Özet:

As the capital of Aydın Province, Izmir, such as Salonica and Beirut, became one of the important trade hubs of the East Mediterranean. Shifting from the shabby wooden piers to the actual harbors constructed in Izmir between 1869 and 1875 boosted the economic activities of the city. The increase in international trade also resulted in the concession hunting between France and Britain which could be seen in the case of the power struggle over the management of the Izmir Port. Based on the Ottoman archival sources, Hizmet newspaper published in Ottoman in Izmir, and the nineteenth-century French and British press, this article aims to examine the multi-layered history of Izmir Port from the perspective of international concession hunting. In addition to Dussaud Fréres, the investor company and the representatives of rival companies, the French and British press were also involved in the discussions about the construction and management of Izmir Port. Izmir Port, constructed by the Dussauds, a Marseillan Company, which increased the export of agricultural products of the West Anatolian hinterland, became one of the key economic, social, and cultural spheres of Izmir that was on the travel route of European travelers in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

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