o. keksiner, M. Y. erLer: ottoman Migrants to america Left to their Fate in the Ports …212
osman keskiner and Mehmet Yavuz erler
ottoman Migrants to america Left 
to their Fate in the Ports of trieste 
and rijeka (1896–1914)
udk 314.745.25(7=943.5)”1896/1914” 
KESKİNER Osman, asistent, 19 May uni-
versity, Faculty of divinity, kurupelit/samsun, 
osmankeskiner@gmail.com
ERLER Mehmet Yavuz, dr. prof., 19 May 
university, Faculty of science and Literatu-
re, department of history, kurupelit/samsun, 
myerler@omu.edu.tr
Otomanski migranti v Ameriko in njihov a 
uso da v tržaškem in reškem pristanišču
(1896–1914)
Zgodovinski časopis, Ljubljana 66/2012 (145), 
št. 1-2, str. 212–227, cit. 42
1.01 izvirni znanstveni članek: jezik sn. (en., 
en., sn.)
Prispevek govori o usodi otomanskih migran-
tov na tujem. izguba teritorijev kot posledica 
pojemajoče moči otomanov je povzročala no-
tranje migracije, ki naj bi vzpodbudile življenje 
v državi. razlogi, zaradi katerih so migranti 
iskali zatočišče v ameriki, so bili popolnoma 
upravičeni. Prispevek opredeljuje razloge za 
migracijo in tihotapljenje ljudi. otomani, ne 
glede na njihovo versko in rasno pripadnost, 
so bili žrtev prevar ladijskih družb in kot taki 
zapuščeni v pristaniščih v trstu, na reki in 
drugod. v prispevku bomo predstavili njihovo 
usodo po migraciji. s pomočjo otomanske-
ga arhivskega gradiva bomo osvetlili njihove 
dosežke ali neuspehe izven otomanske države. 
naše raziskave temeljijo zgolj na otomanskem 
in arabskem arhivskem gradivu. nadaljnje re-
zultate bo prinesla nadgradnja študije z raziska-
vami v ameriških arhivih ter arhivih, ki hranijo 
dokumente, ki pričajo o pomorski zgodovini 
trsta in reke.
Ključne besede: otomani, amerika, Makedo-
nija, Libanon, trst, reka
avtorski izvleček
udc 314.745.25(7=943.5)”1896/1914” 
KESKİNER Osman, assistant, 19 May uni-
versity, Faculty of divinity, kurupelit/samsun, 
osmankeskiner@gmail.com
ERLER Mehmet Yavuz, Prof. Phd., 19 May 
university, Faculty of science and Literature, 
department of history, kurupelit/samsun, my-
erler@omu.edu.tr
Ottoman Migrants to America Left to Their 
Fate in the Ports of Trieste and Rijeka 
(1896–1914)
Zgodovinski časopis (Historical Review), 
Ljubljana 66/2012 (145), no. 1-2, pp. 212–227, 
notes 42
Language: sn. (en., en., sn.)
the article deals with the ottoman migrants’ 
destiny abroad. the diminishing of the otto-
mans’ strength resulted in the loss of their ter-
ritories, which caused internal migration which 
was to stimulate the domestic life. the migrants’ 
reasons for taking refuge in america were full 
and just. in this article we describe the reasons 
for migration, along with the human smuggling. 
ottomans, regardless of their differences in 
race and religious manner, were deceived by 
shipping companies and abandoned at the ports 
of trieste, rijeka and elsewhere. their fate fol-
lowing the migration will be presented in this 
article. state policy and the migrants’ success 
or their failure outside the ottoman sovereignty 
will be enlightened by means of ottoman ar-
chival materials. our search is based solely 
upon the ottoman and arabic archival materi-
als. the study could be upgraded and would 
bring further results by research in archives 
in america(s) along with research in archives 
where the documents regarding naval history 
of trieste and rijeka are kept.  
key Words: ottomans, america, Macedonia, 
Lebanon, trieste, rijeka.
author’s abstract
introduction
the ottoman empire entered into the 20th century with a great loss of prospe-
rity. as time went by, the ottomans were losing their position of an empire due to 
territorial losses in north africa and the danube region, along with a decrease in 
number of subjects regardless of their religion and race. By 1908 the only remaining 
piece of the ottoman Balkan Peninsula had been the Balkan midland stretching from 
Bosporus to the albanian adriatic shores across Macedonia, kosovo and albania. 
the military coup of 1908 cancelled the imperial policy and put an end to the title 
of empire and replaced it with the national agenda. 1908 witnessed a substantial 
change of the administrational structure which had been caused by the political 
turmoil in the ottoman sovereignty. the loss of the empire’s prestige resulted in 
the upset among the state-fond ottomans and the idea of regaining the lost fame 
of ottoman empire.1 however, their ideology was amid a dilemma. they could 
not demonstrate themselves as pro-islamic since the conflict of the arab national 
behavior divided a large portion of the community within the state. comprehension 
of islam among the Muslims was world-wide strongly tied to the caliphate that was 
under the possession of the sultan who was the focus of their opponent. therefore 
they identified their ideology as turkish-oriented; they named themselves “Young-
turks”. however, their ideology was not based on any ground (ideological)2; the 
main problem was that the turks did not support this ideology since the sultan 
was again the representative of the turkish community. thus the “Young-turk” 
group was mainly based on the citizens of non-turk (non-sunni) and non-arab 
origin. therefore, Young-turks consisted of ottoman subjects, such as kurds and 
non sunni turks (they did not recognize the sultan neither as the representative 
of the turks nor as a caliph) and also their subjects converted into islam among 
albanians, armenians, Bosnians, caucasians (circassia and georgians), jews and 
greeks.3 these oriented subjects of ottomans (Young turks) struggled to put the 
state back in line with the glorious heritage. when the “Young-turk” policy gained
1 shaw, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu ve Modern Türkiye, pp. 316–324.
