint a vice-consul until a new consul could be sent from Venice. Through the sixteenth and seventeenth-centuries the Venetians practiced a policy of neutrality which was only possible through their strong diplomatic corps—chiefly the bailo (who acted as consul and ambassador). The bailo needed personal skills that would allow him to be-friend high ranking Ottoman officials in order to ensure Venetian interests. One of the main tasks of the bailo was to collect information on the Ottomans’ politics and social life and report back to the Venetian senate regularly. Second in importance was his consular role of promoting and protecting Venetian interests. The bailo was in charge of all Venetians in the Ottoman territory, but he would appoint consuls and vice consuls where he thought it was necessary.

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