The Eastern Crisis of the 1870s and the Second Issue of Paper Money in the Ottoman Empire

Hristiyan Atanasov ()
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Hristiyan Atanasov: University of National and World Economy - Sofia, Bulgaria

Proceedings of the Centre for Economic History Research, 2025, vol. 10, 159-171

Abstract: This article examines the Eastern Crisis (1875–1878) and the second issuance of paper money by the Ottoman government (1876–1877). The printing of paper currency is analyzed in the context of the empire’s deepening political and, in particular, fiscal difficulties. The study reviews the regulatory documents governing this monetary operation, together with the supplementary instructions and measures through which the Sublime Porte sought to maintain public confidence in the kaime. The Ottoman authorities alternated the issuance of banknotes with repeated assurances that the money supply would gradually be reduced and the kaime withdrawn from circulation. Special attention is devoted to the problem of counterfeiting. The article traces fluctuations in the value of the banknotes and highlights corresponding market reactions. It further demonstrates how the Bulgarian emigre press exploited public distrust of the kaime as an instrument of political propaganda in Bulgaria. In contrast, the press published within the empire expressed more moderate views, though overall skepticism prevailed. The study also presents a case in which Ottoman officials themselves exhibited distrust toward the government-issued currency. In addition to periodical sources, the research draws upon Ottoman administrative documents and the memoirs of Konstantin Bozveliev, a contemporary observer of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).

Keywords: Eastern Crisis; paper money; kaime; Ottoman Empire; Bulgarians (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G18 N13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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