Gold for the Sultan

The collapse of the Imperial Ottoman Bank (BIO) in 1875 was a pivotal event in Ottoman history. It had vast political and international relations consequences; it finished any attempt at modernizing the administration of the Ottoman Empire, it made the Porte impotent in the Balkan wars of 1877-8 and 1912-13 and thus contributed to partition of the Balkan territories and set the scene for World War I. This was a huge event in the continuing saga of the decline of the "sick man of Europe" and the Eastern question. Based on Turkish, British and French sources, this text is a technical economic history within a political international/diplomatic history framework. It covers the reasons for Ottoman bankruptcy, military expenditure and lack of financial control, and the role of foreign bankers including the question of "exploitative financial imperialism".