‘Levantine’ Dragomans in Nineteenth Century Istanbul: The Pisanis, the British, and Issues of Subjecthood

Year 2014, , 169 - 195, 15.04.2014

Frank Castiglione

https://doi.org/10.18589/oa.562127

Abstract

Frederick and Count Alexander Pisani were two members of the Pisani
family of dragomans that served the British Embassy in Istanbul during the nineteenth century. As non-Muslims of Italian descent that were born and raised in the
Ottoman capital, they are commonly referred to as ‘Levantines.’ Using a case filed by
Frederick Pisani against the British daily The Times in the Court of Common Pleas
in England, and the process of registering the Last Will and Testament of Count
Alexander Pisani in the British Consular Court in Istanbul, this article examines how
two members of the same family had different views of who they were, how they
were able to negotiate their subjecthood, and how their British employers classified
them. It demonstrates how the Pisanis and the British struggled with the concept of
subjecthood, and how difficult it was to legally define it in these cases.

Keywords

Nineteenth Century Istanbul, Dragomans, Subjecthood, Levantine, Capitulations, Pisani

19. Yüzyıl İstanbul’unda ‘Levanten’ Tercümanlar: İngiliz Sefareti ve Pisaniler’in Tabiiyet Meselesi

Abstract

19. yüzyılda yaşayan Kont Alexander ve Frederick Pisani, Pisani dragoman
ailesinin İstanbul’daki İngiliz elçiliğine hizmet eden iki üyesiydi. Kont Alexander
ve Frederick Pisani Osmanlı başkentinde doğan ve büyüyen İtalyan kökenli gayrimüslimler olduklarından, tarihçiler tarafından genellikle ‘Levanten’ olarak adlandırılagelmişlerdir. Bu makalede, Pisani ailesinin söz konusu iki mensubunun kendi
kimliklerine dair algıları, hangi tabiiyetten olduklarını yetkili mercilerle nasıl müzakere ettikleri ve İngiliz elçiliğindeki amirlerinin onların tabiiyetlerini ne şekilde
tavsif ettikleri incelenmektedir. Bunlara ek olarak, Pisaniler’in ve İngilizler’in tabiiyet
kavramını tanımlarken yaşadıkları çekişmeleri irdelenmekte ve tabiiyet kavramının
hukukî olarak tanımlanmasının aslında ne kadar zor olduğu ortaya koyulmaktadır.
Çalışmada, İngiltere’de Frederick Pisani’nin Times gazetesine karşı açtığı davanın ve
Kont Alexander Pisani’nin İstanbul’daki İngiliz elçilik mahkemesine sunulan vasiyetinin muameleli evrakı kullanılmıştır

Keywords

19. yy. İstanbul’u, Dragomanlar, Tabiiyet, Levanten, Kapitülasyonlar, Pisani

References

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• Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi Hariciye Nezâreti Belgeleri HR.H 426/25
• Durham University Library, Ponsonby Letters GRE/E413 GRE/E270
• e National Archives, Kew C13/1257 22 FO 352/14B FO 366/569 FO 780/165 FO 780/217 State Papers 105/118
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