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Entangled allegiances: Ottoman Greeks in Marseille and the shifting ethos of Greekness (c. 1790–c. 1820)*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2016

Mathieu Grenet
Mathieu Grenet*
Affiliation:
Washington University in St. Louis
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Abstract

An attempt is made here to consider ‘the Greek experience of Ottoman rule’ beyond the frontiers of the Empire itself, by focusing on the resilience of the Ottoman aspect of collective identity among the Greeks in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Marseille. Beyond the classic questioning of political, social and cultural categories and labels, this article makes a plea for taking this resilience seriously, as part and parcel of a broader process of identity formation in a diaspora context. Making the case for a richer and more complex analysis of the phenomenon of ‘entangled identities’ among the Greeks in Marseille, some suggestions are made for what this claim might bring to the analysis of identity formation in the context of diaspora communities.

Type
Articles
Information
Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , 2012 , pp. 56 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © The Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, University of Birmingham 2012

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Footnotes

*

This article builds on earlier presentations and lectures given over the past two years at Princeton University, the Casa de Velázquez (Madrid), the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris), the European University Institute (Florence) and Heidelberg University, and I would like to thank the participants and discussants at these different meetings for their comments and suggestions. I also wish to thank the two reviewers of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies as well as Peter Mackridge for their careful reading and fruitful criticisms on the final version of this paper.

References

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2 See for instance Geanakoplos, D. J., ‘The diaspora Greeks: the genesis of modern Greek national consciousness’, in Diamandouros, N. P. et al. (eds.), Hellenism and the First Greek War of Liberation (1821-1830): Continuity and Change (Thessaloniki 1976) 59–77 Google Scholar.

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15 On this episode see Grenet, La fabrique communautaire, 383-5.

16 Harlaftis, G. and Laiou, S., ‘Ottoman state policy in Mediterranean trade and shipping, c.1780-c.1820: the rise of the Greek-owned Ottoman merchant fleet’, in Mazower, M. (ed.), Networks of Power in Modern Greece: Essays in Honour of John Campbell (London 2008) 1–44Google Scholar. For another recent attempt at reframing the pre-1821 Greek merchant marine within its Ottoman context, see Pissis, N., ‘Investments in the Greek merchant marine (1783-1821)’, in Faroqhi, S. and Veinstein, G. (eds.), Merchants in the Ottoman Empire (Leuwen 2008) 151-64Google Scholar.

17 A.N., A.E., B III 215, Correspondance de l’agent..., an IV, no 84, Ginis to Secretary of State, 13 germinal an IV (2 April 1796).

18 Svoronos, N., ‘Les marins grecs au service de la Première République française’, France-Grèce 11-12 (1953) 11-12Google Scholar and 26-8; Échinard, P., ‘Les Grecs au service de Marseille et de la République sous la Révolution et le Consulat’, Bulletin de l’Institut Historique de Provence 47.4 (1969) 259-62Google Scholar; M. Grenet, La fabrique communautaire, 117-18.

19 A.N., BB 11 2, Naturalisations et changements de noms, file 487, ‘Antoine Basile Guini’.

20 Archives Départementales des Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille) [hereafter A.D.], 128 V 1, Grecs schismatiques et cultes christophiles, Prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône to Home Secretary, 3 June 1817.

21 Echinard, P., ‘Arsenios (Januko)’, in Guiral, P. and Reynaud, F. (eds.), Les Marseillais dans l’Histoire (Toulouse 1988) 36 Google Scholar.

22 A.D., 128 V 1, Home Secretary to Russian Ambassador in France, 14 June 1817.

23 On this issue see Rapport, M., Nationality and Citizenship in Revolutionary France: The Treatment of Foreigners, 1789-1799 (Oxford 2000)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

24 Another explanation is the inauguration, in the same days of 1821, of a Greek-Catholic (Uniate) church in Marseille, and therefore the concern to subdue any jealousy among the Orthodox; see A.D., 128 V 1, Prefect to Director General of the Police, 9 April 1821.

25 Ibid., Ottoman Consul in Marseille to Prefect, 24 March 1821; ibid., Prefect to Mayor of Marseille, 29 March 1821; ibid., Mayor to Prefect, 4 April 1821.

26 Ibid., Director General of the Police to Prefect, 29 Nov. 1825.

27 Anagnostopoulou, S., ‘L’historicité des termes: les Grecs et la domination ottomane, XVIe–XIXe siècles’, in Chehad, M., Ioannou, Y. and Métrai, Fr. (eds.), Méditerranée, ruptures et continuités (Lyon 2003) 195 Google Scholar.

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29 For a first (and sketchy) attempt at mapping the early Ottoman consular network in Europe, see Bağış, A. I., Osmanlı ticaretinde gayri müslimler: kapitülasyonlar, avrupa tüccarlari, beratlt tüccarlar, hayriye tüccarları (1750-1839) (Ankara 1983)Google Scholar. For a recent overview see van den Boogert, M. H., ‘Consul’, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three (Leiden 2011)Google Scholar, http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=ei3_COM-24356.

