Journal of Ottoman Legacy Studies (Mar 2021)
YOLSUZLUK, YOKSULLUK VE GÖÇ SARMALINDAKİ BİR SANCAĞIN TEFTİŞİ: ALİ RIZA EFENDİ VE GÜMÜŞHANE
Abstract
Reforms turned into state policy with the declaration of the Tanzimat in the Ottoman Empire. Meclis-i Vala, established in 1838, both organized and supervised the reforms institutionally. Despite this, the reforms were tried to be implemented through trial and error. Since the reforms in administrative, financial and legal fields directly affected social life, there were difficulties in their implementation. However, there were demands for investments in almost every region of Anatolia and Rumelia in the fields of transportation and communication. The roads were tried to be renewed according to European standards, and the distances were shortened with the telegraph lines. Especially, while the increase in communication facilities strengthened the control of the Porte over the provinces, it made it easier for the local people to reach Istanbul for their complaints. Despite these developments, it is obvious that change is not easy to experience. The Sublime Porte had been strictly controlling the events in the provinces since the first years of the Tanzimat. In particular, the inspectors assigned were inspecting the applications, identifying the problems and trying to find solutions. Often, short inspection processes did not produce the expected results. The state faced heavy inspection costs. However, the obligations of being a state could not be left to arbitrary practices in the provincial administration. After Abdulaziz became the Ottoman sultan, new inspection delegations were sent to Anatolia and Rumelia in 1863. Ali Rıza Efendi was assigned to supervise the regions of Trabzon, Erzurum, Harput, Diyarbakır, Adana and Maraş within this framework. Ali Rıza Efendi, who came to the fore with his achievements in public service and was appointed as a member of the Meclis-i Vala, faced great problems when he went to Trabzon. Issues such as arbitrary practices of the administration, corruption, insufficiency of educational institutions, insufficient public order, poverty and immigration were some of the topics Ali Rıza Efendi sought a solution. Even in a relatively small sanjak like Gümüşhane, almost all of these topics were on the inspector's agenda. In the 1860s, Gümüşhane's center and its districts were the scene of the local politics' struggle for power. The district governor, Baha Bey, who showed a successful administration, was dismissed after the complaints of the local forces. However, the court proved not guilty as a result. Esad Aga, the former director of the Siran district, was another administrator who faced groundless accusations. He was tried in the period when the Şiran accident was both connected to Erzincan and Gümüşhane. In the Tanzimat Period, in the Ottoman provinces, in addition to the district directorates, the parliament members were also the scene of important struggles. Local councilors, chosen among prominent and wealthy figures, were occasionally the subject of complaints from the public. As a result of the complaints, the Gümüşhane Parliament members of Derviş, Tayyar and Abdi Ağa and İbrahim Efendi were ended. In addition to these, Gümüşhane Mining Manager İbrahim Efendi fled abroad by signing a major corruption. He first fled to Greece and then to France. Upon the attempt of the Ottoman Empire for his return, he went to Russia and lost his track. The closure of the mines brought poverty in Gümüşhane with it. The people of Gümüşhane immigrated to the country and abroad, mainly to Russia. The remaining families were also held responsible for the tax debts of those who left. Finally, as a result of the work of the inspector Ali Rıza Efendi, it was decided that the tax debts of the immigrants would not be collected from the remaining ones. Thus, Ottoman administrators tried to prevent non-Muslim migration. However, there was another problem as important as the tax burden: the pasture dispute between Greeks and Armenians. Ali Rıza Efendi could not resolve the pasture dispute during the inspection period. Even Russian and Greek consuls got involved. As a result of this discussion, especially the Greeks immigrated from Gümüşhane. Ali Rıza Efendi worked for a livable Gümüşhane as well as striving for the solution of the problems. Roads and bridges were repaired. Schools and mosques were built and repaired so that the people could learn their religion better.
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