1393) Turk-Armenian Cooperation In Eregli Mining Sector Between (1878 And 1920)

Assoc. Prof Dr Ahmet ÖĞRETEN
Kastamonu University / Kastamonu


INTRODUCTION

Coal has been regulary produced in the Ereğli coal basin since 1841. Most of the 390 coal mines located in the coal basin were run by a partnership formed by miners from various nationalities, religions, sects and countries. In this paper, Armenian and Armenian joint ventured miner’s activities are particularly mentioned.

While producing this work, written statements kept by the administrative offices of the Ereğli Coal Mines were taken into consideration. Some parts of these documents were stored in the library of Zonguldak Karaelmas University (ZKÜ). In addition to these documents, notebooks and documents from the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archive (BOA), Prime Ministry Republic Archive (BCA), the Archive of Turkish Hardcoal Enterprises Educational Office, and other related published journals and books were used to write this paper. . .

I-THE PRODUCTION OF COAL IN THE EREĞLI MINING DISTRICT

The Ottoman Administration became interested in coal mines after the era of Selim III through the end of the 18th century.1 Since coal was the major source of energy of the Industrial Revolution in western countries, the Ottoman Administration began to focus on coal production. During the Mahmoud II reign the discovery of coal, which was mainly used as an energy source in industry and as a main fuel for steamships, triggered the start of coal mining in the Ereğli region.2

The Ereğli coal basin, which was under the control of Darphane-i Âmire,3 was transferred to Hazine-i Hassa4 after its foundation (June 15, 1847).5 After three years trial production by Hazine-i Hassa, operation rights of the Ereğli coal basin were sold by bidding to the Ereğli Coal Mine Company (Ereğli Kömür Madeni Kumpanyası) which had six shareholders, who were rich Ottoman statesmen.6.

The company, consisting of six shareholders and six partners, decided to increase its number to seven partners and 12 shareholders along with the participation of Sultan Abdülmecid on March 6, 1846.7 Due to sell-offs and deaths, the partners of the company eventually changed

1 BOA, Hatt-ı hümayun, nr. 197/9882; 240/13417; Ahmet Öğreten, “Ereğli Kömür Madeni Havzasında İlk Üretim”, Atatürk Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi, Atatürk’ün Doğumunun 125. Yılı Özel Sayısı, Yıl 13, Sayı 31, Erzurum 2006, p. 137-138.
2 BOA, Y.PRK.HH, nr. 35/86.
3 BOA, D.DRB.İ, nr. 13/22, 13/27.
4 Arzu T. Terzi, Hazine-i Hassa Nezareti, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 2000, p. 19-21.
5 BOA, Hazine-i hassa Defteri, nr. 791, v. 2b-3b.
6 BOA, Hazine-i hassa Defteri, nr. 790, v. 1b; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Madeni Havzasında İlk Üretim, p. 141-142; Ahmet Öğreten, “Ereğli Kömür Madeni Havzasında Kurulan İlk Şirket “Ereğli Kömür Madeni Kumpanyası”, Zonguldak Kent Bienali Bildiriler Kitabı, Zonguldak 2006, p. 300-301.
7 BOA, Hazine-i hassa Defteri, nr. 790, v. 6a.


overtime.8 Coal production activity around the coal field continued until March 1865.9

The company did not take part in coal production activities by directly employing coal laborors. Instead, the company made a new agreement with Austrian Croats, who offered to buy the coal produced at a fixed price. That is to say, the coal production was transferred to subcontractors who were Austrian Croat.10 Ahmed Fethi Paşa, who was one of the shareholders of the company, had defined the production style as a lump method in one of his reports.11 In order to first produce coal in the Ereğli Region, the Austrian Croats were brought from Austria by Ahmet Fethi Paşa, who was the ambassador during the same period (March 1837).12 Later, there were other coal miners who wanted to extract coal using the same coal production style as the Austrian Croats13.

At the beginning of March 1865, the management of the coal fields was given to the administration of a shipyard (Tersane-i Âmire) to be run on behalf of the Hazine-i Hassa (The Imperial Treasury).14 In this period, when the coal fields were governed by the Tersane-i âmire, mines – just as when they belonged to the “Kumpanya” – were not given to the miners as real property. Instead, the miners only had production rights.

