Prohibition of the Circassian and Georgian Slave Trade: Difference between revisions
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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The Firman was issued in a |
The Firman was issued in a period when the Ottoman Empire was subjected to growing diplomatic pressure from the West to supress slave trade and [[slavery in the Ottoman Empire]]. The [[Firman of 1830]] had officially liberated all white slaves in the Empire. It was followed by the closure of the open slave market in Constantinople in 1847. After this date, slaves were sold behind the scenes rather than in the open, and no longer visible to foreigners. |
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==Firman== |
==Firman== |
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In this time period, the |
In this time period, the trafficking in girls from the Caucasus across the Black Sea to the Ottoman Empire attracted attention in the West. Young girls were sold to slave traders and trafficked to [[Constantinople]], where they were sold into [[sexual slavery]] as [[Islamic views on concubinage|concubin]]es in the private harems of wealthy men. One of these harems were the [[Ottoman Imperial Harem|Imperial harem]]. |
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The so called [[Circassian slave trade]] was a |
The so called [[Circassian slave trade]] was a successor of the old [[Crimean slave trade]] and was viewed as a luxury trade in the Ottoman Empire, where many aristocratic men had bought concubines or future daughters-in-law from this trade. In the West, this trade caused a growing opposition. After 1846, the open slave market in Constantinople was closed. After this the Circassian slave girls were sold discreetly from the private houses of the slave traders, instead of in public. |
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In 1854, the Ottoman Empire banned the |
In 1854, the Ottoman Empire banned the trade in white women after pressure from Great Britain and France. <ref name="Toledano, Ehud R. 1998 p. 31-32">Toledano, Ehud R. (1998). Slavery and Abolition in the Ottoman Middle East. University of Washington Press. p. 31-32</ref> |
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The pressure from Western powers continued. In 1855, the trade in African slaves to Crete and Janina was banned. In 1857, the Ottoman Empire formally banned the African slave trade.<ref>Erdem, Y. (1996). Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and Its Demise 1800-1909. Storbritannien: Palgrave Macmillan UK. p106</ref> |
The pressure from Western powers continued. In 1855, the trade in African slaves to Crete and Janina was banned. In 1857, the Ottoman Empire formally banned the African slave trade.<ref>Erdem, Y. (1996). Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and Its Demise 1800-1909. Storbritannien: Palgrave Macmillan UK. p106</ref> |
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==Aftermath== |
==Aftermath== |
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The Firman of 1854 was however only enforced for four years. In March 1858, the Ottoman governor of Trapezunt informed the British Consul that the 1854 ban had been a temporary war time ban due to foreign pressure, and that he had been given orders to allow slave ships on the Black Sea pass on their way to Constantinople.<ref name="Toledano, Ehud R. 1998 p. 31-32"/> |
The Firman of 1854 was however only enforced for four years. In March 1858, the Ottoman governor of Trapezunt informed the British Consul that the 1854 ban had been a temporary war time ban due to foreign pressure, and that he had been given orders to allow slave ships on the Black Sea to pass on their way to Constantinople. <ref name="Toledano, Ehud R. 1998 p. 31-32"/> |
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In December 1858, formal tax regulations |
In December 1858, formal tax regulations were introduced, legitimizing the Circassian slave trade again. <ref name="Toledano, Ehud R. 1998 p. 31-32"/> |
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Western diplomats protested repeatedly against the fact that the Circassian slave trade had been resumed despite the Firman of 1854 |
Western diplomats protested repeatedly against the fact that the Circassian slave trade had been resumed despite the Firman of 1854 but was routinely met with the reply that the Firman of 1854 had merely been a temporary war-time measure and no longer applied. <ref>Erdem, Y. (1996). Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and Its Demise 1800-1909. Storbritannien: Palgrave Macmillan UK. p106</ref> |
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The Circassian slave trade, while practiced gradually more discreetly, continued until the end of the Ottoman Empire. |
The Circassian slave trade, while practiced gradually more discreetly, continued until the end of the Ottoman Empire. |
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Revision as of 02:19, 18 August 2024
The Firman of 1854, sometimes called the Prohibition of the Circassian and Georgian Slave Trade, refers to the Imperial Firman or Ferman (Decree) issued by Sultan Abdülmecid I in October 1854,[1] prohibiting the slave trade in Circassian and Georgian slaves to the Ottoman Empire. It was specifically directed toward the Circassian slave trade in slave girls from the Caucasus, for sexual slavery as concubines in Ottoman harems.
It was one of the reforms representing the process of official abolition of slavery in the Ottoman Empire, including the Firman of 1830, Disestablishment of the Istanbul Slave Market (1847), Supression of the slave trade in the Persian Gulf (1847), the Prohbition of the Circassian ad Georgian slave trade (1854-1855), Prohibition of the Black Slave Trade (1857), and the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1880. [2]
Background
The Firman was issued in a period when the Ottoman Empire was subjected to growing diplomatic pressure from the West to supress slave trade and slavery in the Ottoman Empire. The Firman of 1830 had officially liberated all white slaves in the Empire. It was followed by the closure of the open slave market in Constantinople in 1847. After this date, slaves were sold behind the scenes rather than in the open, and no longer visible to foreigners.
Firman
In this time period, the trafficking in girls from the Caucasus across the Black Sea to the Ottoman Empire attracted attention in the West. Young girls were sold to slave traders and trafficked to Constantinople, where they were sold into sexual slavery as concubines in the private harems of wealthy men. One of these harems were the Imperial harem.
The so called Circassian slave trade was a successor of the old Crimean slave trade and was viewed as a luxury trade in the Ottoman Empire, where many aristocratic men had bought concubines or future daughters-in-law from this trade. In the West, this trade caused a growing opposition. After 1846, the open slave market in Constantinople was closed. After this the Circassian slave girls were sold discreetly from the private houses of the slave traders, instead of in public.
In 1854, the Ottoman Empire banned the trade in white women after pressure from Great Britain and France. [3] The pressure from Western powers continued. In 1855, the trade in African slaves to Crete and Janina was banned. In 1857, the Ottoman Empire formally banned the African slave trade.[4]
Aftermath
The Firman of 1854 was however only enforced for four years. In March 1858, the Ottoman governor of Trapezunt informed the British Consul that the 1854 ban had been a temporary war time ban due to foreign pressure, and that he had been given orders to allow slave ships on the Black Sea to pass on their way to Constantinople. [3] In December 1858, formal tax regulations were introduced, legitimizing the Circassian slave trade again. [3]
Western diplomats protested repeatedly against the fact that the Circassian slave trade had been resumed despite the Firman of 1854 but was routinely met with the reply that the Firman of 1854 had merely been a temporary war-time measure and no longer applied. [5] The Circassian slave trade, while practiced gradually more discreetly, continued until the end of the Ottoman Empire.
See also
References
- ^ Badem, C. (2017). The Ottoman Crimean War (1853-1856). Brill. p353-356
- ^ [1] The Palgrave Handbook of Global Slavery Throughout History. (2023). Tyskland: Springer International Publishing. p536
- ^ a b c Toledano, Ehud R. (1998). Slavery and Abolition in the Ottoman Middle East. University of Washington Press. p. 31-32
- ^ Erdem, Y. (1996). Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and Its Demise 1800-1909. Storbritannien: Palgrave Macmillan UK. p106
- ^ Erdem, Y. (1996). Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and Its Demise 1800-1909. Storbritannien: Palgrave Macmillan UK. p106
