216
A World in Transition
selves, and make them jump and dance for an
hour or two to our bagpipes, harp, and fiddle, by
which exercise to preserve them in health; bur
notwithstanding all our endeavour, 'twas my
hard fortune to have great sickness and mortality
among them.
Having bought my compliment of 700 slaves,
viz. 480 men and 220 women, and finish'd all
my business at Whidaw, I took my leave of the
old king, and his cappasheirs, and parted, with
many affectionate expressions on both sides,
being forced to promise him that I would return
again the next year, with several things he de­
sired me to bring him from England; and having
sign'd bills of lading[loading} to Mr. Peirson, for
the negroes aboard, I set sail the 27th of July in
the morning....
I deliver'd alive at Barbadoes to the company's
factors 372, which being sold, came out at about
nineteen pounds per head ....
............
Political Change in the Islamic World
Empires are forged through military conquest, and most disintegrate in the wake
of military defeat. So it was for the Muslim empires of Southwest Asia, Africa, and
India from the late sixteenth century onward. The Songhai Empire of Africa,
which had dominated the western Sudan since the late fifteenth century, fell apart
and was replaced by a number of small regional states after a musket-bearing
Moroccan army defeated its forces at the Battle of Tondibi outside of Gao in 1591.
The Safavid Empire came to an abrupt end in 1722 when Afghan warriors took the
capital city of Isfahan, and the Safavids fled to the hills, leaving the empire open to
Ottoman invasion, decades of anarchy, and the establishment of the weak Qajar
Dynasty in the l790s. The Mughal Empire in India broke apart when the warlord
Nadir Shah, who had seized power in Persia, invaded India in 1739, and sacked
Delhi, the Mughal capital. The Ottoman Empire outlasted the other Islamic em­
pires, but in the end it too disappeared in the wake of military defeat, in this case in
World War I.
In each of these empires decay had set in long before military defeat led to their
demise. Like countless previous empires, all of them faced deteriorating financial
situations once their expansion ended. Large armies were still needed to defend
borders and maintain authority over newly conquered ethnic and religious groups,
many of whom resented their new rulers and resisted integration into the new
state. Rulers themselves added to the financial strain by spending large sums on
court life, the arts, and ambitious building projects. When these emiires were ex­
panding, such costs could be met by confiscating the wealth of newly conquered
peoples and adding them to the tax rolls. After expansion ended, expenses could be
met only by raising taxes, running deficits, and selling offices and titles. Such expe­
dients impeded economic growth, encouraged government corruption and ineffi­
ciency, and simply put off the day of fiscal reckoning.
All of these empires were plagued by succession struggles and deteriorating
leadership. In the Ottoman and Safavid empires the practice of raising the rulers'
t ,
Chapter 6 Africa, Southwest Asia, and India in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
sons as indulged prisoners in the palace to prevent rebellions contributed to a long
series of uninformed, inexperienced, and often debauched sultans and shahs. In
Songhai, of the eight sixteenth-century rulers who followed the empire's founders,
Sunni Ali (r, 1469-1492) and Askia Muhammad (r, 1493-1528), all but three were
murdered in office or deposed. Leadership also was a problem in Mughal India.
Aurangzeb's tr. 1658-1707) persecution of his Hindu subjects and his costly mili­ tary campaigns in the south set the stage for the mutinies and rebellions that un­ dermined Mughal authority in the eighteenth century.
Although the causes of political decline in these empires were broadly similar,
the consequences differed. After the breakup of the Songhai Empire, the western
Sudan was ruled by a number of small regional states, some of which were con­ quered and merged around 1800 into a larger state, the Sokoto Caliphate. Persia
survived the civil wars of the immediate post-Safavid Era, but then languished for
another century and a half under the Zand and Qajar dynasties. The Ottoman Em­ pire continued, but efforts of reforming sultans and ministers failed to halt territo­ rial losses or prevent growing Western interference in its political and economic
affairs. The fall of the Mughal Empire had the most significant consequences. It
paved the way for the gradual British takeover of the Indian subcontinent - the
first time a European state was able to extend its authority over an ancient center of
civilization in Asia. It also marked the beginning of a new wave ofEuropean impe­ rialism that by the late nineteenth century would bring Africa and much of Asia
under Western control.