Between the period of 1865 and 1882 miners had to sell all the coal they produced to the Tersane-i âmire for the price determined by the navy administration (Bahriye idaresi), as in the past.15 With a decree issued in 1883, producers were allowed to sell 40 % of the coal wherever they

8 BOA, Hazine-i hassa Defteri, nr. 238, p. 20.
9 BOA, Hazine-i hassa Defteri, nr. 246, v. 89b; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Madeni Havzasında İlk Üretim, p. 144-145.
10 BOA, MB, nr. 6/91; HR.MKT. nr. 35/53; Hazine-i hassa Defteri, nr. 790, v. 9b-10a.
11 BOA, HH.İ, nr. 2/24, p. 2.
12 BOA, Hatt-ı hümayun, nr. 20448.A.
13 A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Madeni Havzasında İlk Üretim, p. 146-147.
14 BOA, Hazine-i hassa Defteri, nr. 252, v. 86a, derkenar; Ahmet Öğreten, “Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti Döneminde Madenler ve Madenciler (1865-1908)”, Zonguldak Karaelmas Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, Cilt 3, Sayı 5, Zonguldak 2007, p. 142.
15 Ahmet Ali Özeken, Zonguldak Kömür Havzası Tarihi, İstanbul 1944, p. 19-20.

wanted to16 and they had to sell the rest of the coal produced (60%) to the Tersane-i âmire for the pre-determined price. In addition, they had to pay 16% tax for the coal they sold on the free market.17

During the Tersane-i âmire period, significant developments took place in the mining industry. There was a shortage of coal miners due to increases in the number of mines. In order to keep a record of their growing number, a numbering system was instituted. The mines in Kılıç stream got the first numbers. Numbers up to 33 were given to the mines in the Kozlu region, and starting from 34, numbers were given to the Zonguldak, Kilimli, Alacaağzı and Ereğli regions respectively. In total, 145 coal mines were numbered. After that time, the new coal mines were numbered according to when they opened, regardless of their district.18

From 1878 to 1909, which was the end of the Tersane-i âmire19 period, numeration was carried out for a total of 393 coal mines in the Ereğli coal mining district. Eight of the mines which were numbered never became active. Therefore, the total number of mines that were actively in production was 38520.

A review of mine ownership reveals that for two of the mines, the founders were unknown. According to determinations via the names of the the mines, 123 of these 385 mines were opened by Muslim Turks21 without any partners, 45 by non-Muslims without any partners,

16 A.A. Özeken, Ereğli Kömür Havzası..., p. 20-21; Bahri Savaşkan, Zonguldak Maden Kömürü Tarihçesi, Zonguldak 1993, p. 21
17 BOA, Y.PRK.BŞK, nr. 16/31; BOA, ŞD. Bahriye, nr. 8/25.
18 A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 147.
19 Gündüz Ökçün, “XX. Yüzyıl Başlarında Osmanlı Maden üretiminde Türk, Azınlık ve Yabancı Payları”, Prof. Dr. Yavuz Abadan’a Armağan, Ankara 1969, p. 877-878.
20 A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 147, 155-178.
21 Since there was Christian-Turk (orthodox) among the miners, the idiom of “Muslim-Turk” has been used by the author. Some examples of the Christian-Turks miner are given as follows: Durmuş oğlu Pavlaki, who is one of the shareholders of mines 14 and 350; Aslı oğlu Bodosaki, who is one of shareholders of mines 104 and 86; Milo Şahin, who is one of shareholders of mines 71 and 143 and Karadon, who is one of the shareholders of mines 17, 71, and 87.

82 by joint ventures of Muslim Turks among themselves, 43 by joint ventures of non-Muslims, and 87 by joint ventures of Muslim Turks and non-Muslims. As can be seen from the numbers, the majority of the mines were opened by individual Muslim Turks or the cooperation of Muslim Turks and non-Muslims. This clearly implies that after sole Muslim-Turk ownership and Muslim/non-Muslim cooperations were most common22.

