Greek mercantile activities in the eastern Mediterranean, 1780-1820

Preceeded by a period of capital growth in the third quarter of the eighteenth century, the years 1780 to 1820 were crucial for the economic development of the Greeks in the eastern Mediterranean in terms of trade, navigation, privateering, and monetary speculation. Smyrna, which was the most important international port in the eastern Mediterranean during this period, became one of their most important bases, from which they expanded and founded numerous trading organisations throughout the Mediterranean and north-western Europe.