Commerce du Levant [title on spine].

£1,250 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

A bound group of French manuscripts relating to the commerce of Istanbul and the Eastern Mediterranean. The first and most significant of the manuscripts focuses on the Échelles du Levant, which were trading posts in the Middle East and North Africa belonging to the Ottoman Empire but affording privileges to French merchants. The information it provides is somewhat granular, giving a highly specific insight into French maritime activities in the region during the second half of the eighteenth century. The volume comprises: (1) [Short history of commerce in the Échelles du Levant.] Ink on laid paper. Folio. Incomplete. 62pp. A detailed report of the history, decrees, import duties and consuls connected to the Échelles du Levant in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The report is mainly concerned with changes in the “droits de tonnage” levied at the various ports, with the idea that the taxes levied will be sufficient to pay the expenses of maintaining consuls at these various locations: “Il faudroit que le Commerce fut bien miserable si en doublant ce droit et retranchant les depenses superflues il ne suffisoit pas pour soutenir cette depense des consulates…” (“Commerce would have to be very poor if, in doubling this tax and in cutting unnecessary expenses, it would not be enough to support the expenses of the consulates…”) (2) Commerce du Levant. Extrait d’un mémoire sur le commerce de Constantinople. Ink on laid paper. 4to. 3pp. Short report on commerce in Constantinopl

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