Three main reasons — one structural, one historical, one geographical.
In sociological parlance, the Greeks were a middleman minority in the Ottoman empire. That means they were an ethnoreligious minority group who, although not immune to discrimination, included members with active role in the economy, usually trade and the financial sector. Such minorities often earn the envy and hate of the majority group, who see them as uppity extortionists, but also tend to be well-off, well-educated and well-connected. Traditionally, Christians and Jews played that role in Muslim countries, and Jews alone in Christian countries.
There are many reasons why a middleman minority would arise. The majority often focused more on holding land or serving in the army than doing business, as that was considered more dignified and stable. Also, lending money with interest has historically been prohibited in numerous societies for moral and religious reasons, so someone outside the majority had to do the dirty job. As the world moved into the modern period, the activities of middleman minorities became more important and profitable, which gave them the upper hand in some respects.
The historical reason has to do with geopolitical developments in the Ottoman empire and its periphery. From the 17th c. onward, the empire wasn’t expanding anymore. That territorial stability reduced state profits and forced the government to focus on taxation instead. Since Christians paid more taxes than Muslims per capita, it was good for the state coffers to have the former do business. An anecdote has it that once the Ottoman government thought of killing all Christians, until one of them asked, “But then who’s going to pay the taxes?”
Even more important on the geopolitical field was the role of the Russian empire. In the second half of the 18th c., the tsars started defeating the sultans for good, and eventually Russia gained access to the Black sea and more. That gave new life to regional trade, which helped Greek merchants doing business with Russia. Moreover, the Ottomans were forced to sign the treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774), according to which the ships of Orthodox merchants who were Ottoman subjects had the right to sail under the Russian flag, protected by their fellow Orthodox tsar.
Last but not least, the Greeks were a sea and seafaring people spread over much of the empire. They had good knowledge of all the seas in the region, maritime traditions, ports and resources. The Aegean islands never had a significant Turkish/Muslim population, so trade and shipping there were in the hands of Greeks. Coastal cities like Smyrna had also numerous Greek inhabitants, sometimes the majority. That led to the establishment of schools and various other associations, including business-related ones, which created a virtuous circle of prosperity.
Above: An Ottoman bazaar.
Source : Quora
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