“O kadar esaretten sonra köle olmak için Rusya’ya dönecek halleri yok”: İmparatorluklar ve Kimlikler Arasında Ege’de Bir Şiddet Ağı
Bu makalede, 1787-1792 Osmanlı-Rus Harbi’nde iki devlet arasında kalan Rum
menşeyli bir grup korsanın hikâyesi, kestirme bir cevap vermenin oldukça güç olduğu
“Osmanlı kimdir?” sorusu çerçevesinde ele alınmaktadır. Çalışmada birbiriyle örtüşen
Osmanlı, Rus ve İngiliz arşiv kaynaklarından hareketle, bahsedilen vaka birkaç farklı
yönden ele alınmaktadır. Öncelikle hikâyenin kahramanları olan Rum korsanların
zuhur etmelerinin başlıca nedeni olan Ege Denizi’ndeki şiddet sarmalının tarihsel
arkaplanı çizilmektedir. Daha sonra Rum denizcilerin Rus hizmetine girmeleri ve
Osmanlı güçleri tarafından ele geçirilişleri anlatılmaktadır. Tutsak edilen sıradan denizcilerin, yeni “işverenleri” olan Ruslar ve hükümranları olan Osmanlılar arasında
kaldıkları zaman, kendi çıkarlarını korumak için hangi stratejilerle hareket ettikleri
açıklanmaktadır. Tutsaklar ve devletler, canla başla tutsakların hukuki kimliklerini ve
tabiiyetlerini tanımlamaya çalışırken, harbin bitmesiyle birlikte denizcilerin salıverilmesine sıra geldiğinde hikâye en ilgi çekici safhasına ulaşacaktır
“After being so long Prisoners, they will not return to Slavery in Russia”: An Aegean Network of Violence between Empires and Identities
This article tells the story of one group of Greek-speaking privateers caught
between the Ottoman and Russian empires during a protracted war between those
two states in the late eighteenth century (1787-1792). The work uses the incident to
explore the complex question of “who was an Ottoman,” and the vital effects the
answer could have on the lives and livelihoods of those who negotiated their way
between these two Black Sea imperial rivals. Drawing on a convenient overlap in Ottoman, Russian, and British archival sources, the article approaches this story from
multiple viewpoints, first explaining the context of Aegean maritime violence from
which this particular group of corsairs emerged. It then discusses their enlistment in
Russian service, their capture by Ottoman forces, and the subsequent attempts of
rank-and-file sailors to maneuver between the demands of their Russian employers
and their Ottoman captors and rulers, all the while trying to assert their own interests.
As captives and governments alike wrestled with the complex question of defining
legal identity and imperial loyalty, the story became most interesting when it came
time to release the captives at the close of the war in 1792.
___
- Bibliography
Archival Documents
Arkhiv Vneshnei Politikii Rossiiskoi Imperii (AVPRI), Konstantinopol’skaya Missiya
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Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (BOA), Cevdet Bahriye (CBH), 6275, 10802
BOA, Cevdet Hariciye (CHR), 611, 7582, 9101.
BOA, Cevdet Maliye (CML), 720.
BOA, Divan-ı Hümayun Düvel-i Ecnebiye Kalemi Defterleri (DVEd), 86/4.
BOA, Divan-ı Hümayun Düvel-i Ecnebiye Kalemi Dosyaları (DVE), 65/36.
BOA, Hatt-ı Hümayun (HAT), 209/11182, 210/11316, 211/11478, 1386/55004,
1387/55087, 1387/55144, 1389/55311, 1397/56083, 1400/56389, 1402/56578,
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BOA, Maliyeden Müdevver, 10418.
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78/8 #15, 78/8 #22, 78/11 #33, 78/13 #10, 78/13 #12, 78/13 #13, 78/13 #15.
TNA, State Papers (SP), 97/51 #5.
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