II-TURKISH-ARMENIAN COOPERATION IN COAL MINING

Armenian miners, who were non-Muslim, were involved in 41 out of 385 coal mines. Thirty-four of these were opened through a cooperation of Armenians and Muslim Turks, four of them were opened by joint ventures of Armenians only, and one coal mine was opened by an individual Armenian. Two coal mines were opened through a cooperation of Christians, Muslim Turks, Armenians, and other miners. These facts suggest that Armenian miners had more confidence cooperating with Muslim Turks than with their own people. In some coal mines, Armenian miners became partners after the mines had already opened. In these situations, they most commonly entered into partnerships with Muslim Turks, as can be seen in coal mine numbers 6, 21, 229, and 370.

Documents offer many facts about the history of mining in the Eregli region as an official certificate was issued for the opening, followed by a production certificate marking the beginning of actual operations.

As a Muslim and non-muslim corporation, one of the major important initiatives recorded was started by Mevaliden Şükrü Effendi (Muslim initiative) and Parsih Halaçyan Effendi (a non-muslim Armanian initiative and retired judge) in the Göbi Mountain. They applied to open 63 coal mines.23 In reply to this initiative, 37 coal mines numbered from 301 to 337 were assigned by the administration. Since some of the coal mines were considered as a single mine, seven of them seemed to be inactive according to the records.24

22 A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 155-178.
23 ZKU, MIKD, nr. 6, 24 April 1308/50, p. 8.
24 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 300-336.

1. Guarantees in the Coal Mining Sector (An example of solidarity)

The miners who wanted to manage coal mines in the Ereğli Coal Mine basin were asked to find guarantors. Generally, miners used other miners as guarantors. These guarantee structures, which generally consisted of at least three miners, illustrate the social aspects of cooperation and support, regardless of sectarian, religious and national differences, that were common in Ottoman society. The guarantees were like letters of guarantee that are approved by banks today. While modern banks require money for this service, there is no evidence that the guarantors did, highlighting the importance of sharing and cooperation in Ottoman society. These guarantees were arranged and changed when owners of the mine or conditions changed.

The guarantees are documents that show that the liabilities of the miners were undertaken by third persons. An example of a guarantee stating this liability is as follows: “We as guarantors, guarantee that these miners [list of names] are to produce and deliver coal under the condition of the submitted agreement; if debt occurs during the operation to employers or to the management of the coal field, then deficits due to operation are to be paid by us; also the miners are to behave according to the mining rules agreed upon. In addition we as guarantors will become guarantors of each other. We sign and stamp this guarentee letter”.25

2. Armenian Miners in Mining and examples of Cooperation

Coal Mine 6: This mine was founded in Karabayır which is near the Kozlu region. It was opened by Kahveci Ömer Ağa before 1878. In 1894 Ömer Ağa sold 20 of his 30 shares, half to Bolulu Serkiz Nezaretyan and half to Ereğlili Mahmud Ağazade Ali Effendi. In return, he was paid 6,473 qurushes and 10 pennies (para) for each “10 shares”. After this sale, the coal mine was administered by these three shareholders. Hajji

25 BOA, Y.PRK.OMZ, nr. 3/68, p. 1.

Süleyman Ağa, Gerzeli Hasan Ağa, and Yasaf Ağa were guarantors of the mine.26

No information was found to show the administration structure of the mine between 1894 and 1899. According to the records, 5,165 qurushes and 23 pennies income tax were paid from this coal mine in 1899.27

Coal Mine 21: This mine was founded in the Kozlu region and was operated by Murad Şaban, before 1878. On August 30, 1883, this coal mine was valued at 40 shares, and he sold 15 shares to Artin Karamanyan (an Armenian) and 15 shares to Merchant Ahmed Effendi. After this sale, this coal mine was shared by three owners. Some time later, there was a conflict between the owners about Murat Saban’s share. This conflict was resolved by two experts named Aslıoğlu Bodos and Istefan Topcuyan.28

