Özet:

An archaeologist as well as a British diplomat of Italian origins, Sir Alfred Biliotti was a man of curiosity. He entered the British Foreign Office in 1856 as the Vice-Consul for Rhodes and retired in 1903 after serving in the most conflict-prone districts of the Ottoman Empire. Although retired, Sir Alfred Biliotti continued to serve the British Foreign Office as acting Vice-Consul of Rhodes until his death in 1915. His consular reports on the island of Rhodes as well as other regions provide valuable information to scholars studying the economic and social history of the Ottoman Empire. The economic and commercial position of Rhodes, like the other islands of the Aegean, was much affected by developments in the Mediterranean trade as well as developments in the Anatolian mainland. When Sir Alfred Biliotti returned to Rhodes, the island was in the process of an economic recovery after a serious setback that it experienced towards the end of the 19th century. This article, therefore, aims to analyze the economic and commercial conditions prevailing on the island of Rhodes through the reports of both his predecessors and Sir Alfred Biliotti. Although the study covers a period between 1903 and 1912, in order to have a comprehensive understanding of the commercial dynamics of the island, 19th century developments will also be touched upon

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