In 1492, carrying trade goods between Asia and Europe required (2) Paying taxes on the Ottoman Empire.
To fully comprehend the Ottoman system of trade, it is important to understand the concept of Capitulations (or Ahidnâme). Capitulations were basically contracts between the Ottomans and European powers in the form of trade concessions. (Shaw 158) The first such contract was between Süleyman and Francis I of France. (Shaw 91) Their agreement did not go over so well with other European powers who disapproved of a Christian power engaging with a non-Christian expansionist power. Nevertheless, this alliance between France and the Ottoman empire lasted more then two centuries, and probably had more to do with combating the influence of the Hapsburg of the Holy Roman Empire than any other factor. While France claimed that their motivation for such an alliance was to ensure the safety and well being of Christians living in Ottoman controlled territories, the truth was that the Ottoman policy made a point of not persecuting non-Muslims. (Shaw 120)
The Ottoman Empire’s complicated tax system necessitated a robust bureaucracy. The taxes to be collected were of two kinds: those authorized by the Koran, and those dictated by the Sultan. (120) Ottoman Sultans asserted that it was their “sovereign right to legislate in secular matters.” (120) Among the taxes in the empire were the tithe (one tenth of agricultural produce), the head tax (collected from non-Muslims according to their ability to pay) the Zeke (alms), the municipal tax (collected from all artisans and merchants), the Sheep Tax, and the Mine Tax (one fifth of the yield of all privately held mines). (Shaw 120-21) Additional taxes authorized by the Imperial Council included a household tax to help pay for “soldiers and functionaries visiting the area…campaign expenses…and emergency aid to neighboring areas that had suffered from natural calamities.” (Shaw 120) One reason for the eventual decline of the Ottoman Empire was that this bureaucracy would later become mired in corruption and inefficiency.