217
lit
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An Insider's View of Ottoman Decline
50 ... Mehmed Pasha/
THE BOOK OF COUNSEL
FOR VIZIERS AND GOVERNORS
Along with battlefield defeats, fiscal crises, internal turmoil, and palace intrigues,
another sign of Ottoman decline in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was
the appearance of numerous treatises that offered plans for reviving the empire's
fortunes. Among the most candid and insightful works of this type was The Book of
Counsel for Viziers and Governors, written in the early eighteenth century by an Ot­
toman treasury official, Mehmed Pasha. Although few facts are known about
Mehmed Pasha's early life, it is likely that he was born into the family of a petty
merchant in Istanbul in [he 1650s. While in his teens, he became an apprentice for
an official in [he Ottoman treasury department, a branch of government in which
he worked for the rest of his career. His long service was rewarded in 1702, when
he was named chief defterdar, or treasurer of [he empire. Over the next fifteen
years Mehmed Pasha lost and regained this office no fewer than seven times as dif­
ferent factions became ascendant in [he sultan's administration. In 1717 he was
executed on order of [he sultan when his enemies blamed him for the loss of a
fortress in the Balkans.
u. !!H :'i
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'1IIli!:"
lill:I,!I:::'
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218
A World in Transition
It is unknown when exactly Mehmed Pasha wrote The Book ofCounsel for Viziers
and Governors, but internal evidence suggests it was around 1703 or 1704. It is a
book written by a man who had firsthand knowledge of the failings of the Ot­
toman state and was deeply disturbed by what he knew.
ii
QUESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS
1. Mehmed Pasha cites several examples of how the sultan's subjects suffer as a
2.
3.
4.
5.
result of government policies and practices. What examples does he cite and
what are their causes?
What, according to the author, are the reasons for the government's financial
problems? What solutions does he propose?
How does Mehmed Pasha's description of the Ottoman military and govern­
ment differ from the observations made by Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq in the
sixteenth century (source 9)?
What do Mehmed Pasha's comments reveal about the economic situation in
the Ottoman Empire around 1700?
Little was done to implement the changes suggested by Mehmed Pasha and
other Ottoman reformers. What do you think made it so difficult to achieve
meaningful reforms?
THE RESULTS OF BRIBERY
It is essential to guard against giving office
through bribery to the unfit and to tyrannical op­
pressors. For giving office to such as these because
of bribes means giving permission to plu nder rhe
property of the subjects. An equivalent for the
bribe which is given must be had. In addition to
what is given as a bribe, he must make a profit for
himself and his followers. Bribery is the begin­
ning and root of all illegality and tyranny, the
source and fountain of every sort of disturbance
and sedition, the greatest of calamities .... There
is no more powerful engine of injustice and cruel­
ty, for bribery destroys both faith and state....
If it becomes necessary to give a position be­
cause of bribes, in this way its holder has per­
mission from the government for every sort of
oppression. Stretching out the hand of violence
and tyranny against the poor subjects along his
route of travel I and spreading fear among the
'Officials traveling on government business were entitled co
horses, food, and lodging from the people of the districts
they visited.
poor, he destroys the wretched peasants and ruins
the cultivated lands. As the fields and villagc-c 1,(>_
come empty of husbandmen, day by day v, l,' k­
ness comes to land and property, which remain
destitute of profits, revenues, harvest, and bene­
fit. In addition to the fact that it causes a decline
in the productivity of the subjects and in rhe rev­
enues of the Treasury, through neglect of the em­
ployment of tilling and lack of the work of
agriculture, there is the greatest probability ...
that will cause scarcity, dearth, mishaps and
calamities.
