Issue 36 2023 - Journal - Page 60
tempt to facilitate the trade of raw materials. The newspaper also adds that the products were of rare kind and
beautiful, praising the Sultan for overseeing this quality
production. Another report, published by Ceride-i
Havadis, 24 March 1851, titled as ‘‘Domestic News’’, also
gave the news that the products were exhibited before
their shipment to the Feyzâ-i Bahrî frigate, the Sultan and
statesmen visited the exhibition, and the products were
checked and categorized. Feyza-i Bahri (The Blessing of
the Sea), was built in Istanbul in 1848 and its equipment
was finalized in 1850. The machines inside were bought
from the British factory, Maudslay, Sons and Field. It had
a wooden body, steam power and side rows.
industrial products to suitable markets. In addition,
Ottoman Empire itself was a unique market for British
industry.
The Baltalimanı Commercial Treaty might be considered
in light of these commercial relations. The treaty
was signed after long efforts by the British diplomats, highlighted the commercial aspect of Ottoman-British
relations and initiated the Ottoman-British alliance which
was to last until the 1870s. It would not be wrong to evaluate the Ottoman participation in the Great Exhibition
as a reflection of these friendly relations.
Queen Victoria sent an official exhibition invitation
through the Ottoman ambassador of London to Sultan
Abdülmecid Sultan Abdülmecid was also famous for his
reform movement. One of the well-known reform movements of the Sultan Abdulmecid, the Tanzimat Edict, ensured property security for all Muslim and non-Muslim
Ottoman citizens, promised equal taxation, and allowed
the inheritance of acquired properties. The Sultan's desire
to show the results of these reforms, which had been proclaimed ten years before the Great Exhibition, in an international exhibition may have been one of the main
motivations for the Ottoman Empire’s participation.
The Times, reported on the frigate on Monday, 28 April
1851, with the title of ‘The Arrival of the Turkish Ship
Feyz-i Bahri’. The report state that the ship was led by
Mustafa Pasa and Captain Salih Bey and arrived at
Southampton harbour on Saturday. It was also reported
that the passengers included the brother-in-law of the
Sultan, Cemaleddin Pasa, Ambassador Musurus Pasa,
Ambassy Commission member M. Aleko Bogoridis, Ambassador’s Secretary Ziya Efendi, Amedi Chamber members Salih Efendi, Rauf Bey and Hisan Bey, Ismail Bey,
Divan member Emir Bey and Nesip Bey, lawyer Hüseyin
Vehbi Efendi, Hasan Bey, Rıfat Efendi, Lütfi Efendi and
Secretary to the Minister of Commerce, Cevdet Efendi,
and several people who got permission from the Palace to
board the ship and that there were 207 packages packed
for the exhibition.
Ottoman participation and Britain’s hosting of the
Ottoman delegation enabled layered interactions
between the two actors. In a statement printed in Ceridei Havadis on October 1st, 1850, the Ottoman Empire
declared the objectives behind its participation in the
exhibition as follows: ‘‘To show the productivity of the land,
to prove the skillfulness of the Ottoman subjects in the fields of
agriculture, industry and arts, to demonstrate the efforts of the
Sultan to improve the Empire’’. The person responsible for
both the Istanbul and London exhibitions was the
Minister of Commerce and Agriculture, Ismail Pasa.
Natural products collected for the exhibition included raw
materials, minerals, food products and agricultural products. The manufactured goods including handmade and
industrial Ottoman products were also selected to send.
The products were exhibited in the hall of the Ministry
of Commerce in Istanbul before being shipped to
Southampton. Sultan Abdülmecid himself visited the
exhibition with members of the court and the royal family
including the Valide Sultan. The Sultan’s visit to the
pre-exhibition also demonstrates the care, attention and
appreciation that he had towards to the issue. It also reflects his open-mindedness in adapting to Western norms.
Hampshire Advertiser stated that the Captain Salih Bey
led the ship, carrying the flag of Vice Admiral Mustafa
Pasa, arriving to Spithead on Friday, 24 April. Upon
arrival the ship gave a gun salute to the Turkish squadron
there and reached Southampton on the early Saturday
morning of 25 April. In the same piece cited above, also
states that the City Clerk, C. E. Deacon visited Vice
Admiral Mustafa Pasa on Saturday morning, April 25.
According to the City Council report written by Deacon,
he was hosted on the ship with a true Eastern hospitality.
The piece also states that the ship was open to the public
for visits that day but later to obtain permission from the
embassy was required to visit the ship.
On Sunday morning, the Ottoman Ambassador in
Southampton, H. D. Jourdain, was welcomed on the
frigate with seven gun salutes. Later arrangements were
made for the Turkish ambassador to get off the ship. The
ambassador left the frigate under the seventeen gun
salutes from the Turkish frigate and the American frigate,
St. Lawrence. The same report adds that the Ottoman
Ambassador, H. D. Jourdain, left for London on a special
train at three p.m. The packages for the Great Exhibition
were carried by the Ambassador to the Crystal Palace. A
great deal of these packages were sent to London on
Monday evening and the remaining ones were sent on
Tuesday.
The pre-exhibition reported in the Ottoman official
newspaper, Takvim-i Vekayi’s 447th issue. According to
this report, on Saturday 23 March, Sultan Abdülmecid,
accompanied by the Grand Vizier, Shaykh al-Islam, Serif
Abdulmuttalib Efendi (who was a descendent of the
Prophet), all prestigious ministers, important statesmen
and civil servants, visited the exhibition before its shipment. It stated that agricultural and industrial products
of the Ottoman lands were sent off to London in an ati
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