Ottoman public debt

The Ottoman public debt was a term which dated back to 24 August 1854, when the Ottoman Empire first entered into loan contracts with its European creditors shortly after the beginning of the Crimean War.

The Empire entered into subsequent loans, partly to finance railway construction and partly to finance deficits between revenues and the lavish expenditure of the Imperial court. Some financial commentators have noted that the terms of these loans were exceptionally favourable to the French and British banks which facilitated them, whereas others have noted that the terms reflected the imperial administration's willingness to constantly refinance its debts.

The Ottoman government declared a sovereign default on its loan repayments with the Ramazan Kararnamesi (Decree of Ramadan) on 30 October 1875. Six years later, as part of the Muharrem Kararnamesi (Decree of Muharrem) on 15 October 1881, which reduced the overall public debt, the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) was established. This made the European creditors bondholders, and assigned special rights to the OPDA for collecting various tax and customs revenues within the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman Empire

Republic of Turkey

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