Indigenous Silkworm Egg Production and Competition in the Ottoman Empire According to the Istanbul French Chamber of Commerce (1890-1912)
French silkworm eggs dominated the market in Ottoman silkworm cocoon production centers since the mid-nineteenth century. This study examines the indigenous silkworm egg production efforts of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) in the last period of the Ottoman Empire, the competition of indigenous silkworm races with French silkworm races, and their exports based on the reports of the French Chamber of Commerce in Istanbul. As a result, OPDA’s efforts to produce indigenous eggs in the Bursa region attracted the reaction of the French capital. Bursa silkworm eggs, also called Baghdad white, achieved great success in terms of yield in a short period of time. Consequently, they became the main competitor of the French yellow silkworm both within the Ottoman Empire and in foreign markets such as the Iran, Caucasus, and Turkestan.
İstanbul Fransız Ticaret Odası’na Göre Osmanlı Devleti’nde Yerli İpek Böceği Tohumu Üretimi ve Rekabet (1890-1912)
Fransız menşeili ipek böceği tohumları, 1870′lerden itibaren Osmanlı ipek böceği tohumu piyasasına hâkim olmuştu. Bu çalışmada, Osmanlı’nın son döneminde Düyûn-ı Umûmiyye tarafından yürütülen yerli ipek böceği tohumu üretim çalışmaları, yerli tohumların Fransız tohumları ile olan rekabeti ve ihracatı gibi hususlar, İstanbul Fransız Ticaret Odası raporları temel alınarak incelenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, Düyûn-ı Umûmiyye’nin Bursa bölgesinde yürüttüğü yerli tohum üretim çalışmaları, Fransız sermayesinin tepkisini çekmiştir. Bağdat beyazı olarak da adlandırılan Bursa üretimi yerli ipek böcekleri, verim olarak çok başarılı olmuştur. Dolayısıyla hem Osmanlı dâhilinde hem de İran, Kafkasya, Türkistan gibi dış pazarlarda Fransız menşeili sarı ipek böceklerinin en büyük rakibi haline gelmiştir.
After the silkworm diseases that spread to the Ottoman provinces after the 1860s, the indigenous Baghdad white silkworms began to disappear. Consequently, healthy yellow silkworm eggs were imported to the Ottoman Empire from the Var, Alpes-Maritime, and Corsica regions of France. Due to their compatibility with the prevailing climatic conditions in the Ottoman Empire and their capacity to produce high yields of cocoons, the French yellow silkworm race came to dominate the market for silkworm eggs between the years 1880 and 1890. However, Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA), the Ottoman authority responsible for the collection of silk taxes, initiated initiatives aimed at the reproduction and popularization of the indigenous Baghdad race of silkworm eggs. However, these efforts posed a threat to the interests of French silkworm egg producers and traders, who had secured a significant market share in the Ottoman Empire. Consequently, the French capital, which constituted the most significant actor within the Ottoman silk industry, and OPDA became rivals in the production of silkworm eggs. This rivalry can be observed in the reports published by the French Chamber of Commerce and the Lyon Silk Merchants Association. In particular, the Revue Commerciale du Levant, a monthly bulletin of the French Chamber of Commerce in Istanbul, which published reports from its members and French consular staff operating in the major commercial centers of the Ottoman Empire, frequently mentioned this rivalry. This study addresses matters pertaining to the response of French merchants to the OPDA silkworm egg production initiatives and the competition between indigenous and French silkworm eggs in the domestic and foreign markets. It is based on the Revue Commerciale du Levant bulletin.
In order to facilitate the development and popularization of indigenous silkworm egg production, the OPDA initially established the Bursa School of Sericulture (Bursa Harîr Dâruttalîmi). Those who received diplomas from the school and the incentives offered by the Ottoman government saw a significant increase in the amount of indigenous silkworm eggs used in Bursa and Izmit, two regions with a high production of cocoons. At the time of the founding of the Bursa School of Sericulture in 1888, the proportion of native Bursa silkworm eggs of the Baghdad white race used in the aforementioned regions was only 20%. However, by 1890, this figure had reached 65%, and by 1896, it had reached 98%. Consequently, the market share of French silkworm eggs in Bursa and Izmit was effectively negligible. In the Aleppo, Beirut, and Damascus provinces, the second largest silk production center and the largest silkworm egg market of the Ottoman Empire, the use of indigenous silkworm eggs never reached the desired levels, remaining at approximately 10-15% of the total. In the aforementioned provinces, which the French merchants designated as the Syrian region, it can be posited that both physical and political factors contributed to the underutilization of indigenous silkworm eggs. One of the main physical reasons is that indigenous silkworms consume more mulberry leaves than French silkworms. In addition, the raw silk factories of the region were very conservative in spinning cocoons produced from French yellow silkworms. Political factors are associated with the influence of France in the region. It is a historical fact that the region, especially around Beirut, was perceived as a natural area of political expansion for the French. It can be surmised that this fact was instrumental in exempting the region from silkworm eggs regulations and practices. As a matter of fact, even though the OPDA was engaged in activities such as the promotion of mulberry cultivation in the region, it is understood that it did not make intensive efforts in the use of indigenous races.
Bursa region became a leading exporter of silkworm eggs during this period. Especially after 1895, more than half of the silkworm eggs produced in the Bursa region were exported to Iran, Caucasus and Turkestan. Before the introduction of Bursa silkworm eggs, one of the most important suppliers of these regions was France. Therefore, Bursa silkworm eggs became the biggest competitor of French silkworm eggs not only in the domestic market but also in Iran, the Caucasus and Turkestan. Bursa producers exported an average of 400.000 boxes of eggs to these regions annually with an estimated value of 2.500.000 francs. It should be noted that these figures do not include possible unregistered exports from eastern Anatolia, where OPDA control was weak. Thus, even with their exports to the Caucasus and Turkestan alone, Bursa producers reduced the volume of trade in French silkworm eggs. On the other hand, it should be noted that French merchants in Bursa acted as intermediaries in exports to these regions.
French merchants, who were the dominant element in the Ottoman silk industry, showed different reactions to indigenous silkworm egg production. The French operating in the Bursa and Izmit regions recognized that indigenous eggs increased cocoon yields and thus raw silk production. They also established companies producing indigenous silkworm eggs in the region and started to earn income from the egg trade. The French operating in Aleppo, Beirut and Damascus provinces, on the other hand, were prejudiced against indigenous silkworms and criticized the work of the Ottoman government and OPDA. They even believed that OPDA was harming French interests in the Ottoman silk sector.
In the end, OPDA's efforts to produce indigenous silkworm eggs, supported by the Ottoman government, were successful and made the Ottoman Empire an important actor on a global scale. Nevertheless, it would not be inaccurate to assert that OPDA, which in our economic history is often discussed with concepts such as imperialism and resource exploitation, created a new resource for the Ottoman finance and farmers, at least in this sector, rather than exploitation.