2 Mardin, Jön Türklerin Siyasi Fikirleri, pp. 126–127.
3 ottoman archival materials prove the origin of the Young-turks. however these manu-
scripts were not published yet. nevertheless some authors mention their origin to some extent. 
see. shaw, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu ve Modern Türkiye, pp. 310–314.
Zgodovinski časopis | 66 | 2012 | 1-2 | (145) | 212–227 213
o. keksiner, M. Y. erLer: ottoman Migrants to america Left to their Fate in the Ports …214
power in the military coup in 1908, the sultan was exiled to thessaloniki, where 
he stayed for several years.4 
the ottomans did not obtain the imperial title any longer and turned out to 
be merely a simple regional state in the aftermath of 1908 (not in territory but in 
the matter of administration). the ruling class was thus redesigned mostly based 
on the converted islamic subjects of the state (excluding the turks – sunni- and 
arabs). however, the national movement and anxiety left some of the islamic 
subjects outside, e.g. albanians in the remaining part of the ottoman Balkans and 
arabs who were spread all over the mid-east. this fatal mistake caused the fall of 
the trust among the state-fond albanian and arab subjects, and eventually granted 
easy access to the ottoman-ruled arabia and albania for the allied troops of great 
Britain and France during world war i in 1914.5 
when the ottoman subjects resented and lost their hopes of being a part of 
the ottomans in future, they turned to the american continent which was to nour-
ish their destiny. especially those who had economic difficulties decided to find 
flourishing jobs and ease their suffering which had been caused by the political 
turmoil of the ottomans. there were two disputed territories at that time within 
the ottoman lands: the first being Macedonia and Lebanon the second. the otto-
man Macedonia was oppressed by Bulgaria, the greek kingdom, serbia and of 
course ottomans.6 each side tried to influence the people of Macedonia and to 
cooperate with the chosen groups of that area. the armed groups, which otto-
man referred to as “bandit”, stimulated the region and exercised pressure on the 
natives.7 therefore, the Macedonian natives, who did not want trouble and did not 
get involved into this tricky game, decided to seek their refuge in america and 
migrated to this continent. the scheme in the ottoman Lebanon was not different 
from the conditions of Macedonia. nevertheless, all over the state peaceful people 
found themselves on the verge of suffering under the shadow of the military coup 
of 1908 and the approaching maelstrom of the Balkan war (1912–1913). at this 
stage human smugglers emerged and offered an easy exit for those who sought 
a remedy for their miserable poverty and for their circumstances that engulfed 
them into the political turmoil. nevertheless, the ottoman state had a great deal of 
unemployed population due to its failure in the industrial development. vast otto-
man lands all over the country were not prosperous. Mountains, deserts, swamps 
and inadequate irrigation did not give opportunity for earning a living or wealth. 
ottoman lost territories due to wars and that caused an increase of the population 
in the remaining territories. unlimited source of employment was melted soon 
by new migrants. the ottomans had to deal with political and national uprising 
along with the religious differences. the bleak conditions within the state forced 
the desperate subjects to move abroad.
4 “Young turk based government Progress and union exiled the sultan and enthroned the 
sultan v. Mehmet.” shaw, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu ve Modern Türkiye, p. 340.
5 erickson, I. Dünya Savaşında Osmanlı Ordusu, p. 168.
6 adanır, Makedonya Sorunu, pp. 260–265.
7 curtis, The Turk and His Lost Provinces, pp. 30–31.
Zgodovinski časopis | 66 | 2012 | 1-2 | (145) 215
we try to find answers for the existence of human smugglers and for the 
eagernes s of migration to america among the ottoman subjects from 1908 to 
1914, along with the question of how some of those migrants who were headed to 
america ended up in the quays of trieste8, rijeka and other big european ports. 
in order to classify our search, the following topics will be dealt with: human 
smugglers, the departure cites of the ottoman Migrants and their reasons for 
Migration, the destiny of the ottoman Migrants and ottoman official approach 
for the Migration, the goal of ottoman Migrants and their achievements.
