Author(s): Kadir ARSLANBOÄA
In Ottoman Empire, kermesses, known as fairs today, were the commerce centers where local and foreign tradesmen used to meet. In these places, mostly wholesale trade was done as well as retail. These kermesses were built especially in Rumelia region and some of them were international. One of these kermesses was Uzuncaabad-? Hasköy kermess which was located within Bulgaria boundaries today and is 80 km. away from Kap?kule Border Gate. Tradesmen used to visit Uzuncaabad-? Hasköy kermes, which was active during April each year, together with any kind of properties and goods worldwide. Such kermesses were important for the state for a few perspectives. The main ones can be ranged as; marketing of the manufactured goods and services; providing the supply of goods within the country and receiving tariff taxes from the goods brought to the kermess and thus increasing state revenues. This article investigates tariff revenues of the Ottoman Empire from Uzuncaabad-? Hasköy kermess in the years of 1769 and 1818 in accordance with the data obtained from the archieve documents of Ottoman Empire. Tariff revenues received from the state give us information about the types of goods, sectoral weight of Muslim and non-Muslim tradesmen. Similarly, a general assessment is made about the kermess, region and trade by comparing goods, tradesmen and tariff taxes in the kermes following the 50-year period from 1769 to 1818
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