Notes on Sixtieth-Century Ottoman Economy A factor with debating consequences for Ottoman economic stability was the increasing availability of specie, the principal cause of which was the flow of cheap silver from Europe after the 1550s. However, on the other side, this situation was complicated by a number of real factors. The former approach have attempted to present an interpretation of the Ottoman economic reality in its global context form. In this perspective, the rise of the Atlantic economy, with America's huge supplies of cheap silver, and above all Europe's aggressive mercantilism, caused the collapse of the Ottoman monetary system, triggering dramatic changes in the seventeenth century. The latter approach have emphasized the importance of trends in population, agriculture and manufacturing. In this period, the Ottoman monetary system was adversely affected by the large movements of gold and especially silver and the severe fiscal difficulties of the state. A factor with devastating effects for Ottoman monetary stability was the depreciation of silver coin, the principal cause of which was the influx of cheap silver from Europe after the 1580's. The precise date of the Ottoman debasement/devaluation is yet to be established as 1584. The debasement was the largest to date and one of the largest in Ottoman history. Whereas, to the maximum, circa 582 aqchas were legally struck from 100 Tabriz dirhams up to 1584, between 1226-1533 aqchas began to be struck from the same amount of silver after 1586. In other words, the silver content of the aqcha was reduced by more than 50 %. The official exchange rate of the aqcha against the sultani was accordingly lowered from 60 to 120. Inevitably, market rates showed regional differences within the empire. As should be expected from the prevailing west-east differentials in the gold to silver ratio, gold coinages were more expensive in the Balkans and silver was more valuable in the east parts of the empire. It appears that the periodic shortage of coinage continued in this period, especially in the provinces. Since the Ottoman Empire of the XVII century did not or could not meet the economy's demand for money, this need was met increasingly by European coins. Even though European and other foreign coins had been a permanent part of the Ottoman scene since the fourteenth century, they played a qualitatively different role in the XVII and the early XVIII centuries. Foreign coins prevailed not only in the aqcha region but around the entire empire from the Balkans to Iraq, from Egypt to Tunisia. Foreign coins became the leading forms of actual money. Local court records, European commercial reports and the observations of travelers provide ample evidence in this respect. Though the aqcha was no longer the vital currency it had been in the sixteenth century, it remained the basic unit of account up to it was replaced by the Ottoman qurush at the end of the seventeenth century. Different types of Ottoman coinage circulated in different regions from Crimea and the Balkans to Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and northwest Africa. Perhaps even more significantly, foreign coins always circulated widely in different parts of the empire, occasionally exceeding in importance their local counterparts. One of the more prominent silver coins in circulation was the Spanish 8-real, called the "riyal qurush". The Spanish 8-real was in fact the most widely used coin of the world economy during the XVI and XVII centuries. In the southern Balkans, western and central Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, and northwest Africa, the Dutch thaler had quite a large circulation. It was called "esedi qurush" or "aslanli qurush". There were others, such as the Polish "isolette" or "zolota", which was later imitated by Dutch and English merchants and brought into the Levant markets. As for gold coins, in the Balkans, the Venetian ducat together and the Hungarian gold circulated extensively. Ottoman authorities in Istanbul did not attempt to restrict the circulation of foreign coins. In fact, in many instances it demanded payment in European coinage. It also published regularly the rates at which these coins would be accepted by the treasury. Moreover, starting in 1691, the government, in order to generate additional revenue, began to apply different rates to coinages received and coinages used as payment for the government. Towards the middle of the XVII century, as shortage of coin intensified, Ottoman markets were flooded with European coins and with their counterfeit and debased versions. The Dutch, the English, the Venetian, and the French were all involved in this lucrative trade. In this regard, precious metals themselves became an important trade commodity. Because it was profitable to buy currency at low price in the West and to sell it at higher price in the Levant. Besides, the extreme instability of the aqcha earlier in the XVII century and the resulting loss of confidence in the currency became another significant factor in the spread of European coins and their debased versions and the virtual disappearance of the aqcha in many parts of the empire. In fact, the role of credit and reliance on alternative forms of money increased in direct proportion to the shortages of coinage. Credit for both resident and itinerant traders was secured from pious foundations as well as from individuals. In the middle of the sixteenth century, money-lending foundations were numerous in the major cities, particularly in Istanbul. Though, the inflation of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries eroded the capital of many formations, money-lending pious foundations were common in the seventeenth century as well. Private lenders constituted another source of credit, that was widespread and decentralized. In most credit transactions of the period, no secret was made of the fact that interest was demanded and paid. Informally established rules determined a fair rate of interest, namely between 10 and 20 %, while pious foundations frequently demanded 15 %. Feeling against usury and usurers was strong, certainly among members of the majority as well. But this apparently applied to high rates of interest rather than to the taking of interest per se. Interest-taking by pious foundations must have contributed toward legitimizing the practice. In addition, bills of exchange and multilateral clearing mechanism became increasingly more common in the conduct of long-distance trade with Europe. To some extent, bartering in trade continued throughout the XVII century. In addition, from the mid-XVII century, the use of letters of credit, in Turkish "poliche" from Italian "polizza", became quite widespread among merchants and in government payments. Note: This is a comment found as a Cached of a Google Search. We were not able to find it using the link http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~takkaya/other/HCIV10211/title_1_6&7.doc or to identify it on the trough the http://www.bilkent.edu web site. So, unfortunately, we do not know who the author is to give him the credit for this excellent glimpse.