Abstract
The Initiative of the Unionists to Found A National Ferry Company in the Second Constitutional Era: The Ottoman Incorporated Company of İttihâd Seyr u Sefâ’in
The Committee of Union and Progress, which aimed that Ottoman Empire actively take part in maritime trade during the Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire, which had coasts to the Black Sea, Marmara Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, encouraged the establishment of national companies in accordance with its economic policy, while also establishing a company under its own patronage. The Ottoman Incorporated Company of İttihâd SeyruSefâ'in was founded in Thessaloniki in 1911 by some entrepreneurs, including Eyüp Sabri Bey, one of the leading figures of the Ittihadists, with a capital of 250000 Ottoman liras. The company, on the one hand, tried to gain capital through the sale of stocks and to engage in commercial activities through the ferries it bought, on the other hand, tried to survive in the unfavorable conditions caused by the years of Tripoli War, the Balkan Wars and the First World War. Its first ferry, İttihad, was seized by Greece in the port of Piraeus shortly after the company started commerce activities. Although the İttihad ferry was regained after the Balkan Wars, it was captured by the Russians in the Black Sea during the First World War. The company, which was transferred to the Republic of Turkey, played an active role in the transportation of the refugees during the Turkish-Greek Population Exchange. The event involving the company’s Bozkurt ferry has turned into the subject of an international lawsuit (Bozkurt-Lotus Case). This study tries to show how a maritime company, which was established within the frame of the national economy concept followed by the Committee of Union and Progress during the Second Constitutional Era, and under the patronage of the society, was affected by the hard conditions caused by the wars and its activities to continue its existence. The findings we reached in our study are mainly based on the documents of the Directorate of the State Archives and the copyright and examination works directly related to the subject.
Keywords
Committee of Union and Progress, Maritime Activities, İncorporated Company, Ferry, Incorporated Comp