Human Smugglers
in 1910–1911 corc nabedo appeared as an individual for human smuggling 
in the ottoman Balkans. corc nabedo promised to the ottoman migrants to pro-
vide transport to Buenos aires via Bitola (Macedonia), thessaloniki, genoa and 
then Buenos aires. obviously he charged them the fare of 240 francs a person. in 
genoa (italy) the migrants would be passed to the italian navy-time agency’s 
ship named “regina elena” in order to embark for Buenos aires according to the 
promises given by corc nabedo. there is not much information about corc nabedo. 
however, we can identify corc nabedo as a human smuggler by looking into his 
deeds since he deceived the ottoman Macedonian migrants and left them helpless 
at the rijeka port. so he did not fulfill his promises.9
on the verge of the first Balkan war, in 1912 another human smuggler per-
formed his false deeds in Beirut (Lebanon). as we can infer from the ottoman 
manuscripts, his name was “hanini”, but no further information on his identity is 
reachable. “hanini” promised to the ottoman migrants (from the region of syria 
and Lebanon) to transport them to america by one of conrad-Line ships with the 
fare of 360–400 crones a person. as in the case of the Balkan migrants, he deceived 
the docile people and abandoned them helpless at the port of trieste (austria). as 
it can be inferred from the “conrad-line”10 he worked for an austrian navy-time 
agency and received the fare from the migrants in the austrian currency.11
according to the ottoman ambassador in new York, usa and in Buenos 
aires, argentina, the number of ottoman migrants increased each passing year 
and work-power continuously lacked in the ottoman lands because of the migra-
tion to america. the ottoman ambassador (in Buenos aires) estimated that the 
numbers of migrants only in argentina exceeded the number of 100,000.12 one 
of the official investigation reports describes the reason, how human smugglers 
8 italian migrants to america used the port of trieste in 1911 as ottoman migrants. Barbieri, 
Per un programma di ricerche, pp. 25–40.  
9 Başbakanlık osmanlı arşivi (the Prime Ministry ottoman archive, further: Boa), 
dahiliye İdare (internal affairs, further: dh. id.), nr. 11/9, 1332 Z. 5 rumi (september 25th, 
1914) “mentions on the events of 1911”.
10 Lee, avstrijski pomorski razvoj, pp. 467–489.
11 Boa., dh. id., nr. 11/9, 14 teshrin-i sani 1328 (november 27th, 1912).
12 Boa., dh. id., nr. 11/9, 21 Zilhicca 1330 (october 1st, 1912).
o. keksiner, M. Y. erLer: ottoman Migrants to america Left to their Fate in the Ports …216
tempted the public for the labour migration. ottoman investigators found out that 
the smugglers gave a booklet to the ottoman newspapers and were successful in 
reaching the ottoman public on a wide scale. the ambassadors of the ottoman 
(London, washington, new York and Buenos aires) requested that the ministry of 
the internal affairs searched for the booklet in order to determine whether it was 
true or not. one of the identified booklets (given by the branch of american Mari-
time company in galata istanbul,) offered to the intenders to work abroad with a 
daily wage of 2–5 dollars (10–25 franks).13 that was a very promising wage to the 
hopeless peasants and required no qualifications apart from the skill how to use 
shovel and spade. however, the ottoman railway construction (Berlin–Medina, 
completed in 1909) required labour of such kind as well.14 contrary to the american 
railway waged labour, ottomans preferred to get the labour to work for the cost of 
tax exemption or presumably lower wage.
The departure Sites of the Ottoman Migrants and their Reasons 
for Migration
almost all over the ottoman country, people who had no ability to earn for 
a living with the exception of their muscle power tended to migrate for a better 
wages. the rumour of returned workers from abroad15 and booklets, which were 
found in newspapers, lured the helpless from the ottoman countryside. Mainly 
ottoman Balkans, syria, Lebanon and the vicinity of jerusalem were the pioneers 
of the labour-migration. at the return of those cheap labours from abroad and their 
visible wealth among the society hastened the vast labour transfer to the promising 
countries. however, some of those labours destiny ended up with sad stories and 
confused the adventurers’ bias for migration. whatever the results of those sad 
migration stories and home-sick folks, the ottomans sustainable labour migration 
to the prosperous countries kept going. the ottoman officials warned the local 
authoritie s to stop the labour migration. if that was not possible, the representatives 
of the ottoman state abroad asked the local authorities to take care of proper labours 
and eased their migration process rather than crooks. one of the official warnings 
of ottomans gives us an elaborate list of the migrants’ home-towns in the ottoman 
state. according to this warning telegraph, issued for the governors of migrants’ 
home-towns of thessaloniki, Bitola, skodra, kosovo, edirne (adrian ople) and 
istanbul were the Balkan cities listed on the schedule along with the other cities 
of the ottoman domain in the period from 1900 to 1914.16 
the ottoman migrants had their reasons for justifying their plea to move 
abroad. some complained about the heavy burdens of taxation over the olive trees; 
13 Boa., dh. id., nr. 11/9, august 5th, 1913.
14 Boa, Yıldız tasnifi, Maruzat defteri, (Yıldız = star Palace, Petition Book), defter no: 
9994, 23 kanun-u sani 317 (February 5th, 1902), from sadrıazam said (Prime Minister said).
15 türkiye diyanet vakfı İslam ansiklopedisi, v. 28, p. 364–365.