Later, this coal mine was merged with coal mine number 18, which was owned by Abasızoglu Hüseyin Effendi and Kasap İsmail and was renamed as İhsaniye Limited. İhsaniye Limited was valued at 80 shares and owned by four partners: 20 shares belonging to Merchant Ahmed Effendi, 20 shares to Artin Karamanyan Effendi, 30 shares to Abasızoglu Hüseyin Effendi and 10 shares to Murad Şaban. Due to the debts of Merchant Ahmed Effendi, on November 2, 1892, his shares were bought by his wife, Nafia Hanım. On the same date, 5 shares from Abasızoglu Hüseyin and 5 shares from Artin Karamanyan were sold with the value of 10,000 qurushes each, and a total of 10 shares were bought by Serkiz Rakıcıyan, who was a director of İhsaniye Coal Limited. After becoming a company via the merger, production fields were enlarged, and the guarantors of the company were the miner Hasan Aga, Rumbaki (son of Heci), and Onsekizoğlu Mehmed Aga.29

26 ZKU, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 4; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 155.
27 Matlubat Defteri Cild-i sâni 1315, p. 135.
28 ZKU, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 20.
29 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, no. 85, p. 20.

In the 1893 fiscal year, 172,590 kantar’s of coal were produced in coal mine number 21.30 For coal mine 21, the company paid 10,573 qurushes income taxes to the goverment in the 1899 fiscal year, which was arranged as the time from the beginning of the current March to end of the February of the following year. Later, in fiscal year 1904, the company paid 43,795 qurushes and 10 pennies (para) income tax for mine 21 indicating increasing revenue of the mine.31

Coal Mine 25: This mine was founded by Milo, Yuvan, and Kosti, of Slavic-Orthodox background, in a place called Domuzini in the Kozlu region before 1878. On January 23, 1898, one-fifth of the shares of the coal mine, which was valued at 35 shares, were sold to an Armenian, Haçador Halaçyan Effendi. The other shares were owned by Kosti with 5 shares, Pavli with 14 shares and Petro with 14 shares.32 Since they wanted to operate the mine by applying European style coal production techniques, using a machine and digging a perpendicular well, the miners asked the government for permission toenlarge their mining field. This request was granted with the one exception, that they not cause harm to any other miners. The guarantors of mine 25 were Gerzeli Hasan Aga, the miner Şirin, and the miner Yuvan.33

Beginning in March 1893, the total annual coal production amounts were 63,810 kantar,34 and they paid 49,470 qurushes and 10 pennies as income tax to the government in the fiscal year of 1899.35 Coal Mine 38: This coal mine was founded by Milo Hristo and an Armenian, Andon. After 1878, it was totally owned by Andon. He valued the coal mine as 40 shares and sold 10 shares to another Armenian named Gürcü Pano for 50,000 qurushes. For this cooperation, the miner

30 BOA, ŞD. Bahriye, nr. 8/25.
31 Matlubat Defteri Cild-i sâni 1315, p. 139; ZKÜ, Matlûbât Cild-i sânî Defteri 1320, nr. 98, p. 93.
32 Although there seems incostistence with the numbers, it is written as it was in the records.
33 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, no. 85, p. 24.
34 BOA, ŞD. Bahriye, nr. 8/25.
35 Matlubat Defteri Cild-i sâni 1315, p. 144.

Musa oğlu Mahmud, the miner Cora, and the miner and factory owner Yani were the guarantors.36

From 1887 the production level of coal in this mine, which was managed by Andon and Istefan, increased steadly. For the same fiscal year the mine owner paid 109,192 qurushes tax37 and for the fiscal year 1899, they paid 84,012 qurushes and 10 pennies (para)38 to the government. The partners of the mine stopped producing coal in this mine because of the renewal of mine 74 on February 28, 1893.39

Coal Mine 70: This mine, founded before 1878,40 was called as Sirinyan mine, and was located somewhere near Mağaraağzı in Zonguldak. According to the records of fiscal year 1887, the mine was run by Teke Halil, Ahmed, and Çoturoğlu.41 This case clearly implied that Şirinyan had the idea of selling off the mine42.

