Пиратство/корсарство във взаимоотношенията между Великите сили и Османската империя през XVIII век
Piracy/Privateering and the Relations between the Great Powers and the Ottoman Empire in the 18th Century

Summary/Abstract: An important factor for the establishment and further development of the bilateral relations between the Ottoman empire and each of the European Great Powers were the so-called capitulations. These were peace treaties signed by the Ottomans, on one hand, and any of the Great Powers, on the other. In the capitulations, there usually was a clause that guaranteed the privilege of "a free and safe trade": the Sublime Porte was obligated to protect the sea-borne trade of the other nation (respectively, England, France, Holland, Austria, Sweden, etc.) from pirates', or buccaneers', attacks and - what was more important - "in case of an attack, to compensate it for the losses it had suffered". The present article focuses on the practical measures adopted by the Ottoman government with the purpose of guaranteeing the safety of "the Christian ships as well as of the consuls and the merchants of the said nations who resided in the cities of the Levant". In this connection, the author examines the relations between the Ottoman authorities and the pirates/privateers who operated in Ottoman waters: these were, above all, the Berbers of Tunisia, Algeria and Tripoli. She also examines the relations between the Ottoman authorities and the Order of Malta which had a similar obligation: to clear the Mediterranean of pirates and buccaneers thus providing safety for the sea-borne trade of the Christian nations. Finally, the author examines the boom of piracy in the Mediterranean in the context of the relations among the Great Powers. These relations were, as a rule, complicated and full of contradictions, especially whenever making peace between Christian nations and the Arab provinces of the Ottoman empire was concerned. As has already been mentioned, the making of peace usually came down to the signature of capitulations. Among the Christian nations, there was a never-ending competition: as could be seen from the surviving sources, Austria lunched an aggressive political course towards becoming a maritime nation in the 18th century. While the Ottoman empire had become obligated to protect the other Christian nations' ships from pirates as early as the 16th century, Austria did not get this privilege until 1784. Pirates and buccaneers were, therefore, an important factor in the international relations during the 18th century. Because they operated in Ottoman waters, pirates placed the Ottoman empire in a disadvantageous position in the international scene. Besides, they affected the overall development of the Ottoman empire: its economic, political, administrative and cultural life. In other words, piracy and privateering contributed to the decline of the Ottoman power in the Mediterranean as well as to the general decline of the Ottoman empire.

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