FINANCIAL ISSUES
The business of the Treasury is among the most
important and essential affairs of the Exalted
Government. The man w~o is chief treasurer
needs to know and understand ... the Trc.isur "
employees who for their own advantage are the
cause of ruin and destruction to the governrnen t
F
Chapter 6 Africa, Southwest Asia, and India in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
219
service in obtaining tax farrns.! He must know
how they hehave in getting money from the
Treasury through "invalid receipts'? and in other
cases, and he must understand what are their
tricks and wiles .... Every one of them is waiting
and watching in thlf corner of opportunity, tak­
ing care ... to cause certain matters outside the
regular procedure to appear correct. ... In case
the chief treasurer is not informed about such
persons, they cause the wasting of the public
wealth through various frauds, and of disordering
affairs....
Those who are chief treasurers should be ex­
tremely circumspect in behavior, upright and de­
vout, devoid of avarice and spite.... They ...
should strive to increase the income of the Trea­
sury and to diminish expenditures.
But the reduction of expenditures cannot come
about through the care and industry of the chief
treasurer alone. These must be supplemented by
the Sovereign and personal help of his imperial
majesty the sultan, who is the refuge of the uni­
verse, and by the good management of his excel­
lency the grand vizier." ...
Certain tax concessions, instead of being
farmed out, should be committed co the charge
of trustworthy and upright persons on govern­
ment account."
Let the janissary corps" not be increased. Let
them be well disciplined, few but elite, and all
present in time of need. In this connection also it
is fitting to be extremely careful and to be atten­
tive in keeping their rolls in proper order and in
having the soldiers actually present. The late
Lutf Pasha, who was formerly grand vizier, has
written: "Fifteen thousand soldiers are a great
many soldiers. It is a heroic deed to pay the wages
year by year of fifteen thousand men with no de­
crease." But under the present conditions the sol­
diers and pensioned veterans ... who get pay and
rations have exceeded all limits.
In order that the income and expenditure of
the Treasury may be known and the totals in­
spected, the rolls of the bureaus must be investi­
gated and the numbers known. There are on a
war footing 53,200 janissary foormen, consisting
of janissaries of the imperial court and pensioned
veterans, including those who are in the fortress­
es protecting the ever-victorious frontier. There
are 17,133 cavalrymen of the sipahis, silihdars,?
and four Other regiments of cavalry. The armorers
of the imperial court and artillerymen and ar­
tillery drivers and bosranjis" of the bodyguard ...
and the aghas? of the imperial stirrup and mute­
ferriqas 10 and sergeants and gatemen and those
who belong to the imperial stables and the flour­
ishing kitchens and to the dockyard and to the
peiean" and to other units, making up 17,716
persons, the total of all these amounts to 96,727
persons.
The expense for meat and value of the winter
allowance'! together with the yearly pay of 'the
janissaries of the lofty court and armorers and ar­
tillerymen and artillery drivers in the fortresses
on the ever-victorious frontier exceeds a total of
ten thousand purses of aspers. 13 And in addition
to these, the local troops in the fortresses on the
ever-victorious frontier number seventy thousand
persons and certain veterans pensioned from the
income of the custom house and tax farms, to­
'Tax farms were purchased by privare individuals who in re­
turn for paying rhe governmenr a lump sum received rhe
right ro colleer raxes owed rhe governmenr.
;Porged documenrs showing rhar a person had paid raxes he
owed.
'A vizier was a governmenr minisrer. The grand vizier was
chief minister.
'In orher words, rax farming should be abandoned and raxes
colleered directly by governmenr officials. The aurhor does
not develop this poinr furrher.
"Infantry fighters in the Ottoman army, originally recruited
from the sultan's Christian subjects who were converted ro
Islam and given over ro military training. Their effective­
ness had severely declined by rhe eighreenrh cenrury.
'Sipahis and silihdars were cavalry troops supported by land
granrs from the sultan.
'Infantry troops who mainrained the palace grounds in
Isranbul.
"Generals.
IOMounted bodyguards who accompanied diplomats on
missions.
"An elite bodyguard numbering thirty to forty men who
wore distinctive gilded helmets.
