Constantinople

Map

The overlays that highlight 17th century London features are approximate and derived from Wenceslaus Hollar’s maps:

Open location in Google Maps: 41.112468, 29.003906

5 Annotations

First Reading

indoctus  •  Link

Constanople,{Istanbul} on tne cusp of Europe and Asia [minor] the maker be Balkan / Greek, Macendonia, depending on Century of influence.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Constantinople (Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις, Konstantinoúpolis; Latin: Constantinopolis; Ottoman Turkish: قسطنطینیه, Qostantiniyye; and modern Turkish: İstanbul) was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Latin and the Ottoman Empires. It was founded in AD 330, at ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine I, after whom it was named. The city was the largest and wealthiest European city of the Middle Ages. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cons…

Under Selim and Suleiman, the Ottoman Empire became a dominant naval force, controlling much of the Mediterranean Sea. The exploits of the Ottoman admiral Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, who commanded the Ottoman Navy during Suleiman's reign, led to a number of military victories over Christian navies.

Suleiman's policy of expansion throughout the Mediterranean basin was however halted in Malta in 1565.

By this time, the Ottoman Empire was a significant and accepted part of the European political sphere. It made a military alliance with France, the Kingdom of England and the Dutch Republic against Habsburg Spain, Italy and Habsburg Austria.

As the 16th century progressed, Ottoman naval superiority was challenged by the growing sea powers of western Europe, particularly Portugal, in the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and the Spice Islands. With the Ottoman Turks blockading sea-lanes to the East and South, the European powers were driven to find another way to the ancient silk and spice routes, now under Ottoman control. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto…

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Until the appointment of Isaac Morier as Consul General in 1804, the chief representative of the Levant Company at Constantinople was the Ambassador, who acted as the Company’s senior consul as well as being an agent of the Crown [WoodEHR ].

He would usually have a private secretary for his own and the king’s work, while there was another secretary for the Levant Company's work, who also acted as cancellier and deputised for the ambassador in his absence, and a treasurer. [AndersonECT, p. 25]

Financial affairs in the Levant Company’s factories were managed by treasurers at Constantinople, Smyrna and, until 1783, Aleppo.
These treasurers were usually well-established factors who were elected by their local colleagues, but sometimes the Company sent out its own appointees from London.

Secretaries, Cancelliers & Chargés d’Affaires at Constantinople before 1825:
[I've only copied the Stuart century]

Edward Barton Sec 1583-1588; subsequently CDA then ambassador [ODNB]

Domenico Timone {Dominico; Timene} Sec & dragoman for 30 years until c1648 [SP 105/11, fol. 592] d. late 1648 or early 1649 CalSPDom, 1649-1650, p. 89]; cf, Demetrasca Timone, dragoman in 1670 [CalSPDom, 1670, p. 410];
“Signior Antonio and Demetrio Timone, the druggermen” 4 Oct 1679 [Finch, p. 153];

Nicolas Hobart (Nicholas; Hobbart) Sec till ca 1649 [Venn; CalSPDom, 1650, p. 459] d. 16 May 1657, fellow of King’s College, Cambridge; “agent for the Levant Company”, who gave books collected in Constantinople to Cambridge University Library [Oates, pp. 289-292]

John Williams apptd Sec 1650 [CalSPDom, 1650, p. 459]|

Anthony Bokenham Sec to Sir Thomas Bendish and later C at Smyrna [Venn]

Anthony Isaacson Sec & Clr until Jun 1661 [AndersonECT, p. 26] [cf. Smyrna]

Robert Bargrave apptd Sec & Clr 1660 [ODNB] died at Smyrna before taking up post [AndersonECT, pp. 25-26]

Paul Rycaut apptd Sec & Clr 1660 [AndersonECT] [to Smyrna as C in 1667] b. 1626, d. 1700; see detailed biography: AndersonECT

John Newman Sec & Clr 1667-1673 [AndersonECT, p. 243; Finch, p. 481] d. 1673 while acting as CDA

James Rycaut acting Clr 1665-1667 [AndersonECT, p. 99-100]; elected Clr 14 Sep 1695 [Horn] d. Mar 1705 Constantinople; s/o James (1621/2-1694), bro. of Paul Rycaut [Horn; Anderson ECT]

John Covel CDA left in charge of the embassy 1672-1674 [ODNB]

Thomas Coke apptd Clr 1673 [AndersonECT, p. 234] [Sec & Clr 1680-1695 [Horn]; acted as CDA Sep 1691 to Feb 1693 [Wood, p. 251] d. 30 Mar 1695 [Horn]

James Dayrolle Sec ca 1690 [Horn] [then British resident at The Hague 1706-1712, at Geneva 1715-1717 and again at The Hague 1717-1739

Abraham Stanyan Sec 1690-1691 [Sec. at embassy in Venice 1697-1698, envoy to Switzerland 1705-1714, ambassador at Constantinople 1717-1730 [Horn; ODNB]

John Hefferman elected Clr 25 Jun 1705 [resigned early 1721 [Horn]

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

PART 2

A list of ambassadors from 1583 to 1824, with dates of appointment etc., is given in Wood [pp. 250-252].
Lists with even more details are given in Bell, Horn and Bindoff, which cover up to 1852, when the first Foreign Office List appeared.
A summary covering the period 1583-1919 can be found in the Wikipedia
article ‘List of diplomats from the United Kingdom to the Ottoman Empire’ [minor errors].

The following list shows Ambassadors for whom there are entries in the ODNB:
William Harborne; Sir Edward Barton; Sir Paul Pindar; Sir Thomas Roe; Sir Peter Wyche; Sir Sackville Crowe; Sir Thomas Bendish (Bendysh); Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchelsea; Sir John Finch; Sir William Trumbull; Sir William Hussey; William Paget, 7th Baron Paget; Edward Wortley Montagu; Abraham Stanyan; George Hay, 8th Earl of Kinnoull; Sir Everard Fawkener; Sir James Porter; John Murray; Sir Robert Ainslie; Sir Robert Liston; Francis James Jackson; Thomas Bruce, 3rd Earl of Elgin; Sir William Drummond; Charles Arbuthnot; Sir Arthur Paget; Sir Robert Adair; Stratford Canning,
Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe; John, Viscount Pon

sonby.

More information from
List of British Consular Officials in the Ottoman Empire
and its former territories, from the 15th century to about 1860
By David Wilson : July 2011
http://www.levantineheritage.com/…

That's an impressive list of men, given what an uncomfortable position the Constantinopal post must have been.

NOTE: Heneage Finch was considered as either the 2nd Earl or the 3rd Earl of Winchelsea -- the confusion comes from his grandmother being made the Countess of Winchelsea in her own right by King Charles I, so there was on-going debate about whether she counted as the 1st Earl.
So this is our Heneage Finch in the Diary.

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References

Chart showing the number of references in each month of the diary’s entries.

1660

1663

  • Nov