Coal Mine 93: This mine was founded before 1878 by Topaloglu Bayram and an Armenian, Kirkor, who was from Ankara, and was located in a place called Kumtarlası in Kilimli. The mine was among the inactive coal mines in the year 1887 and was sold to other miners before 1889.43

Coal Mine 94: This mine was founded before 1878 by Metro, Milo, and Latin Yanko and was located somewhere near Ihlamurluk in the Kilimli region on the right-handside of the railway. It was run by Petro and Istefan during the fiscal years of 1887 and 1889. On January 16, 1895, the mine was valued at 30 shares and divided as follows: 17.5 shares to Petro, 7.5 shares to Tıngıroglu Agop Effendi and the remaining 5 shares to Hasan Effendi, who was from Sinop. The guarantors of the mine were 36 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, no. 85, p. 37; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 157.

37 Matlubat Defteri 1303, p. 175, 246.
38 ZKÜ, Matlûbât Cild-i sânî Defteri 1305, nr. 72, p. 188-189.
39 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, no. 85, p. 37.
40 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, no. 85, p. 69.
41 ZKÜ, Matlûbât Cild-i sânî Defteri 1305, nr. 72, p. 199.
42 A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 159.
43 ZKÜ, Matlûbât Cild-i sânî Defteri 1305, nr. 72, p. 195; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 160.


the miner Nikola Krakovic, the miner Rumbaki, and the miner Hasan Aga, who was from Gerze.44 According to the records of 1899, the name of this coal mine was “Coal Mine Number 94 Petro”.45 After the death of Tıngıroglu Agop, his 7.5 shares were sold by his inheritors to Istefan Yorgiyadis, an Ottoman citizen. This sale was confirmed by the members of the parliament on January 22, 1919.46

Coal Mine 166: This mine, which was founded by a Bosnian named Suleiman, Salih, and Sarıoglu, was located in the Kilimli region. Records dated December 10, 1887 show that it was run by an Armenian, David Sıvacıyan, who had 20 shares, Papazoglu Marko who had 5 shares, and Boco who had 5 shares. The guarantors of the mine were: the miner Onsekizoglu Mehmet Effendi, the miner Acente Huseyin Effendi, and the miner/manufacturer Yani.47 In the same year, the coal mine was sold to Salih Effendi. Coal production was terminated after the mine closed in 1889.48

Coal Mine 174: This mine was founded with the cooperation of Hajji Omar, Lazo, Istefan, the Armenian Andon, and the Armenian Kirkor before 1878. It was run by Koçekçi Marko in 1887. On December 27, 1892, it was totally taken over by Bodosaki.49

Coal Mine 175: This mine was one of the mines founded in the Kilimli region before 1878. It was founded with the cooperation of Hajji Ömer, Lazo, İstefan, Andon and Kirkor. In the following years, there was no available information about coal mine 175.50

Coal Mine 177: This mine was founded in the Kilimli region before 1878 by Mülazım Bey, Lazo, Hajji Omar, and Stefan. The coal mine

44 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, no. 85, p. 93.
45 Matlubat Defteri Cild-i sâni 1315, p. 202.
46 BOA, MV, nr. 217/198.
47 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 165; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 164.
48 Matlubat Defteri 1303, p. 200, 280; ZKÜ, Matlûbât Cild-i sânî Defteri 1305, nr. 72, p. 239.
49 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 173; Matlubat Defteri 1303, p. 201; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 164.
50 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 174; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 164.


was valued at 40 shares and shared as follows: 10 shares to Taşhancızade Ali Effendi from Bolu, 10 shares to the Armenian Şinork Mihranyan Effendi, 15 shares to the Armenian Istepan Topçuyan Effendi, and 5 shares to Papazoğlu Yazıcı İstepan Ağa on December 20, 1897. On August 21, 1898, Papazoğlu Stefan sold his 5 shares to Yorgi and Vasil, who were Ottoman citizens and the sons of Nepani, for 5,000 qurushes with the help of his representative, Çıkrıkçı Ahmet Effendi. On August 6, 1901, Ismail Nuri Aga from Mudurnu, who was the son of the Kazan Mosque Imam, bought 2 shares from Ahmed Effendi, 3 shares from Stephan Topçuyan, 2 shares from Şinork Mihranyan, a half share from Yorgi, and a half share from Vasil for 100,000 qurushes. The guarantors of this coal mine were Yuvan, who was the son of Pavli, the miner Petro Istefan, and Acente Şirketi.51