30 Harlaftis and Laiou, ‘Ottoman state policy’, 18.

31 Buonocore, F., ‘Consoli e procuratori di Tripoli e di Tunisi nelle Due Sicilie (e cenni ad altri consoli о agenti di paesi musulmani nell’epoca precoloniale)’, Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dell’Istituto Italo-Africano 31.2 (1976) 257-76Google Scholar.

32 Livorno, Archivio di Stato di, Governo civile e militare di Livorno, 997, Copialettere Civili, 1814-1815, no. 896 Google Scholar, Governor of Livorno to Prime Minister of Tuscany, 21 Dec. 1814.

33 Échinard, , Grecs et philhellènes, XXVIII Google Scholar.

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35 A.E. B III 217, Correspondance de l’agent..., an VI, no 19, Agent to Foreign Minister, 21 vendémiaire an VI (12 Oct. 1797).

36 Very little is known about this enigmatic character, entrusted with the Ottoman consulate in Marseille from September 1811 until January 1813. Appointed on a temporary basis by the Ottoman ambassador in Paris (Abdürrahim Muhibb Efendi) after the former consul was revoked on charges of corruption, Georges Nicolas eventually requested leave two years later to visit his family in Salonica. See Archives Municipales de Marseille [hereafter A.M.], 12 F 1, Agence des Relations extérieures — Consulats divers, Agent to Mayor, 18 Sept. 1811 and 30 Jan. 1813.

37 Only later in the 19th century would consular appointments become more stable, to the point of becoming quasi-hereditary offices. See Kiineralp, S., ‘Diplomates et consuls ottomans en France au XIXe siècle’, in Batu, H. and Bacqué-Grammont, J.-L. (eds.), L’Empire ottoman, la République de Turquie et la France (Istanbul 1986) 311 Google Scholar.

38 On Marchand, see Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri (Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office, Istanbul) [hereafter B.O.A.], HAT 1345/52596A, Coded report from the Ottoman ambassador in Paris, ‘9 B 1223’ (30-1 Aug. 1808). On Pettizza see below.

39 A.N, A.E., B HI 218, no. 166, ‘État des Grecs résidants [sic] à Marseille et reconnus par l’Agent des Relations Extérieures’, 26 floréal an VII (15 May 1799); de Villeneuve-Bargemont, Ch., Statistique du Département des Bouches-du-Rhône, III (Marseille 1826) 61 Google Scholar.

40 Biblioteca Labronica (Livorno), Mss. Ricci, Umilissima relazione che accompagna i rapporti consolari con una breve dissertazione sul commercio in generale applicata alti Stati Ereditari, 8 March 1761.

41 A.N., AF IV 1689, ‘Turquie 1811’, no. 133/1, Ottoman Ambassador in France to Ottoman chargé d’affaires in Paris, 17 Sept. 1811; ibid., 133/3, Captain Konstantinos Zakidopoulos to Ottoman Ambassador in France, n.d.; B.O.A., HAT 307/18134, Ottoman chargé d’affaires in Paris to Grand Vizier, ‘15 Ra 1231’ (13-14 Feb. 1816).

42 A.M., 1 I 720, Logeurs et garnis: rapports des commissaires de police, surveillance, etc. (1806-1819), Police captains of Marseille to Mayor, 21, 23 and 28 March 1807.

43 A.N., A.E. B III 217, no. 217, Petition by ‘Moulla Osman Aga, Mamet Aga, Bellul Aga, and other Ottoman subjects’ to Agent, 7 fructidor an VI (24 Aug. 1798).

44 A.N., F 7 7387, Police générale-Affaires diverses, file B 6 2476, ‘George d’lsay’, Military Commander of Marseille to Police Minister, 11 fructidor an VI (28 Aug. 1798).

45 See for instance ibid., Isaiou to Swedish Ambassador, 4 ventôse an VII (22 Feb. 1799).

46 A.N., A.E. B III 217, no. 217, Petition, 24 Aug. 1798.

47 Ibid.

48 A.N., F 7 7387, file B 6 2476, Military Commander to Police Minister, 28 August 1798; Ibid., Isaiou to Swedish Ambassador, 4 ventôse an VII (22 Feb. 1799).

49 Ibid., Military Commander to Police Minister, 30 nivôse an VII (19 Jan. 1799): ‘La leçon qu’il reçoit aujourd’hui produira des effets on ne peut pas [sic] plus salutaires, tant sur lui, que sur certains de ces nationaux, qui se sont quelques fois permis des propos très reprehensibles, dans la situation politique où nous nous trouvons vis-à-vis la Porte Ottomane’.