16 Boa, dh. İd., nr. 11/9, 26 eylül 328 (december 9th, 1912), lef: 10.
Zgodovinski časopis | 66 | 2012 | 1-2 | (145) 217
some came forward with the reason of poverty and unfertile land not allowing them 
to earn enough to cover their life expenditures. apart from these complaints, otto-
man investigations suggest that the reason of the plots of national up-rising was 
the real fact at least in the case of some migrants17. For example, some migrants 
from the Balkans went to america and returned armed with their earnings to the 
ottoman Bulgaria and Macedonia to fight against the government.18 one of the 
official correspondences on the migration was about the Macedonian migrants; the 
document states that 30 Macedonians did not regard themselves as Bulgarian and 
intended to migrate to america via austria (via the port of trieste), they claimed 
poverty and the Bulgarian pressure upon their region to accept the Bulgarian identity 
rather than the ottomans.19
Last but not least, the ottoman lands were emptied because of the migra-
tions. some caused by the labour transfer, some because of the emerging of the 
national differences which took place at the verge of the 19th century. the loss of 
the territories in the war with russia (1808, 1815, 1853–1856, 1876) accelerated 
the process of migration within the ottoman state. however, the destinies of those 
migrants did not end happily and the government was not eager to see the loss of 
their own subjects regardless of their religious or national identities. 
The Destiny of the Ottoman Migrants and the Ottoman Official Approach 
to the Migration
those who succeeded to embark aboard and grasped the opportunity for a safe 
access to reach america or europe came across some serious handicaps. First of 
all, the migrants had difficulties to reach america due to the dependable transport 
company. those who were deceived by false agencies faced the problems of being 
abandoned in the nearest port outside of the ottoman shores. in many cases, they 
were abandoned in the ports of austria–hungary (trieste, rijeka), italy (genoa), 
France (Marseille) and great Britain (London, Liverpool).20 
those ottomans who were abandoned in foreign ports suffered due to lack 
of resources. some of them begged to ease their hunger and some offered their 
cheap labour to carry out heavy burden at the cost of a small fee. For instance the 
case of trieste is described in the ottoman manuscript as follows:
17 Boa., İrade hususi (Private decree), nr. 65, s.21, 11 Mart 324 (March 24th, 1908), 
“armenian, albanian and Bulgarian migrants who migrated to the continent gather donations 
for their case against the ottoman government.”
18 Boa., tFr. i. Mn. (documents from Macedonia), nr. 10593, 1324 8 21 (novem-
ber 3rd, 1908). “Bulgarian militants armed themselves in america and return to the mountains 
of Bulgaria.”
19 Boa, Yıldız tasnifi, Maruzat defteri, nr. 9994, 26 L. 1319, 23 k.s. 317 (February 5th, 
1902).
20 emin, Amerika’da Türk Muhacirleri.
o. keksiner, M. Y. erLer: ottoman Migrants to america Left to their Fate in the Ports …218
“From Foreign Ministry to Internal Ministry, Respected Master of State, Mr. Hanini who is 
one of the residents of Beirut, issued fake ticket using the name of a navy agent of Conrad 
Line without having the right of representation or agent. He charged the fee of 360–400 
crones each of those Syrians who aimed to migrate to America. He then sent those Syrians 
to the port of Trieste and paid the Conrad-Line 120 crone for each passenger in order 
to transport them to America. However Conrad-Line asked 180 crones for each of them 
as a fare of shipping from Trieste to America. Ottoman Syrian migrants could not afford 
to give the missing sum of 60 crones. (They had already paid 360–400 crones and Mr 
Hanini sent them to Trieste and paid the Conrad-Line 120 crones for each passenger to 
get them transported to America. He then disappeared with the rest of money. The Ottoman 
Foreign Ministry, via a representative in Trieste asked the ruler of the Conrad-Line and 
Trieste Police Head-Quarter about the conditions of the abandoned Syrians. The deceived 
migrants at the port of Trieste were sent back to Beirut by Conrad-Line. However, some 
of the migrants preferred to be refunded the fee of 120 crones which had been intended 
for their transfer to America on the part of the Conrad-Line. After having been refunded 
their pre-paid fare they wasted all the money they had. Some of them started begging on 
the streets of Trieste after having run out of the 120-crone fund which had been received 
from the Conrad-Line …”21
those who were not satisfied with their earnings abroad applied to the otto-
man ambassadors for help to obtain the fare in order to return to their homes in the 
ottoman land. Many of those deceived labour migrants received the ottoman aids 
to compensate the transport cost back home. however, the cost of those otto man 
victims turned out to be a serious burden for the ottoman budget, and had the otto-
man government took precautions. we will deal with the matter of this ottoman 
policy further in this section of our paper.
those who gained the privilege of stepping on the land of america for a new 
start in their lives had to cope with initial obstacles there. First of all, they had to 
prove if they were needed in this remote country. they had to be examined accord-
ing to the devised health conditions. the united states custom officers asked them 
to have a proper body for the labour work and not to carry any epidemic diseases 
as regulations applied for newcomers. the ottoman migrants had to cope with 
the same applications as other destiny-sharers. however, some of the ottoman 
migrants had influenza, epidemics or some diseases and they even appeared de-
teriorated because of the improper long-distance sea voyage. on ellis island (in 
new York) ottoman labours were examined by the customs officers. some of them 
were discarded due to their improper health conditions. it was a turning point for 
some of the ottoman adventurers; they could not explain their needs and condi-
tions because of the lack of language. in ellis island, there was another obstacle 
which was caused by the improper documents. some of the migrants could not 
obtain any official passports from the ottoman state since they had been regarded 
as culprits.22 they could not find any explanation for their fault (without passport) 
21 Boa., dh. İd., nr. 11/9, 14 teşrin-i sani 328 (november 27th, 1912): “Migrants from 
Syria and Beirut of Ottoman state could not speak any apart from their native language”. otto-
man Manuscript: illustration a. glej sliko dokumenta na str. 225.
