On Yedi ve On Sekizinci Asır Osmanlı Tarihine Dair Hollanda Kaynakları
Dutch Sources on Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Ottoman History

Summary/Abstract: This article introduces the primary sources of Ottoman history held in various archives and libraries in the Netherlands and discusses their potential for studies on Ottoman history. The primary sources on Ottoman history produced by Dutch institutions evolved both in terms of quantity and content over time in parallel with the transformation of the institutions that conducted and coordinated commercial and diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire. The Dutch emerged as an important commercial actor in the Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the sixteenth century, obtained their first ahidname from the Ottoman Empire in 1612 and established an embassy in Istanbul and consulates in various trade centres of the Empire. The records of these diplomatic and commercial representatives are important sources for Ottoman history since they contain information about Dutch commercial and diplomatic activities as well as about various developments in the Empire. Beyond these records held in the Dutch National Archives in The Hague, there are primary sources on Ottoman history in various local archives and libraries in the Netherlands. Among these libraries, Leiden University Library has a special importance due to its “Oriental Manuscript Collection”. In various municipal archives, which can be defined as local archives, both notarial records and documents left behind by a number of companies trading with the Ottoman market are sources that provide an opportunity to look at the Ottoman commercial life from a very different perspective.

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