Ottoman Bank Manager Francis de Palézieux Falconnet’s Adventure in Constantinople (1856-1861)
Hasan Ali ÇakmakThe 19th century was a period in which the financial institutions in the Ottoman Empire, both in the administrative organization and the private sector, were westernized and emerged anew. The empire also became acquainted with banking activities during this period, with the first serious step in this field being taken with the establishment of Dersaadet Bank in 1849 under the leadership of bankers Alléon and Baltazzi. After the declaration of the Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856, a period took place in which foreign entrepreneurs sought opportunities and established various institutions and organizations regarding banking in Ottoman lands. Although detailed studies are found on local bankers in the current literature, the studies on foreign bankers who joined the business and financial world in the Ottoman lands cannot be said to be at the desired level. In this regard, the current article covers the life and activities of the foreign banker and Ottoman Bank Manager Francis de Palézieux Falconnet in Constantinople. Revealing the services of Falconnet, who had come to the capital after the Crimean War and contributed to the monetary system and financial administration of the empire for about five years not only as a banker but also as a financial adviser, is an effort that will add a different dimension to financial history of the Empire. Based on this purpose, the current review is devoted to filling the gap regarding Falconnet’s life and activities in the Ottoman world by using a comparative method to evaluate the sources in Turkish and foreign languages.
Ottoman Bank Müdürü Francis de Palézieux Falconnet’nin İstanbul Serüveni (1856-1861)
Hasan Ali ÇakmakOn dokuzuncu yüzyıl Osmanlı Devleti’nde hem idari teşkilatta hem de özel sektörde finans kurumlarının batılılaştığı ve yenilerinin ortaya çıktığı bir dönemdir. Bankacılık faaliyetleri ile de imparatorluk bu dönemde tanışmıştır. 1849 yılında Alleon ve Baltazzi bankerlerin öncülüğünde Dersaadet Bankası’nın kurulması sonucunda bu alanda ilk ciddi adım atılmıştır. 1856 yılında Islahat Fermanı’nın ilan edilmesinden sonra ise bankacılıkta Osmanlı topraklarında yabancı girşimcilerin de imkân aradıkları ve muhtelif kurum ve kuruluşlar meydana getirdikleri bir süreç yaşanmıştır. Mevcut literatürde yerli bankerler/ bankacılara dair detaylı araştırmalar bulunmasına karşın Osmanlı topraklarında iş ve finans dünyasına katılan yabancı bankacılar hakkındaki incelemelerin temenni edilen boyutta olduğunu söylemek son derece güçtür. Bu bakımdan bu makalede söz konusu bankacılardan biri olan Ottoman Bank Müdürü Francis de Palézieux Falconnet’nin yaşamı ve İstanbul’daki icraatına yer ayrılmıştır. Kırım Savaşı’ndan sonra payitahta gelerek sadece bir bankacı olarak değil, aynı zamanda bir finans danışmanı olarak yaklaşık beş sene imparatorluğun finans sistemine ve mali idaresine katkılar sağlayan Falconnet’nin hizmetlerinin ortaya çıkarılması finans tarihi araştırmalarına farklı bir boyut kazandıracak bir çabadır. Bu amaçtan yola çıkan bu inceleme, yerli ve yabancı dildeki kaynakların karşılaştırmalı bir usul ile değerlendirilerek Falconnet’nin hayatı ve Osmanlı dünyasındaki faaliyetleri hakkında var olan boşluğun doldurulmasına hasredilmiştir.
The financial system of the Ottoman Empire underwent significant changes in the 19th century, which is known as the longest century of the empire. With the influence of centralization and the Westernization efforts that had started during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, many new institutions were established, and the state mechanism was revised by taking into account the administrative styles of European countries. The first significant changes occurred in the ministries within the government, and all ministries were reestablished, including the Ministry of Finance.
The Ottoman administration entered a period of integration and cohesion with Europe not only politically but also economically. Following the monetary reform in 1843, Ottoman finance switched to a standard monetary system. After this stage, emphasis was placed on financial modernization efforts. The Ottomans, who had become acquainted with many financial institutions during this period, began to partially pave the way for foreign investments. Important developments undeniably occurred in the field of banking, especially with the declaration of the Ottoman Reform Edict 1856 after the 1839 Edict of Gülhane and the Crimean War. Ottoman administrators had not been keen on opening banks and similar institutions in the empire before this date and now saw lifting the restrictions they had imposed in this field to be appropriate. They published various announcements both domestically and abroad and stated that the necessary measures would be taken for developing the country. In addition, the first foreign loans were taken during this period, and legal regulations were prepared for adjusting to a modern state budget.
Meanwhile, the Ottoman ministers stated through their announcements that they saw no harm in adopting modern financial institutions and organizations and wasted no time attempting to take the first steps toward establishing a state bank. However, the fact that most of the country’s resources had been exhausted during the Crimean War prevented the creation of a banking system using domestic resources. For this reason, the Ottoman Empire applied for help from states with whom it had been allied in the Crimean War, such as England and France, and made the decision that foreign investments would be allowed to enter the banking sector. When the capital circles in European countries became aware of this radical decision born out of necessity, the Ottoman government was visited by foreign investors who wanted to establish a bank.
Ottoman bureaucrats, who had been concentrated in the houses of Galata district and its surroundings by the first half of the 19th century and had carried out banking transactions using traditional methods through bankers at a single office, began to include foreign bankers in public finance in the second half of the century. The main reason behind this decision was undoubtedly the fact that the Ottoman Empire’s own resources were insufficient for its needs. In order to supply alternative resources to the Ottoman treasury, support outside of traditional means needed to be searched.
Many studies and much research on Ottoman financial history have revealed information about the lives and activities of local bankers. However, a lack of detailed research is found on foreign bankers, and serious efforts to fill this gap cannot be said to have occurred in academic circles. Unfortunately, not much is known about some foreign bankers other than their names. This situation thus has led to incomplete and superficial evaluations of the actors who had been the pillars of the Ottoman economy. As the subject of this article, Ottoman Bank Manager Francis de Palézieux Falconnet was a foreign banker about whom not much information is found. Falconnet had come to Ottoman lands in 1856, and pursued an adventure that would last nearly five years. He was a person who had become famous in the early years of his career by fulfilling the duties in South America that had been given to him by the leading financial institution of Britain, Baring Brothers. After being appointed general manager of the Ottoman Bank shortly after it was opened in Constantinople in June 1856, Falconnet managed to have his bank survive among the influential local merchants and bankers using the opportunities provided by Britain. He also served as a financial expert at various offices of the Ottoman bureaucracy. Under his leadership, the Ottoman Bank worked to find a solution to the Empire’s monetary instability. Apart from this, he also attempted to introduce the rules of modern banking into the financial circles that were actively operating in the Empire.
The Ottoman Bank, which had initially been considered a commercial bank under the management of Falconnet, was unable to make much progress in this field. However, he tried to have the bank take on the role of a state bank by acting as an intermediary institution of the state regarding the payment of domestic and foreign loans. Falconnet made great attempts to abolish interest-bearing banknotes in 1858 and left not only a commercial organization but also a politically influential organization behind him when he died three years later. This paper tries to reveal Falconnet’s activities during his management of Ottoman Bank branches between 1856-1861. The study uses archival sources and the literature with the aims of contributing to the financial history of the Ottoman Empire, a history that is lacking especially in regard to the biographies of foreign bankers.
