ABSTRACT
The district of Tokat was a much more ethnographically and culturally diverse place in the mid nineteenth century than it is today.1 In the face of such diversity, nineteenth century residents and administrators alike depended on a number of shared Ottoman cultural and legal institutions to build bridges among communities. As stated in Chapters 5 and 6, participation in local trade networks allowed capital and goods to circulate freely throughout and beyond the kaza and district of Tokat. The reallocation of wealth incumbent upon this exchange helped to quell potential unrest among the less stable elements of the local population, such as newly arrived refugee settlers from the Crimean, Balkan, and Caucasus regions. Conversely, when populations were permitted to gain access to networks of exchange, they engaged in the political and social life of Tokat District. Inclusive commercial institutions, such as the Suk-i Sultani, the artisanal esnaf, and later, the Trade and District Administrative Councils, had the potential to ensure relatively open and fl uid capital markets to those who were different in religion, education, or language. This chapter examines the demographic character of the district of Tokat in a preliminary way and gauges the participation of local non-Muslim minorities in commerce, governance, and in the community.
