Activities of a Branch of the Trading Company of the Nikorowicz Family in Istanbul in the Second Half of the 18th Century

Abstract

In the 18th century, the import of goods from the Muslim East to the Pol-ish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was concentrated in the hands of large trading com-panies. Until the first partition of Poland in 1772, the trading company run by the Armenian Grzegorz Nikorowicz and his son Szymon was the largest and most impor-tant enterprise involved in trade with the Ottoman Empire. Although the Nikorowicz family did not have a monopoly on the import of goods from the Muslim East, in the mid-18th century they clearly dominated other Polish trading companies. There is no doubt that during that time a large part of the objects from the East belonging to the Polish nobility and townspeople were obtained for their homes through the Nikorowicz family’s business. Starting in 1753, the Beyoğlu district in Istanbul, where Nikorowicz located a new branch, became the heart of the entire enterprise. This lo-cation was more than just a warehouse for eastern goods purchased in the Ottoman Empire. Nikorowicz established contact with numerous craftsmen working in Istan-bul, who manufactured various types of fabrics in their workshops on his order. The Armenian also bought finished products from local merchants. This article, based on manuscript sources, discusses the organization and activities of the company’s branch in Istanbul: the network of connections between the company and craftsmen and merchants from Istanbul, the types of orders and the method of their execution, the value and costs of maintaining the branch, the organization of the transport of goods from the capital of the Ottoman Empire to Poland, the environment of Nikorowicz’s associates responsible for the transport of goods, and the traders’ contacts with crafts-men from Istanbul and Ottoman officials. Much of the article is devoted to discussing the type of goods in the warehouse of the branch in Istanbul.