'?Paymenrs over and above rhe troops' regular salary.
"A purse was a unit of money made up of approxirnarely 420
piasters; one piasrer equaled 120 aspers.
220
A World in Transition
gether with those who have the duty of saying
prayers amount to twenty-three thousand five
hundred. Their yearly pay amounts co five thou­
sand nine hundred and ten purses. Those who are
on the government galleys total six thousand
persons and their yearly pay eight hundred purs­
es. Accordingly, the toral of those who receive
pay and have duties is 196,227 and their yearly
pay amounts co 16,710 purses. 14
In addition co these salaries there are incomes
of the illustrious princes and princesses and the
grand vizier and the yearly allowance of the Tatar
princes" and of the commanders of the sea and
the expenditures of the imperial kitchens and
stables, of the flourishing dockyards, of the pre­
fect of the capital, of the chief butcher, of the
agha ofIstanbul, of the chief biscuit maker, of the
cannon factory, some expenditures of rnutefer­
riqas, and in addition co these, chance expendi­
tures which do not come co mind. . .. For this
reason the income does not cover the expendi­
ture, and of necessity the farmed taxes, and other
taxes such as the capitation tax," have each fallen
a year or two 111 arrears.
THE STATE OF THE MILITARY
The troops on the frontiers are actually coo nu­
merous on their rolls and in the summaries
given, although it is certain that in their ap­
pointed places each battalion is deficient, some
being perhaps half lacking and others even more,
nevertheless they let the salaries be sent from
here for all. As for the extra money which they
get, they have agreed co divide it among them­
selves. Care and thought and trustworthiness and
uprightness in the officers is needed for the sepa­
ration and distinguishing of those who are pre­
sent and those who are absent ....
4
1 A sum that exceeded the estimated annual income of the
government.
15Chieftains on the borders of the empire who were allies of
the Ottomans.
16A tax on individuals; a head tax.
"The term Magyar, meaning Hungarian, was used to refer
to any of the Ottomans' Christian enemies in southeastern
Europe.
Everyone knows that there are very many peo­
ple outside the corps who pretend the} are janis­
saries. Especially in recent times, because of the
long continuance of campaigns which have taken
place against the Magyars'? and in various other
regions according to the necessity of the mo­
ment, outsiders have joined and mixed them­
selves among this janissary corps more than
among all the others. Becoming mingled with all
sorts of people, the janissaries have brrl.en dow"
their fixed regulations. In the towns and village
situated on the coasts of Anatolia and in mall)'
regions of Rumelia" likewise, many of the Sl1:'
ject population, in order to free their necks fron.
the obligations which are incumbent upon the.u
have changed their dress. 19 Because of their] .le­
tensions of being janissaries and because of aid
from the commanders of the latter." the civilians
cannot be separated from the janissaries. There is
no distinction between this sort of men and the
faithful guardians of the frontier, veterans who
have undergone fatigue and hard usage on cam­
paigns, who have perhaps been severa : irnes
wounded uud injured, who have suffered cuts and
bruises for the welfare of faith and Sf:
who
have pillowed their heads on stones aud lain
UUWll lU sleelJ upon the ground....
At the present time special care is necessary in
the repairing of castles. If they be bl1;lr solidly
they will not become dilapidated, and L'('quem
repairs will not be needed. But the execution of
repairs must not be committed to an)' chan.
person, for the appropriation from the Treasury
may be embezzled and wasted. It must be com
mitted to a man who abstains from profiteering
and avarice.
When either the glorious commander-in-chief
or the generals go on campaign their true pur­
pose should be the animating of religion and the
,
\8 An area north of Greece, including the region' of Albania,
Macedonia, and Thrace.
'?The people have purchased and wear the uniforms of the
janissaries and claim to be members of the co,ps to avoid
taxes.
2"Thecommanders have accepted bribes to enter their names
on the corps' roles.
Chapter 6 Africa, Southwest Asia, and India in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
execution of the words of the Prophet.... Let
them not be unjust or oppressive to anyone, but
just and equitable, and let them seek to win
affection and praises. While not oppressing or
tyrannizing over the military corps, let them
safeguard proper discipline.