50 Smyrnelis, M.-C., Une société hors de soi: Identités et relations sociales à Smyrně aux XVIIIe et XIX” siècles (Paris 2005) 228 Google Scholar. On the activities of the Isaiou trading house in Smyrna, see Frangakis-Syrett, E., The Commerce of Smyrna in the eighteenth century (1700-1820) (Athens 1992) 110 Google Scholar.

51 As early as 1797, a local newspaper reported that ‘we have in Marseille Greek ships whose sailors’ daily quarrels usually end with stabbings’ (‘Nous avons à Marseille des bâtiments grecs dont les matelots ne laissent guère passer de jour sans avoir de querelles entre eux: ils les terminent ordinairement à coups de poignard’); Journal de Marseille, 22 pluviôse an V (17 Feb. 1797).

52 The original police report is reproduced in La Police secrète du Premier Empire, III (Paris 1922) 199; see also A.N., F 7 3659/ 6, Police générale. Bouches-du-Rhône, an XI-1809, Report on the lst semester of 1807, §1.

53 Echinard, Grecs et pbilbellènes à Marseille, 52.

54 Mandilara, A., ‘Les origines du phénomène migratoire grec à Marseille (1793-1815)’, in Grivaud, G. (ed.), La Diaspora Hellénique en France (Athens 2000) 29–38 Google Scholar; Grenet, M., ‘Quand “le plus court chemin” n’est pas le chemin le plus court. Les réseaux migratoires grecs vers Marseille de la fin du XVIIIc au milieu du XIXc siècle’, in Bleton-Ruget, A. et al. (eds.), Réseaux en question: utopies, pratiques et prospective (Mâcon 2010) 383-95Google Scholar.

55 Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Fonds du Grand-Orient de France, F.M.2, Archives de Loges, 282 (Aimable Sagesse, 1801-1836) and 284 (Amitié, 1801-1814). On the role played by freemasonry in the integration of Greeks to the local society, see Grenet, M., ‘La loge et l’étranger: les Grecs dans la franc-maçonnerie marseillaise dans le premier quart du XIXe siècle’, Cahiers de la Méditerranée 72 (2006) 225-43Google Scholar.

56 Costituzioni e capitoli della nostra chiesa eretta in Livorno sotto l’invocazione della Santissima Trinità I Διαταγαί και οννθήχαι της εν Λιβόρνω εκκλησίας των ορθόοοξων Ανατολικών Γραικών κτισθείσης παρ’ αντών eiť ονόματι της Αγίας Τριάοος (Livorno 1775) 6.

57 V. Seirinidou, ‘The “old” diaspora, the “new” diaspora, and the Greek diaspora in the eighteenth through nineteenth centuries Vienna’, in Rozen (ed.), Homelands and Diasporas, 159.

58 Ibid.

59 On this issue see for instance Moutafidou, A., ‘Greek merchant families perceiving the world: the case of Demetrius Vikelas’, Mediterranean Historical Review 23.2 (2008) 143-64CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Grenet, M., ‘Citizens abroad: The Greek community of Marseilles and political events in Greece, 1820-1830’, Intercultural Studies 7 (2007) 39–52 Google Scholar.

60 A.N., F 7 6722, Police générale — Grecs et philhellènes (1821-1830), file 1, ‘Passagers du brigantin le Baron Strogonoff’, Prefect to Director General of the Police, 20 July 1821.

61 A.M., 1 I 40, Police locale, Correspondance envoyée, 1821-1822, no 1114, Mayor to Unknown, 25 October 1821. Replying in turn to Capoudas, the philheilenes rather bluntly expressed their indifference to such subtleties: ‘Well, never mind: pay us and we’ll fight for the Turks against the Greeks, for war is our occupation’ (‘Eh bien peu importe, payez nous et nous nous battrons pour les Turcs contre les Grecs parce que la guerre est notre métier’).

62 Loukos, C., ‘#Ενας φανατικός καποδιοτριακός οτη Μασσαλία της Ιουλιανής Επανάαταοης: о Ζακύνθιος Ιωάννης Μάης’, in Loukos, Ch. (ed.), Κοινωνικοί αγώνες και Διαφωτισμός: Μελέτες αφιερωμένες οτον Φίλιππο Ηλιού (Irakleio 2007) 61–75 Google Scholar.

63 A.M., 12 F 5, Consulats étrangers à Marseille, IV, file ‘Sublime Porte’, Chamber of Commerce of Marseille to Mayor, 3 Oct. 1823.

64 A.N., A.E. В III 221, Correspondance de l’agent..., 1815-1826, Agent to Foreign Minister, 2 Sept. 1825.

65 Αρχεία Υπονργείον Εξωιερικών (Archives of the Foreign Ministry, Athens), 1833, 37/4, Προξενεία της Ελλάδος εις Μασσαλίαν, Bavarian Consul in Marseille to Greek Foreign Minister, 4/15 April 1833.