22 “First Ottoman migrants in America were prison-break culprits, deserted soldiers …”, 
emin, Amerika’da Türk Muhacirleri, p. 180.
Zgodovinski časopis | 66 | 2012 | 1-2 | (145) 219
and kept quiet against the decision of being turned away from the threshold of a 
new start. those who were discarded by the us custom service returned to the 
British ports rather than ottoman ones. they were scared to return to the ottoman 
lands for fear of being arrested and did not have any proper funds either to live 
abroad or to return home. the miserable life was beyond them at the ports of great 
Britain.23 we have no further information how many of them succeeded to survive 
in their dream for a better life.
the ottoman migrants who had an affiliation via relatives or neighbours be-
fore the journey succeeded in stepping on the american soil safely. some relatives, 
friends or neighbours from the former city or district eased the process of migra-
tion. especially those who migrated to the usa have benefited from the advantage 
of being of ottoman origin. the ottoman subjects, greeks and armenians had 
long before migrated to the usa. the turks from naslic, kirebine (the ottoman 
Macedonia) and neighbours to greeks or armenians learned much on the prosper-
ous condition of earning in the us. those who were able to communicate with 
greeks or armenians asked their assistance in the migration and were helped by the 
pioneer ottoman settlers. in 1904–1905 some turks who had greek or armenian 
friends migrated to the usa and founded prosperous business.24 then they started 
to encourage their relatives to migrate in order to be able to lead a proper life. the 
ottomans, mainly christian arabs, followed their example.
armenians and greeks could also speak ottoman along with some of the 
arabs (especially in syria and Beirut). ottoman was hence the common language 
of communication and united the ottoman subjects abroad. ottoman greeks and 
armenians infiltrated easily into the christian society in america and held the 
corner stone. greeks mainly preferred to move to the usa and armenians moved 
to Latin america (mainly argentina, Brazil and central america). consequently 
turks who lived with greeks asked their neighbours a favour to help them find 
earnings abroad. therefore, turks from the Balkans and anatolia with its existing 
greek community were at the top of the list of migrants to the usa. the arme-
nians largely departed from the ottoman syria and Beirut after the 1890s. the 
arabs who knew them followed their path with their ex-neighbours’ guidance and 
migrated largely to argentina and Brazil. in america, both arabs and turks were 
regarded as Muslims and obviously ottomans. however, they diverted from each 
other owing to their culture and their guides (greeks for turks and armenians for 
arabs).25 in our research we have also found out that christian arabs took part 
in the migration guidance. in 1866 and 1879 the american university and saint 
joseph university, along with some institutes were founded in the ottoman egypt 
and missioners were affiliated with the local arab christians. the ottoman arabs 
23 ibid, p. 182.
24 “Some of the Turkish migrants were guided by the Ottoman Armenian subject who had 
already settled in America. Those Armenians migrated from the Anatolian town Harput.”, ibid, 
p. 180.
25 “Turks in the Ottoman Balkans worked at the Greek Kingdom as farm labour and know 
how to speak in Greek as well”, emin, Amerika’da Türk Muhacirleri, p. 179–180.
o. keksiner, M. Y. erLer: ottoman Migrants to america Left to their Fate in the Ports …220
were enlightened with the western civilization by means of missionary works per-
formed around the ottoman jordan, syria, Lebanon and egypt. in 1860 Muslims 
and christian arabs engulfed into a civil disorder and many christian arabs fled 
from the ottoman lands to the continent. christian arabs hence reached the number 
of 60,000 between in the period from 1899 to 1910. the Lebanese represented a 
large portion of the ottoman arab migrants. the ottoman arab migrants were 
mainly visible around new York, detroit, and Boston in the usa, and sao Paulo 
and rio de janeiro in Brazil, Buenos aires in argentina along with venezuela, 
Mexico, canada and chile.26
the ottoman turks gained initially the greek neighbours’ funds and guidance 
on the road to america. they benefited from each other. those who migrated and 
established their own factories or business employed the migrants who originated 
from the former country. in return for their goodness, they enjoyed cheap labour 
and gained surplus in business with less expenditure. the turks were employed 
in shoe, timber, and manufacture factories in Peabody (coal mining industry), 
wooster, Providence, chicago, Massachusetts, Manchester, Lovell, nachivo (as 
it was written in the ottoman text) and largely in new hampshire.27 as soon as 
turks or arabs managed to stand on their own feet, they began to land a hand to 
their community. they kept cooperating with the pioneers from their native lands 
(greek and armenians) but turned to newcomers of their kind and developed their 
stronghold for future. 
in time turkish migrants from the ottoman lands reached the number of 
40,000 (this number presumably covered all ottoman subjects who were in the 
usa.).28 ottomans in the usa had their own way of solidarity. the first settler 
helped those who came after them. one of the well-known individuals (mentioned 
in the official ottoman texts) was hasan efendi (he engaged in husbandry before his 
migration). he was one of the residents of Manchester in the hampshire province. 
when he landed in the usa he worked at a timber factory. when he earned enough, 
he opened his bakery and baked bread. he also opened a coffee-house with his 
greek companion. hasan efendi was involved into the estate business and made 
15,000 ottoman liras within ten years. he was a well-known individual who gave 
a hand to needy migrants from the ottoman lands. he had an extensive network 
and good connections with the usa officers both within the security forces and 
custom services. Many of the migrants in need received his voluntarily aid in the 
time of trouble. Last but not least, in 1897 Mustafa ağa from the anatolian town 
of harput (in elazıg) settled down in wuster and earned his wealth. he opened 
butchery and an ice-cream shop in the luxurious district of wuster (in the usa). he 
gathered his relatives around him (one of his nephews worked at the wire factory 
for 30 dollars per week) and employed turks who spoke english well and dressed 
like usa citizens in one of his shops.29 although they had good relations with any 
26 encyclopedia of islam, v. 28, p. 364–365.
