07.02.2022 Guillaume Calafat (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne):

The Political Economy of the Hadj in the Mediterranean: Maritime Shipping and North African Forgein Trade During the 18th Century.

During the 18th century, European ships (especially French, Dutch and British) handled a considerable part of the Ottoman Empire’s maritime connections, an activity known as carrying trade or "caravane". This European freight was a serious drain on the Ottoman economy. This talk will focus on the financial and contractual mechanisms of the carrying trade. It will bring to the fore the lucrative sector of maritime shipping of Muslim pilgrims (Ḥajji) from the Ottoman provinces of Algiers and Tunis to Egypt. This important sector raises several questions: why was it more dangerous or more difficult for Muslims to navigate in the Mediterranean during the 18^th century? Why did the powerful North African navies of the 17^th century not develop into merchant navies during the following century? How did Ottoman merchants and charterers seal their contracts and protect themselves in case of damage?
Guillaume Calafat is Associate Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (France). His research focuses on commercial and maritime law in the Mediterranean.

This talk will be online. Here is the link for the Webex session:

https://fu-berlin.webex.com/fu-berlin-en/j.php?MTID=m3477a0f6e7c11486f4ad9de33b14e261