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Maritime connections between Rijeka and Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. century.

In the Maritime and History Museum of Croatian Littoral Rijeka as well as in the State Archive in Rijeka there are few documents which are referring to relatively intensive maritime connections between the region of Kvarner (north-east Adriatic) and Ottoman Empire. The Habsburg Emperor Charles VI intended to break Venetian dominion over Adriatic and intensify the Habsburg trade in the Adriatic and Mediterranean at the beginning of the 18th century. In this political plan Rijeka, along with Trieste had an important role as a port and maritime centre. The city of Rijeka had a status of free port - gubernium within the Habsburg Empire from 1776 and it was governed by Hungarian governor. After reestablishment of the Hungarian government in the city of Rijeka in 1822 (after the Napoleonic wars) there was a growing intention to established trade connections over Mediterranean and especially Ottoman Empire. Along with this we can follow the prosperity of shipbuilding in the Kvarner region, especially of the sail ships owned by local maritime and merchant’s families. In the documents we can follow the trade routes of those ships to Ottoman’s port and observe the intensity of trade and other contacts. The trade connections and maritime affairs blossomed from the 1830s to 1870s, when repressed by growing English and French competition as well as collapse of sail ships, diminished.

Rijeka; Ottoman Empire; 19th century; trade; Adriatic; Eastern Mediterranean

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