The History of the Crusades (vol. 3 of 3)

by J. Fr. Michaud

Capitulations between France and the Ottoman Port.

Francis I. was the first of our kings who made treaties with the Port. He obtained in 1535, from Soliman the Canonist, the first capitulations in favour of commerce and of the Catholic religion, in the states of the Grand Seignor; in 1604, Henry IV. obtained from the Sultan Ahmid I. the renewal of them with some additions; in 1675 they were renewed and augmented under the reign of the Sultan Mehemed IV., at the demand of Louis XIV.; in 1740, Louis XV. obtained from the Sultan Mahmoud the renewal of the ancient treaties, with considerable additions.

France has had since that period other negotiations with the Port; but these negotiations have not produced any treaty, the dispositions of which are either new or important. The documents necessary for the history of the relations of France with the Ottoman empire have always been carefully preserved in the chancery of the French embassy at Constantinople. It is there we must search for exact notices to add to that which we have been able to advance upon this question.

We will give, from these capitulations, as much as particularly concerns the subject of our history, or which may throw a light upon the Ottoman policy.

“The Emperor Sultan Mahmoud, son of Sultan Moustapha, ever victorious.[179]

“Here is that which ordains this glorious and imperial signature, conqueror of the world, this noble and sublime mark, whose efficacy proceeds from divine aid.

“I, who by the excellence of the favours of the Most High, and by the eminence of the miracles filled with blessings from the chief of the prophets (to whom be the most ample salutations, as well as to his family and his companions), am the Sultan of glorious sultans, the emperor of puissant emperors, the distributor of crowns to the Cosroes, who are seated on thrones, the shadow of God upon earth, the servant of the two illustrious cities of Mecca and Medina, august and holy places, to which Mussulmans address their vows; the protector and master of the holy Jerusalem; the sovereign of the three great cities of Constantinople, Adrianople, and Broussa, as well as of Damascus, the odour of Paradise; of Tripoli, of Syria, of Egypt, the wonder of ages, and renowned for its delights; of all Arabia; of Africa, of Cairovan, of Aleppo, of Irak, Arab, and Adgen; of Bassora, of Lahra, of Dilem, and particularly of Bagdad, capital of the caliphs; of Rakka, of Mossoul, of Chehregour, of Diarbeker, of Zulkadric, of Ergerum the Delightful; of Sebarta, of Adana, of Caramenia, of Kars, of Ichidder, of Van, of the isles of the Morea, of Candia, of Cyprus, Chio, and Rhodes; of Barbary, of Ethiopia; of the places of war, Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis; of the isles and the coasts of the White Sea and of the Black Sea; of the countries of Natolia, and the kingdom of Romelia; of all Kurdestan, of Greece, of Turkomania, of Tartary, of Circassia, of Cabarta, and of Georgia; of the noble tribes of the Tartars, and of all the hordes which depend upon them; of Caffa, and other surrounding places; of all Bosnia and its dependencies; of the fortress of Belgrade, a place of war; of Servia, as well as of the fortresses and castles existing in it; of the countries of Albania, of all Wallachia, of Moldavia, and of the forts and holds which are in these cantons; possessor besides of a number of cities and fortresses, of which it is superfluous to repeat or boast the names. I, who am emperor, asylum of justice and king of kings, the centre of victory, Sultan, son of the Sultan, Emperor Mahmoud the conqueror, son of Sultan Mustafa, son of Sultan Muhammed: I, who by my power, the origin of facility, am adorned with the title of emperor of the two lands, and as a crowning grandeur to my caliphate, am illustrated by the title of emperor of the two seas.

“The glory of the great princes of the faith of Jesus, the elect of the great and the magnificent of the religion of the Messiah, the arbitrator and mediator in the affairs of Christian nations, clothed with true marks of dignity and honour, filled with grandeur, with glory and majesty, the emperor of France, and of other vast kingdoms which depend upon it, our very magnificent, very honoured, sincere, and ancient friend, Louis XV., to whom God grant all success and felicity, having sent to our august court, which is the seat of the caliphate, a letter containing evidences of the most perfect sincerity, and of the most particular affection, candour, and uprightness, and the same letter being destined for our Sublime Port of felicity, which, by the infinite goodness of the incontestably majestic Supreme Being, is the abode of sultans the most magnificent, of emperors the most respectable; the model of Christian nobles, skilful, prudent, esteemed, and honoured minister, Louis Sauveur, marquis de Villeneuve, your present counsellor of state, and your ambassador to our Port of felicity (may the end of which be crowned with good fortune), having demanded permission to present and remit the said letter, which has been granted to him by our imperial consent, conformably with the ancient usages of our court; and consequently the said ambassador having been admitted to the foot of our imperial throne, surrounded with the light of glory, he has there delivered the said letter, and has been the representative of your majesty, in participating our imperial grace and favour; the translation of its friendly tenor was afterwards presented and reported, according to the ancient customs of the Ottomans, at the foot of our sublime throne, by the channel of the very honoured Elhadjy Mehemed Pacha, our first minister, the absolute interpreter of our ordinances, the ornament of the world, the support of the good order of nations, the orderer of the grades of our empire, the instrument of the glory of our crown, the channel for the favours of royal majesty, the very virtuous Grand Vizier, my venerable and fortunate minister and lieutenant-general, of whose power and prosperity may God perpetuate the triumph!

