Transitional Forms in the Economy (17th – 18th Centuries)

The focus of this chapter are the problems directly related to the changes that occurred in the economic life of the Ottoman Empire and that of the Bulgarians in the 17th and 18th centuries. Of decisive importance in this extremely dynamic era in its political, economic and social dimensions are the reforms carried out in the military and fiscal system at the end of the 17th and 18th centuries. They played a key role in the adaptation of the Empire and its subjects to the new conditions and the establishment of transitional forms in the development of agriculture and the urban economy. All of of them – mukâta’as, malikânes, waqfs, çiftliks – are known from the previous period as well, but acquired different dimensions and directions of development in the conditions of the 17th and 18th centuries after the more or less successful reforms. Their equal representation is a difficult task in view of the vast literature on this issue, the still „open“ discussions in Bulgarian and foreign historiography, as well as the volume of available narrative and archival sources. The research focuses on the widespread penetration and dominance of the iltizam system in various sectors of the economy in the 17th and 18th centuries centuries, including in the structures of the Orthodox Church. In the light of recent studies and rich source material, incl. unpublished Ottoman sources – mainly mufassil (detailed) defteris, annual income-expenditure statements, the so called suret, suret-i ruznamçe hakani, arzuhals, etc. – is clarified the role of the mukâta’as in the agricultural sector and the urban economy in the Rumeli provinces and in the Bulgarian lands, the introduction of the malikâne system at the end of the 17th century and its development in the 18th century, the specifics of the ecclesiastical mukâta’as and malikânes. Only basic questions are raised regarding the changes in the Ottoman waqf and çiftliks in the 17th and 18th centuries, examined in detail here by Paulina Andonova. Special attention is paid only to non-Muslim waqfs and economic activity of religious institutions.