On March 25, 1907, eight shares belonging to Şinork Mihranyan were sold for 700 Ottoman Liras to Ahmet Effendi, who was one of the shareholders of the mine, by the representative Incisu Esavidis. Esavidis was given the power of selling shares by the Galata Law Court. With the power of selling shares for the shareholders, Ahmet Effendi sold 20 shares, 10 of his shares, 4 shares of Nuri Aga and 6 shares of Istepan Topcuyan to Aslıoglu Avraham, who was the son of Bodos Aga from Istanbul for 5,815 Ottoman Liras. Sava Savidis Nikola, Boşnak Ali Ağazade, Ali Rıza and Durmuş oğlu Pavlaki became guarantors to this newly formed cooperation for the coal mine company.52

Research revealed the following financial information about the company. In 1899, they paid 8,265 qurushes as income tax from the first six month’s income. In 1904, the tax for whole year was 37,387 qurushes and 10 pennies (para) out of their annual total income.53 The company continued until 1913 with the current shareholders. After the death of Taşhancızade Ahmed and Nepani oğlu Yorgi Effendi who had no inheritors, all of the shares of mine 177 were transferred to

51 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 176; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 164.
52 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 176.
53 Matlubat Defteri Cild-i sâni 1315, p. 205; ZKÜ, Matlûbât Cild-i sânî Defteri 1320, nr. 98, p. 132.


the National Mine Management Company. Two shares of Nepani oğlu Vasil Effendi were sold to Aslıoglu Avraham Effendi, who was one of the shareholders.54

Sometime later the coal mine’s name changed to Tashancı Mine.

Twelve shares of Topcuyan Stephan Effendi were sold to the Ottoman, Mustafa Bey. This sale was approved by Members of Parliament on November 4, 1917.55 After this time, no information was recorded about coal mine 177.

Coal Mine 217: This mine was founded by Ohannes and Mahat in the Amasra region somewhere near Tarlaagzı. It was called Cınarlık Yılanlısu. Though it was founded after 1878, no certain date for the foundation was found. Later, the coal mine was abandoned by Ohannes and Mahat and then bought by an Armenian, Sezak Pempeciyan, in an auction for 1,200 qurushes on July 4, 1896. The guarantors of the mine, which had started to produce coal, were the miner Kasap İsmail, the miner Yuvan, and the İhsaniye Mining Company. On February 28, 1901, the mine was valued at 60 shares by Sezak Pempeciyan who then sold 15 shares to Serkiz Rakıcıyan, 15 shares to Agop Pempeciyan, 7.5 shares to Artin Pempeciyan, and 7.5 shares to Efasid Bedliyan. After this sale, they became shareholders in the same company. For this new cooperation, the guarantors of the mine were Petro Istefan, Gerzeli Hasan, and Abasizogli Husni.56

Coal Mine 229: This mine was founded by Civa Matko, Gerzeli Hasan, and Ali Effendi in Çataldere place near the Kozlu region. Records dated May 30, 1892 indicate that it was run by merchant Ahmed Effendi and Artin Karamanyan. In the following years, there is no further written information about mine 229.57

Coal Mine 287: This mine was founded by Şükrü Effendi in Ayıini place near the Kilimli region. Şükrü Effendi sold half of his shares to

54 BOA, MV, nr. 176/46.
55 BOA, MV, nr. 210/7.
56 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 216; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 166.
57 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 228; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 167.

Cevahircioğlu Bodosaki for 2,000 qurushes in November 1892, becoming equal shareholders. The miner Onsekizoğlu Mehmet Effendi, the miner Halil Bey, and the miner Hajji Galip were the guarantors of the mine.58

For the fiscal year 1893, the total annual production of the mine run by Şükrü Effendi was 4,830 kantars of coal.59

In April 1902, the border of the mine was extended and its value was evaluated as 30 shares. A new cooperation was formed as follows: 10 shares to Şükrü Effendi, 5 shares to Harafim Effendi (an Armenian), 5 shares to Dimistani Efendi, and 10 shares to Madam Mariye, wife of Bodosaki. Gerzeli Hasan, Yuvan who was son of Pavli and Petro Istefan were the guarantors of the new cooperation.60

In the fiscal year 1904, the mine was run by Şükrü Effendi and his partner, the Armenian Harafim. They paid 63,902 qurushes as income tax.61

After Istavri became one of the shareholders of the mine on January 31, 1906, it was operated by Mevaliden Şükrü Effendi, Harafim, and Istavri until 1908.62 After this time, there were no further records found.

