External borrowing issue in Ottoman Empire (1854-1876 term)

Abstract

By the beginning of the Nineteenth century, foreign borrowing was put on the agenda since it was understood that fiscal structure of the state could not be sustained by internal dynamics; yet, foreign borrowing did not materialize in that period. The state, which could not afford increasing war expenditures during Crimean war in 1853, borrowed from abroad for the first time in 1854. After this initial borrowing from England and France, foreign borrowing was started to be seen as a state policy by the state, who signed several debt treaties in succession. The newspapers that started to emerge in the Ottoman state in that period penned articles regarding borrowing policy of the state. In these newspapers, there were no direct criticisms regarding borrowing per se, rather the state was criticized mainly on the grounds that it borrowed money when it was in trouble, not to make investments. This study explains foreign borrowings made by the Ottoman State from 1854 and analyzes the views of the intellectuals of the period regarding them.