Ottoman Manufacturing in the Age of the Industrial Revolution

This book uncovers the rich and fascinating world of nineteenth-century Ottoman manufacturing.

Donald Quataert (Author)

9780521420174, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 October 1993

252 pages, 5 b/w illus. 5 maps 24 tables
23.6 x 15.7 x 2 cm, 0.494 kg

"...impeccably researched and informative book on manufacturing in the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century...offers penetrating insights into crucial questions on the economic development of the Third World...Quataert's data collection, a research tour de force, is unlikely to be duplicated." Middle East Journal

This book uncovers the rich, fascinating and complex world of Ottoman manufacturing and manufacturers in the age of the European industrial revolution. Using a wealth of sources from Ottoman, European and American archives, Professor Donald Quataert explores the technological methods of producing cotton cloth, wool cloth, yarn and silk, how these changed throughout the nineteenth century, the organisation of home and workshop production and trends in the domestic and international markets. By focusing on textile manufacturing in homes and small workshops, the author reveals a dynamism that refutes traditional notions of a declining economy in the face of European expansion. He shows how manufacturers adopted a variety of strategies, such as reduced wages and low technology inputs, to confront European competitors, protect their livelihoods and retain domestic and international customers.

Introduction
Part I. Manufacturing for the Domestic Market: 1. Raw cotton, dyestuffs and yarn production
2. Trends in cloth production in the Ottoman lands from Salonica to Aleppo
3. Patterns of cloth production in the Ottoman lands from Salonica to Aleppo
Part II. Manufacturing for the International Market: 4. Silk cloth and raw silk production
5. Carpetmaking
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], Asian history [HBJF]