Abstract
The Eastern Mediterranean has long been a strategic geography and a competitive arena for many political entities. Our study's spatial focus is on the Eastern Mediterranean, known for its social, economic, and cultural richness. The primary issue our research addresses is the smuggling activities and their effects in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period when controlling these activities became nearly impossible under Ottoman sovereignty but also a competitive zone for many foreign states. As illegal activities, smuggling incidents in the Mediterranean—a region with vast boundaries and impacts—have been numerous. Therefore, smuggling activities in the waters of the Eas tern Mediterranean have been evaluated within the framework of specific significant topics. Considering the general context of the period, the focused topics include explosives and wea pons, harmful publications, fugitive human trafficking, and tax evasion. Smuggling activities are notably concentrated on the island coasts of the Eastern Mediterranean. For instance, the islands of Crete and Cyprus emerge as significant transit points for conducting smuggling activities. The intensification of such illegal activities was influenced by the frequent security gaps and the weakened intervention power of the Ottoman Empire, both internally and ex ternally, during its final period. Despite limited resources, the state attempted to take certain measures and precautions to prevent smuggling. This study also evaluates the control me chanisms developed by the state against smuggling. Primarily based on Ottoman archival documents, the study is also supported by documents from British state archives.
Keywords: Osmanlı Devleti, Doğu Akdeniz, Kaçakçılık Faaliyetleri
This article has been read 35 times