For when soldiers are charged with a cam­
paign, they join in bands and agree together to
consider one of themselves as chief. Practicing
brigandage, they are not satisfied with free fod­
der for their horses and food for their own bellies
from the villages they meet. They covet the
horse-cloth and rags of the peasants, and if they
can get their hands on the granaries they become
joyful, filling their sacks with barley and oats for
provisions and fodder. While they behave in this
way, ... the sighs and groans of mankind attain
the heavens and it is certain that they will be ac­
cursed ....
ECONOMIC REGULATIONS
It is essential at all times for every ruler to keep
track of the small things relating to the general
condition of the people. He must sec the proper
market prices. Everything must be sold at the
21Manysoldiers paid for their own milirary equipmenr and
provisions before a campaign. They hoped co recoup their
expenses through plunder.
price it is worth. For in case the sultan and the
viziers say: "The fixing of market prices, though
part of the public business, is insignificant," and
are not diligent about it, the city judge alone
cannot carry it out. ... Under such circum­
stances everyone buys and sells as he pleases.
Through senseless avarice the venom of vipers is
added to lawful goods. The most contemptible of
the people, useless both for the services of the sul­
tan and for warfare, become possessors of all the
wealth ... while the great men of the people who
deserve respect, becoming poor and powerless,
pursue the road of bankruptcy. Then, when it
comes about that both horsemen and footmen
who go on campaign must sell all their proper­
ty/l it is troublesome and difficult to determine
all at once how to restrain those men who have
them by the throat and how to change their de­
meanor and diminish their arrogance (may God
forbid it').... The fruiterers and merchants put a
double price on provisions and supplies and reap
a harvest of profits. They rob the people. It is ap­
parent that neglect in this matter redounds to the
harm of believers in time of trouble and to the
benefit of fruiterers and merchanrs.F
22Many merchants were Christian Armenians at Jews.
The Beginnings of Britain's Indian Empire
......
51 .. Robert Clive/
LETTER TO WILLIAM PIn 1759
'i,
~
..
As the Mughal Empire disintegrated in the eighteenth century, the relationship be­
tween India and Europe underwent a dramatic change. Until then Portuguese,
Dutch, French, and English merchants had stayed out of Indian politics, content
to trade from coastal cities, where with the approval of the emperor and local
rulers they built wharves, warehouses, and offices. As Mughal authority deterio­ rated, agents of the British East India Company, founded in 1600, and the French
East India Company, founded in 1664, sought to expand their commercial activi­
ties by entering into agreements with local princes. By mid century they were lay­
ing plans for actual territorial conquest.
~
•. ,
~'-
.
221
Chapter 9 Africa, Southwest Asia, and India in the 1800s
Ottoman Reforms in the Tanzimat Era
..,..,..,
74.., Sultan Abdul Mejid IMPERIAL RESCRIPT
l
Serious efforts to reverse the Ottoman Empire's political and military decline can
be traced back to the reign of Selim III (r. 1789-1807), who sought to revitalize the
Ottoman army by importing foreign officers, updating weapons, and tightening
discipline. These modest reforms were bitterly opposed by many Islamic religious
leaders and by the janissaries, once the elite of the Ottoman army, but now mainly
concerned with protecting their privileges. As a result, Selim was deposed in 1807
and then murdered. Mahmud II (r. 1808-1839) achieved some permanent military
and administrative reforms, largely because of his destruction of the reactionary
janissary corps in 1826 and his success in weakening some of the authority of con­
servative Islamic judges. Despite his efforts, his armies were badly defeated when
he sent them into battle against the forces of the Egyptian pasha Muhammad Ali in
1832 and 1839. Yet another era of reform began during the reign of Abdul Mejid (r,
1839-1861). Inspired by the sultan's foreign minister and later grand vizier,
Mustafa Reshid, it came to be known as the era of Tanzimat, which literally means
restructuring. This movement, which maintained its momentum until the reign of
Abdul Hamid II (r. 1876-1909), sought to save the empire by administrative re­
form, expansion of education, and the adoption of Western legal concepts and
practices.
