Chapter 11 Social Worlds of Captivity: Charity and Support for Ottoman Captives in Early Modern Istanbul

In: Transforming Empire: The Ottomans from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean
Author:
Ali Atabey
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Type:
Chapter
Pages:
230–247
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004704374_012

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Abstract

By utilizing unpublished legal court records belonging to the court of Galata, this chapter analyzes the social support and solidarity provided to Ottoman captives by their families, friends, neighbors, and the wider community in Istanbul during the seventeenth century. It argues that this social support was essential to the functioning of ransom networks in the Ottoman Mediterranean, as most captives were in financially dire straits and could not afford to pay their ransom price or ransom-related debts after their redemption. In the absence of systematic institutional intervention from the Ottoman state on behalf of captives, this social support proved particularly valuable. While the political and economic aspects of captivity and ransoming in the Ottoman Mediterranean have received significant historiographical attention, the social aspects of ransoming have not been analyzed to the same extent. This contribution aims to address this gap in the existing literature.

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Series:  The Ottoman Empire and its Heritage, Volume: 80
Cover Transforming Empire: The Ottomans from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean
E-Book ISBN:
9789004704374
Publisher:
Brill
Print Publication Date:
17 Sep 2024
Front Matter
Part 1 Peoples
Part 2 Places
Part 3 Practices
Back Matter

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