“And as the expressions of this friendly letter make known the desire and eagerness of your majesty to preserve, as heretofore, all the honours and ancient friendship, hitherto maintained from time immemorial between our glorious ancestors (may the light of God be upon them), and the very magnificent emperors of France; and as in the said letter there is question, in consideration of the sincere friendship and the particular attachment that France has always evinced towards our imperial house, again to renew, during the happy period of our glorious reign, and to strengthen and enlighten, by the addition of some articles, the imperial capitulations, already renewed in the year of the Hegyra 1084, under the reign of the late Sultan Mehemed, our august grandfather, noble and generous during his life, and happy in his death; which capitulations had for object, that the ambassadors, consuls, interpreters, merchants, and other subjects of France, should be protected and maintained in all peace and tranquillity,[180] and it has at length arrived at our imperial knowledge that these points have been conferred upon by the said ambassador and the minister of the Sublime Port: the foundations of the friendship which, from time immemorial, has subsisted with firmness between the court of France and our Sublime Port, and the convincing proofs which your majesty has given of it, particularly during our glorious reign, giving reason to hope that the ties of such a friendship can only be drawn closer, and become stronger from day to day; these motives have inspired us with sentiments conformable with your desires; and wishing to procure activity in commerce, and security to goers and comers, which are the fruits such a friendship ought to produce; we not only confirm by these presents in their full extent, the ancient and renewed capitulations, as well as the articles concerted at the above date, but to procure more ease for our merchants and greater vigour in commerce, we have granted them exemption from the right of Mezeterie, which they have paid at all times, as well as several other points concerning commerce, and the safety of comers and goers, which have been discussed, treated of, and regulated, in good and due form, in the divers conferences which have been held upon the subject, between the said ambassador, furnished with sufficient power, and the persons deputed on the part of our Sublime Port. After the entire conclusion of all, my supreme and absolute Grand Vizier, having rendered an account of it to our imperial Stirrup, and it being our will to show specially on this occasion the value and esteem that we entertain for the ancient and constant friendship of the emperor of France, who has just given us fresh and particular marks of the sincerity of his heart, we have granted our sign imperial for the execution of the articles newly concluded, and consequently of the ancient and renewed capitulations; having been transcribed and reported exactly, word for word from the commencement, and followed by the articles newly regulated and granted; these present imperial capitulations have been placed and consigned, in the above-said order, in the hands of the aforesaid ambassador.”

Articles 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 of the capitulations contain what follows:—“As inimical nations, who have no positive ambassadors at my Port of felicity, formerly went and came in our states, under the banner of the emperor of France, whether for commerce, whether for pilgrimage, according to the imperial permission they had had for it under the reigns of our ancestors of glorious memory, as likewise it was granted by the ancient capitulations accorded to the French: and as afterwards, for certain reasons, the entrance to our states was positively prohibited to these same nations, and they were even withdrawn from the said capitulations; nevertheless, the emperor of France having evinced by the letter he has sent to our Port of felicity, that he should wish that the inimical nations, to whom trading in our states has been forbidden, might have liberty to come and go to Jerusalem, in the same manner as they were accustomed to go and come, without being in any way interrupted; and that if consequently it were permitted them to come and traffic in our states, it should be under the banner of France, as formerly, the demand of the emperor of France has been complied with, in consideration of the ancient friendship, which from the times of my glorious ancestors has subsisted, from father to son, between your majesty and the Sublime Port, and we have issued an imperial edict, of which the following is the tenor:—That the Christian and inimical nations which are at peace with the emperor of France, and who shall desire to visit Jerusalem, may go thither and return, within the boundaries of their state, in the customary manner, and in full liberty and security, without any person causing them trouble or impediment; and if it should afterwards prove convenient to grant to the said nations the liberty of trading in our states, they will then go and come under the banner of the emperor of France as formerly, without being allowed to go and come under any other banner.