27 emin, Amerika’da Türk Muhacirleri, p. 179.
28 ibid, p. 179.
29 ibid, p. 186.
Zgodovinski časopis | 66 | 2012 | 1-2 | (145) 221
kind of ottoman patriots at their arrival or even later, the flames of the Balkan war 
ruined the good solidarity abroad of those who were once forming so to speak an 
ottoman commonwealth. especially greek patriots despised the ottoman turks 
in usa and offended the turkish labour.
the ottoman government’s attitude towards the migration was not positive. 
the ottoman administration did not like to lose their subjects since the fields 
were left deserted and the rural husbandry works shattered, the olive gardens were 
abandoned. ottomans with large territory under their sovereignty needed cheap 
labour more than the new world. however, the ottoman market could not offer 
satisfactory wages to the labour. the loss of the workers and peasants possessing 
taxable fields and husbandry resulted in decreasing revenue to the state. the go-
vernment took precautions to stop the flow of labour migration to the new world. 
one of the migrants’ pleas for fleeing and leaving the lands unploughed was high 
taxation. especially those who were settled in the ottoman east Mediterranean 
lands claimed that the government levied unjust taxes on olive trees. the ottoman 
officials made an investigation and discovered that the taxation regime needed to 
be considered. the ottomans charged each olive tree a reasonable tax. however, 
the trees which no longer bore fruit were taxed as if they had brought profits. it 
was an unjust burden for the producers of olives. the ottoman officers declined 
to lift the taxes on unfruitful olive trees. nevertheless the investigators argued that 
the migrants’ pleas should not be granted since the taxes on unfruitful olive trees 
did not represent a heavy burden to them.30 
some of the migrants’ pleas stated as the reason for their departure the en-
vironment which failed to provide means for survival. especially the reasons of 
those who left the region in the Balkan Peninsula due to the unfertile lands and 
rocky terrain were regarded as justifiable in the eyes of the officials. the ottoman 
investigator approved their case and found out that there was nothing but rocky 
mountain ranges around the migrants’ villages. when the ottomans had vast ter-
ritories under their sovereignty, those who had living difficulties moved to istanbul 
and egypt for a labour work. the labour from the aegean islands and some villagers 
round thessaloniki and Macedonia preferred to work in the house or heavy labour 
in the ottoman wealthy towns.31 however, the residents of the Balkans tended to 
offer their labour power to the continent; in the aftermath of the 1908 Military 
coup caused the national bias over the foreign workers around the wealthy towns. 
egypt did not offer the labour for the ottoman greeks and albanians any longer. 
when great Britain gained the ultimate strength over egypt in 1882, they preferred 
to bring cheap labour from india and hindered the opportunity of earning more 
wages for labour originating from the ottoman lands in egypt.32 great Britain also 
introduced the industry which required less muscle power and replaced the human
30 Boa., dh. id., 11/9, 9 august 328 r. (22 august 1912), written by governer of 
syria.
31 erler, Osmanlı-Yunan Sınırında Ordunun, pp. 50–51.
32 ibid, pp. 34–35.
o. keksiner, M. Y. erLer: ottoman Migrants to america Left to their Fate in the Ports …222
 labour with the mechanics. For example, one of the tobacco factories in egypt used 
the anatolian tobacco, but did not need labour from the ottomans at all.33 
More or less all migrants’ pleas for the departure gathered around the matter of 
the question of security. in 1876–78 the ottoman Balkans and caucasus witnessed 
formidable power advancing through the inland. russian forces found an easy gain 
within the ottoman Balkans and north–east provinces. therefore the ottoman 
residents on the Balkans were scared of a bleak future for their existence as a part 
of ottoman world. the weakness of the ottomans flared the national independence 
mood which was spread across the Balkans and caused the internal turmoil thus 
leaving the Balkans insecure.34 the intervention of the european states (France, 
great Britain and Piedmont) and russia within the jerusalem province and syria 
(Lebanon), over the disputed struggle of holy places diverted the locals to prove 
their authority over the holy lands.35 either side gained the supremacy, but their 
fight irritated the peaceful subjects and hastened the migration. the ottoman pre-
caution backing the security and peace to the chaotic region was too harsh and the 
military iron fist crashed the weak national groups. the strong backlash from the 
ottoman authorities pushed the national demands to the underground and terrorized 
the territory. the tensions increased steadily and people of the disputed regions 
were forced to choose sides. regardless of their selection, peaceful subjects were 
accused of being traitors by the opposite side. those who sought refuge and did 
not get involved preferred to leave the country and migrate. 