Two of the most important documents in the Tanzirnat Era were proclamations
issued by Sultan Abdul Mejid. The first, known as the Noble Rescript, was issued
shortly after he became sultan in 1839. In it he committed himself to ending gov­
ernment corruption, confirming the rights of non-Muslims, and protecting all sub­
jects from arbitrary arrest. Seventeen years later, in 1856, he made a second,
broader statement, known as the Imperial Rescript. This represented the high
point of efforts to reform the Ottoman Empire while maintaining its authoritarian
government and traditional mix of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish subjects.
QUESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS
1. What benefits were the sultan's non-Muslim subjects to receive as a result of
this proclamation?
2. What efforts were to be made to improve the empire's system of justice?
3. What do the decrees dealing with the economy suggest about the state of the
empire's economic situation?
4. To what extent does this document extend meaningful political rights to the
sultan's subjects?
5. In what respects does this document reflect Western liberal ideals of individu­
al freedom and religious toleration?
321
1i
i,
322
..---;-----.-_..
_--~
- -- ----
The World in theAge of Western Dominance
Let it be done as herein set forth.... It being
now my desire to renew and enlarge still more
the new Institutions ordained with the view of
establishing a state of things conformable with
the dignity of my Empire and - ... by the kind
and friendly assistance of the Great Powers, my
noble Allies,' ... The guarantees promised on
our part by the Hatti-Humaioun of Gulhane,?
and in conformity with the Tanzimat, ... are
today confirmed and consolidated, and effica­
cious measures shall be taken in order that they
may have their full and entire effect.
All the privileges and spiritual immunities
granted by my ancestors from time immemorial,
and at subsequent dates, to all Christian commu­
nities or other non-Muslim persuasions estab­
lished in my empire, under my protection, shall
be confirmed and maintained.
Every Christian or other non-Muslim commu­
nity shall be bound within a fixed period, and
with the concurrence of a commission composed
. . . of members of its own body, to proceed with
my high approbation and under the inspection of
my Sublime Porte," to examine into its actual
immunities and privileges, and to discuss and
submit to my Sublime Porte the reforms re­
quired by the progress of civilization and of the
age. The powers conceded to the Christian Patri­
archs and Bishops" by the Sultan Mehmed IP and
his successors, shall be made to harmonize with
the new position which my generous and benefi­
cient intentions ensure to these communities....
The ecclesiastical dues, of whatever sort of nature
they be, shall be abolished and replaced by fixed
revenues of the Patriarchs and heads of commu­
nities .... In the towns, small boroughs, and vil­
lages, where the whole population is of the same
religion, no obstacle shall be offeredto the repair,
according to their original plan, of buildings set.
apart for religious worship, for schools, for hospi­
tals, and for cemeteries ....
Every distinction or designation tending to
make any class whatever of the subjects of my
Empire inferior to another class, on account of
their religion, language, or race, shall be forever
effaced from Administrative Protocol. The laws
shall be put in force against the use of any injuri­
ous or offensive term, either among private indi­
viduals or on the part of the authorities....
As all forms of religion are and shall be freely
professed in my dominions, no subject of my
Empire shall be hindered in the exercise of the re­
ligion that he professes.... No one shall be com­
pelled to change their religion ... and ... all the
subjects of my Empire, without distinction of na­
tionality, shall be admissible to public employ­
ments .... All the subjects of my Empire, without
distinction, shall be received into the civil and
military schools of the government.... Moreover,
every community is authorized to establish public .
schools of science, art, and industry....
All commercial, correctional, and criminal
suits between Muslims and Christian or other
non-Muslim subjects, or between Christian or
other non-Muslims of different sects, shall be re­
ferred to Mixed Tribunals. The proceedings of
these Tribunals shall be public; the parties shall
be confronted, and shall produce their witnesses,
whose testimony shall be received, without dis­
tinction, upon an oath taken according to the re­
ligious law of each sect. ...
