CAPTIVITY AND RANSOM: OTTOMAN CAPTIVES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN (1600-1700)
ESÂRET VE FİDYE: AKDENİZ’DE OSMANLI ESİRLERİ (1600-1700)

Author : Metin Ziya Köse --
Number of pages : 331-336

Abstract

Ottomans did not only capture Europeans at Mediterranean, Ottoman citizens were also captured and enslaved by Europeans. Many Ottoman citizens were captured by Christian European States at Mediterranean by the wars of 17Th century, piracy and other reasons. Voyagers, pilgrims, Turkish pirates, merchants and soldiers were captured especially by Maltese pirates. For their freedom the Ottoman Citizen prisoners which were captured by Malta, Spain, Florence, Messina, Tuscany and Venice had to assure big amount of ransom comparing to the economical conditions of the time. In Catholic states certain procedures were being followed in order to obtain the capturers’ freedom back. Some European merchants who were living at Galata and Ottoman merchants became mediators in order to assure the freedom of Muslim captives as a profitable way of income. Private agreements were made between captives’ relaters and merchants about handling the ransom money and rescue of the captives. The ransom money was sometimes provided from European or Muslim merchants at Galata or sometimes it is provided directly from mediator captive savers. In this work which is going to be prepared upon the agreement texts and warrantor contracts of Galata court records, extrication process of Ottoman captives from Christian world will be exposed.

Keywords

captive, Mediterranean, ransom, captive merchants, freedom

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