the ottoman government encouraged travellers who were included in trade 
activities. however, the ottoman migrants were confused by the regulations and 
foreign countries made stricter conditions for those who came from the ottoman 
lands. therefore, merchants suffered because of such strict customs and complained 
against the state. the government regulated emigration and separated migrants from 
merchants. thus, the government freed the merchants of any kind of regulations on 
two conditions: they had to prove their trade matter and their connections abroad, 
along with the adequate capital to trade. the government accepted the regula-
tions on basis of those which were in use in hungary. according to the ottoman 
ambassador in the usa, the hungarian instructions for the migrants were proper 
and the hungarian migrants did not meet any difficulties in the new world. the 
ottoman government decided to apply the same regulations on those who intended 
to migrate. in short, these regulations were based on the following:
1. Migrants should get proper passports.
2. in order to get the passport, migrants’ health conditions should be examined 
according to the usa customs care.
3. Migrants should prove to have a sum of currency to live by.
33 “13.000.000 kg tobaccos each year send to egypt …” tüccarzade, Memalik-i Osmaniye 
Cep Atlasi, pp. 143–144.
34 Bozhinov, Paneho dorev’s speech at the ottoman parliament in 1909, p. 97.
35 thomson, Europe Since Napoleon, pp. 245–250.
Zgodovinski časopis | 66 | 2012 | 1-2 | (145) 223
4. Migrants should not demand any aid for their migration costs from the gov-
ernment.
that regulation was tried to be applied to the ottoman migrants. however, 
migrants were eager to migrate on their own and tended not to inform the govern-
ment. although the state declared not to take any responsibility for the uninformed 
migration, the state provided assistance to those migrants who had been deceived 
during the migration. the state had the ambassadors investigate the conditions 
of the ottoman labour abroad. some of the ambassadors’ investigation reports 
proved the state’s inefficiency regarding the migration problems. their reports 
included depictions of unpleasant conditions of the ottoman citizens abroad. they 
confessed that the ottoman state, unlike usa authorities, did not have a proper 
list of migrants.
The Goal of the Ottoman Migrants and their Achievements
the ottoman migrants innately aimed to find a safe place away from all the 
disputes concerning their domestic affairs. as comes for the living, they were 
initially all reluctant to work for not more than just for their daily bread. as time 
went by, they learned how to gain wealth and they found their way into market-
ing business for a better life. those migrants who gained enough wealth and put 
a reasonable sum aside attempted to run their own small-scale business. some of 
those entrepreneurs opened their shops or butcher-houses and some of them found 
themselves on the streets selling ice-cream, pop-corn, chestnuts, kebabs, lemon 
juice or any kind of beverages (apart from alcohol). the ottoman migrants did 
not have any ambitions to learn the language or culture since the migrants largely 
carried the humble idea of returning home in their minds. indeed large numbers 
of the ottoman migrants returned home after having gained a sum which would 
enable them a shelter in their home-towns.36 
nevertheless, some of the migrants decided to stay longer contrary to their 
initial expectations. those exclusive individuals among the ottoman migrants 
succeed to infiltrate among the society, found wealth and benefited from the estate 
business. at first, they were employed as labour in the field of the construction 
and even worse in the railway works struggle, later they turned out to be in charge 
of their own businesses. Later on they started employing their relatives or patriots 
at their properties. they no longer looked like the ottomans, changed the way of 
dressing and learned the language. their families were influenced by the adapta-
tion; they sent their children to proper schools and received higher education. their 
workers from the ottoman lands were also required to learn the language fluently 
in order to satisfy their customers.37 
36 “those who migrates to america has returned back instantly with a large sum up money 
and thought the sum earned by forgery” Boa., dh. İd., 11/9, 21 Zilhicce 330 (1 october 1912), 
“to the interior ministry by the ministry of foreign minister.” 
37 emin, Amerika’da Türk Muhacirleri, p. 180.
o. keksiner, M. Y. erLer: ottoman Migrants to america Left to their Fate in the Ports …224
the ottoman migrants rested and settled around their initial working place. 
some railway workers preferred to stay in the wagons. some shared their rooms 
with at least six people. however, they learned to have their own shelters and 
some of them brought their families to their vicinity. their family life and districts 
(shanty-towns) were much better if compared to that of the italians, slavs (loud, 
noisy crowd and the smell of fried pork covering the shanty-towns) and other labour 
districts on the continent.38 however, some of the ottoman migrants from Lebanon 
(christian arabs) got involved into forgery and deceived some warehouses. they 
asked the owner of warehouses to provide them some tradable goods in order to 
sell them on the streets. once they convinced the merchants without paying any 
cash (paying back after the sale on the streets), they sold their goods in the streets 
and bargained the tradable goods at low prices. Because of their low price offer, 
the goods were sold very rapidly. those street sellers or bargainers escaped to their 
hometowns as soon as they had reached the satisfactory sum for te non-paid trad-
able goods in the countries of the Latin america (mainly Brazil and argentina). in 
some cases store owners complained to the ottoman ambassadors and asked for 
compensation of their rights from the deceptive ottoman migrants. the ottoman 
officials investigated the matter and compensated the store-owners and attempted 
to get back the property of deceivers but failed to deliver. however, the ottoman 
government admitted that the deceivers’ easy gain and their wealth invited new 
crooks to raid the continent39 and ruined reputation of the ottoman labour.40
the ottoman migrants, at least the wealthy ones, participated in the educational 
system abroad. they sent their children to colleges or missionaries to improve their 
language. however, the ottoman migrant community gathered and wasted their 
free time apart from work in coffeehouses by enjoying alcohol, dancing with girls 
and reading the ottoman newspapers which were sent from their home-towns. 