Penal, correctional, and commercial laws, and
rules of procedure for the Mixed Tribunals, shall
be drawn up as soon as possible, and formed into
a code.... Proceedings shall be taken, for the re­
form of the penitentiary system
.
The organization of the police
shall be re­
vised in such a manner as to give to all the peace­
'During the Crimean War (1853-1856) the Ottoman Em­
pire was allied wirh Great Britain and France against Russia.
France and Great Britain at the time were encouraging Ot­ toman military reform to offset the power of Russia in the
region.
'This refers to the Noble Rescript of 1839.
3"Sublime Porte" refers to the building that housed the
grand vizier and other high officials of the Ottoman state. It
is a translation of the Turkish words Bab-i-Ali, or "high
gate." The term is used to refer to Ottoman leadership in
much the same way that the "White House" refers to the
American presidency.
'The reference is to ruling officials of the Greek and Arme­
nian churches in the Ottoman Empire.
50ttoman ruler from 1451 to 1481.
~-~-~,~-
--
•
-----
-------------~---~-~"l------.-------
----- - - - - ­
--.,......--~~---
Chapter 9 Africar Southwest Asiar and India in the 1800s
323
able subjects of my Empire the srrongesr guaran­
rect collection shall gradually, and as soon as pos­
sible, be substituted for the plan of farming," in
tees for rhe safety both of their persons and prop­
eery.... Christian subjects, and those of other all the branches of the revenues of the state.
A special law having been already passed,
non-Muslim sects, ... shall, as well as Muslims,
be subject co the obligations of the Law of Re­
which declares that the budget of the revenue
cruitment [for military service}. The principle of and the expenditure of the state shall be drawn
obtaining substitutes, or of purchasing exemp­ . up and made known every year, the said law shall
tion, shall be admitted.
be most scrupulously observed ....
Proceedings shall be taken for a reform in the
The heads of each community and a delegate,
constitution of the Provincial and Communal designated by my Sublime Porte, shall be sum­
Councils, in order co ensure fairness in the choice moned to take part in the deliberations of the
of rhe deputies of the Muslim, Christian, and Supreme Council of ] usrice on all occasions
other communities, and freedom of voting in the which might interest the generality of the sub­
Councils....
jects of my Empire....
As rhe laws regulating the purchase, sale, and
Steps shall be taken foe the formation of banks
disposal of real pcopeery are common co all the and other similar institutions, so as to effect a re­
subjects of my Empire, it shall be lawful for form in the monetary and financial system, as
well as to create funds co be employed in aug­
foreigners to possess landed property in my do­
minions....
menting the sources of the material wealth of my
The taxes are co be levied under the same de­
empire.
Everything that can impede commerce or agri­
nomination from all the subjects of my Empire,
without distinction of class or of religion. The culture shall be abolished. To accomplish these
most prompt and energetic means foe remedying objects means shall be sought to profit by sci­
the abuses in collecting the taxes, and especially ence, the art, and the funds of Europe, and rhus
the tithes, shall be considered. The system of di­
gradually to execute them,
6'fax farming, in which rhe governmenr contracted with pri­
vate financiers who collected taxes for a profit.
Persian Opposition to the Tobacco Concession
..,..,..,
75.., Sayyid]amal ad-Din/
LETTER TO HASAN SHIRAZI
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European imperialism did not always involve gunboats, invading armies, and con­
trol by colonial administrators, It frequently was more economic than political.
Both the Ottoman Empire and Persia remained independent stares in the 1800s,
but rheir finances and economies were increasingly controlled and manipulated by
European bondholders, bankers, businessmen, and speculators. Their experience
is as much a pare of the Wesr's imperialist expansion as that of India, Africa, and
Southeast Asia.
For Persia, economic imperialism was epitomized by the numerous concessions
granted to foreign businessmen by [he shah's government. These agreements gave
Europeans control of a sec cor of the nation's economy, usually in return for a one-