TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Treaty · 1838
The 1838 Treaty of Balta Liman, or the Anglo-Ottoman Treaty, was a formal trade agreement signed between the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain. The trade policies imposed upon the Ottoman Empire, after the Treaty of Balta Liman, were some of the most liberal, open market settlements that had ever been enacted. The terms of the treaty stated that the Ottoman Empire would abolish all monopolies and allow British merchants and their collaborators to have full access to all Ottoman markets and be taxed equally to local merchants. These agreements did not constitute an equal free trade arrangement, as Britain still employed protectionist policies on their agricultural markets.
There are no official trade records for the Ottoman Empire before the year 1878, though it is clear that amount of imports and exports rose shortly after the Treaty of Balta Liman. Although the treaty undeniably increased trade, previously-sheltered Ottoman industry declined when exposed to foreign competition, and imports into the country increased more than exports. The rapid influx of cheap British textiles, no protectionist policies, and the lack of a development policy meant that industrialization fell rather than rose in the Ottoman Empire after the Treaty of Balta Liman.
Took place during the reign of Mahmud II (1808–1839). Mahmud II
Open the reign of Mahmud II on the mapText: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), adapted for the atlas.