however, the ottoman arabs and other minorities had their own way. the greek, 
armenian and other former ottoman christian subjects benefited from the language 
and cultural courses given by the city halls. they adapted easily into the foreign 
civilization because of their family life41 however, the ottoman christian arabs 
preferred to maintain their own culture and established a private association in sao 
Paulo (Brazil) to print their journal in arabic. they issued the poetry book entitled 
“tezkarü’l Muhacir” written by kayser Ma’luf. the arabic society on the continent 
carried out their cultural mission even after the chief establisher of the association, 
naum Lebeki, returned to Beirut in 1908. the ottoman arabs who migrated to 
the new world introduced the arabic culture and language and kept maintaining 
their cultural heritage by issuing news papers, journals and books in arabic. ac-
cording to one of the investigations, their regular journal and newspapers issued 
in new York and Brazil reached the number of 250. they also became creators 
38 ibid, p. 181.
39 Boa., dh. İd., 11/9, 21 Zilhicce 330 (1 october 1912).
40 whereas ottoman labours accepted as trustworthy ones in the mining camps of south 
africa (especially diamonds’) in 1889. Ankara Gazetesi (ankara newspaper), 1889.
41 emin, Amerika’da Türk Muhacirleri, p. 187.
Zgodovinski časopis | 66 | 2012 | 1-2 | (145) 225
of the migrants folk and poems in the arabic literature (the Mehcer “= migration 
place” literature).42 
“BOA., DH.ID., Nr. 11/9, 14 Teshrin-i Sani 1328 > (November 27th, 1912).”
conclusion
the ottoman failure in governing, vast population and territories created 
the waves of migration from the beginning of the 1800s. Lost wars (the ottoman 
and russian wars) and the territories of the ottomans lured those who led humble 
lives to join the migration. therefore, europe and the american continent attracted 
the ottoman migrants into the labour markets. as time went by, those labours 
turned to be citizens of the new states, which tempted the migrants. however, 
they remained being a part of the ottoman soils and souls as well as the migration 
destinations. they did not forget their past, cultural habits, and their roots. thus, 
migrants performed an imported role as a bridge in order to transfer the cultural 
and politic agreements between the east and west. the human smugglers’ false 
42 encyclopedia of islam, v. 28, s. 365.
o. keksiner, M. Y. erLer: ottoman Migrants to america Left to their Fate in the Ports …226
deeds caused the emergence of the helpless individuals around the ports of trieste 
and rijeka. the poor, who had been deceived in the ports of europe, ruined the 
ottomans reputation. the state tried to save the unpleasant situation of the ottoman 
subjects and attempted to rescue the abandoned migrants. however, the ottoman 
migrants’ sufferings and miserable lives shaped the outside communities’ opinion 
towards the state. 
Sources
Başbakanlık osmanlı arşivi, istanbul (Boa) 
Funds: Prime Ministry (the republic of turkey)
dahiliye İdare
Yıldız tasnifi, Maruzat defteri
İrade hususi, tFr. i.Mn. 
ankara gazetesi (ankara newspaper), 1889
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Zgodovinski časopis | 66 | 2012 | 1-2 | (145) 227
P o v Z e t e k
otomanski migranti v ameriko in njihova usoda v tržaškem 
in reškem pristanišču (1896–1914)
osman keskiner and Mehmet Yavuz
Množična brezposelnost v otomanski državi je bila posledica neuspešnega industrijskega 
razvoja. obsežna območja po vsej deželi so stagnirala. gorski in močvirnat svet, puščave ter 
neustrezna irigacija so onemogočali tako preživetje kot bogatenje. izguba otomanskih teritorijev 
je posledica vojn, ki naj bi doprinesle k povečanju prebivalstva na obstoječih območjih. novi 
migranti so izčrpali neomejene vire zaposlitve. otomani so se poleg verskih razlik soočali tudi 
s političnimi in narodnimi upori. neugodne razmere v državi so obupano prebivalstvo prisilile 
v selitev na tuje. Priljubljeni cilj otomanskih izseljencev je bila amerika, kamor so jih zvabili 
otomanski misijonarji ter pionirji. število migrantov je po 1853 letno naraščalo v skladu z nemiri 
in revščino znotraj države, v ameriki se je tako znašlo več kot 100.000 otomanskih migrantov. 
težave, s katerimi so se srečevali v procesu migracije, so segale od težav s transportom do težav 
pri iskanju zaposlitve ter nastanitve. Pričujoči prispevek predstavlja pregled migracijskega procesa 
v poglavjih z naslovi: tihotapci ljudi, izhodišča otomanskih migrantov ter razlogi za migracijo, 
usoda otomanskih migrantov ter uradno otomansko stališče do migracije, cilj in dosežki oto-
manskih migrantov. naše raziskave so pokazale, da sta pristanišči trst in reka otomanskim 
migrantom predstavljali odpre duri do amerike.