Foreign Capital Investment in the Ottoman Province: Siverek Düyûn-ı Umûmiyye Directorate and Siverek Reji Directorate (1881-1925)

Abstract

The Ottoman Empire preferred foreign borrowing in order to finance the war that took place between 1853-1856. In addition to domestic borrowing, the empire, which started the process of foreign borrowing, took foreign debt 15 times until 1875. Upon the announcement of the suspension of debt installments in 1875, the creditor states reached an agreement with the government in order to collect their money and decided to establish an organization similar to the Rüsum-u Sitte Administration, which was previously managed by domestic debtors. This organization was formed due to the signing of the Muharrem Decree on 20 December 1881 under the name of Düyûn-ı Umûmiyye Administration. This organization, which worked throughout the empire, was established as an international organization to control six items in the Ottoman finance in order to collect the money of the creditor states. One of the regions where the administration was organized was the Siverek district which was within Diyarbakir Province. The organizational structure of the Düyûn-ı Umûmiyye Administration in the region, the staff structure and the organizational structure and activities of the Siverek Regiment Officer, which operates under the administration, are the subjects of this study. In accordance with this purpose, the study was carried out by making use of archive documents, yearbooks and copyrighted works of Siverek Düyûn-ı Umûmiyye Directorate and Siverek Regiment Officer.