Samsun

Affected by the developments in foreign trade and the changing consumming habits of the 19^th century, the Ottoman community encountered the concept of insurance and its activities. Insurance was already used in shipping until the 1870s. The results of the fire in Pera in 1870 demonstrated to the Ottoman merchants the necessity of fire insurance. Fire insurance was followed by life insurance and other types of insurance. When one reviews the allocation of the insurance companies in the Ottoman Empire, it can be revealed that these were established along the route of the European Anatolian steam transportations and along the railway network. Also, the existence of a significant population of non-muslims in these areas had influenced this reality. [1].

At the beginning of the 19^th century, Samsun was a port city dwelling under the shadow of Trabzon. After the Treaty of Balta Limanı, the attention over the city, especially English and Austrian, increased. In 1856, British imports developed nearly ten times [2]. The Crimean War and the increase in the European grain needs also affected this development. Samsun and its surroundings had arable lands. As a result, the exportations gradually increased. The main products exported from the Samsun port were corn, grain, linen, cannabis seeds, millet, madder, cotton, wool, leather, fur and silk worm cocoons. Sugar, coffee, wine and hooch, medicals, cotton by-products and hardware were among the imported goods. Between 1841-1890, the ship traffic in the port of Samsun increased six times [3]. Samsun, an important trade city for the hinterland, had become an important port for exports and towards the end of the century it had surpassed the port of Trabzon [4].

Almost all of the insurance companies that were established in the Ottoman Empire after 1880 had agencies in Samsun as well. The agencies, their country of origin and the types of insurances offered are shown in the following table.

Table 1. The Insurance Agencies in Samsun Between 1894-1914

Source: Fatih Kahya, Osmanlı Devleti’nde Sigortacılık, (İstanbul: Libra, 2010), 286-295; Murat Baskıcı, “Osmanlı Anadolusu’nda Sigorta Piyasası”, Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Dergisi, 57:4, (2002), pp. 3-33; Filiz Dığıroğlu, “XIX. Yüzyıl Karadeniz’inde Yeni Bir Ticari Merkez: Samsun”, (Phd Thesis, Marmara Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Üniversitesi, IV Section, İstanbul, 2011).

The French consul Cortanze stated that at the beginning of the 1900s almost all of the insurance companies in Samsun had the same tariffs. With the increase in the number of agencies, the competition also increased and the premium decreased. During these years, it is noticeable that some of the companies began to broaden the scope of their services to ground transportations too, instead of only between ports, a fact which contributed to the trade growth [5].

Usually, the representatives of the companies were prominent merchants of Samsun. Also, these persons were sometimes importers and exporters. Most of them were Greeks or Armenians. Some of the insurance agencies in Samsun were short lived. On the other hand, some of them were active for more years. La Fonciére, which opened in 1884, was active until 1914. Its representatives were Nouma Doulcet (1884-1858), A. Spadora (1890-1893/4), Henri de Cortenze (1894) and the Mavdiris family (1894-1914), respectively. Vienoisse opened in 1884 too and was active until 1908. Its representative was L.Ed.Muradyan, a prominent merchant of Samsun. L.Ed.Muradyan was also the representative of Badoise de Mannheim, which opened in 1887 and was active until 1908. After Muradyan, G.C. Stephopulos, P. Eleopulo, G. Philocli represented this agency. Assicurazioni Generali di Trieste, which was opened in 1890, was the first life insurance agency in Samsun. Its representatives were A. Petroviç, Laitgeb, Tertzeta, Algardi, J.Joannides, A.Roumis et Cie and Sidi Victor respectively. After 1914, Nemlizades, a member of a muslim merchant family of Samsun, became the representative of the agency. Osmanlı Sigorta Şirketi was initiated in 1902 in Çarşamba by Eliyas Markopoli. İstefanos Sarrafi Efendi was the representative of Royal Exchange in 1913, in Buğday Pazarı [6]. The lawyer Vahan Malezyan was the representative of New York Life Insurance Co. between 1899-1901 [7].

[1] Murat Baskıcı, “Osmanlı Anadolusu’nda Sigorta Piyasası”, Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Dergisi, 57:4, (2002), pp. 3-33.

[2] Metin Ziya Köse, “XIX. Yüzyıl Ortalarında Samsun Limanı’nda İthalat ve İhracat”, in Osman Köse (ed.) Tarih Boyunca Karadeniz Ticareti ve Canik I, Samsun, 2013, pp.103-117.

[3] Mehmet Murat Baskıcı, 1800-1914 Yıllarında Anadolu’da İktisadi Değişim: (Ankara: Turhan Kitabevi, 2005), 86-87.

[4] Ibid, Metin Ziya Köse, pp. 103-117.

[5 ] Özgür Yılmaz, “20. Yüzyılın Başlarında Samsun Limanı: Fransız Konsolosu H. de Cortanze’nin Raporlarına Göre ”, in Osman Köse (ed.) Tarih Boyunca Karadeniz Ticareti ve Canik I, Samsun, 2013, pp.181-195

[6]Filiz Dığıroğlu, “XIX. Yüzyıl Karadeniz’inde Yeni Bir Ticari Merkez: Samsun”, (Phd Thesis, Marmara Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, IV Section, İstanbul, 2011).

[7] Filiz Dığıroğlu, “XIX. yüzyıl Samsunu’nda İktisadi Teşekküller, Esnaf ve Meslekler”,in Osman Köse (ed.) Tarih Boyunca Karadeniz Ticareti ve Canik I, Samsun, 2013, pp.293-308.