Coal Mines 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, and 325: These mines, located in Boyalık on Gobi Mountain, were founded by Parsih Halaçyan, Mevaliden Şükrü Efendi and Mustafa Bey. They were operated by Parsih Halaçyan and Mustafa Bey, holding equal shares since February 1898.63

58 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 286; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 171.
59 BOA, ŞD. Bahriye, nr. 8/25.
60 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 286.
61 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 286; ZKÜ, Matlûbât Cild-i sânî Defteri 1320, nr. 98, p. 133.
62 BOA, Y.MTV, nr. 309/22.
63 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 300-324; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 172-173.

Parsih Halaçyan sold his shares in June 1907 to the Italian engineer Nogara and his partners.64

Coal Mines 326, 327, 328, 329, and 330: These mines were founded on September 13, 1892 by Mustafa Bey Effendi, Mevaliden Şükrü Effendi, and Parsih Halaçyan to produce coal in an area with the radius of 450m on Göbi Mountain. Mine ownership later changed hands with Parsih Halaçyan and Mustafa Bey as equal shareholders.65

Parsih Halaçyan sold his shares to the Italian engineer, Nogara, and his partners in June 1907. 66

Coal Mines 351 and 352: Murad Panosyan asked official permission for coal exploration from the National Mine Management in Gökgöl near the Zonguldak region on May 6, 1892. He was given official permission on July 15, 1892. Panosyon had founded two coal mines in the region. Before starting coal production in these mines, Murad Panosyan, a businessman from Eregli, made Şinork Mihranyan his partner. They started coal production on July 18, 1893. They founded mine 351 as evidenced on the coal production license issued on July 26, 1893. They valued each mine at 40 shares with 20 shares each. The guarantors for mine 351 were Istepan Topcuyan and the miner Petro, and those for mine 352 were Istepan Topcuyan, the miner Petro and Ihsaniye Şirketi.

There was no information on these mines in the following years.67

Coal Mine 370: This mine was founded in Incivez place, which was below the Kozlu-Zonguldak road. The mine was founded through the merging of two old mines, one which belonged to Musa oğlu Ali and his partner Salih Effendi, and the other which belonged to Molla Recep and his partner Hammal Mehmet. The mine was sold to Murad Şaban in an auction for 6,050 qurushes. Coal production and the auction date of

64 BOA, Y.MTV, nr. 306/12
65 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 325-329; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 173.
66 BOA, Y.MTV, nr. 306/12
67 ZKÜ, MİKD, nr. 6, 24 Nisan 1308/16, p. 3; ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 350-151; Ahmet Öğreten, “Osmanlı Toplumunda Birlikte Yaşama Sanatına Bir Örnek: Ereğli Kömür Havzası”, Hoşgörü Tolumunda Ermeniler, I, Erciyes Üniversitesi Yayını, Kayseri 2007, p. 272-273.


the mine were not available. The mine was valued at 40 shares by Murat Şaban. He kept 10 shares and the rest were distributed as follows: 10 shares to Serkiz Rakıcıyan, 10 shares to Yuan Effendi, 5 shares to Ereğlili Musa and 5 shares to Ibrahim Effendi. Their guarantors for the mine were Kasap Ismail, the miner Ömer Ağa and the miner Cöbekoğlu Rıza.68 With these partners, the coal production was carried on as evidenced by a production license issued on April 23, 1898.69 The income taxes for this mine in the fiscal years of 1899 and 1904 were paid as 4,752 qurushes and 3,060 qurushes respectively.70

Coal Mine 372: This mine was founded by Karamahmudzade Halil Bey, Ismail Effendi and Aram Karamanyan near Köseağzı Stream in the Alacaağzı region. They had official permission for coal exploration from National Mine Management given on November 4, 1897. The mine was valued at 100 shares and all shares were distributed as follows: 37.5 shares to Halil Bey, 37.5 shares to Süleyman Effendi and 25 shares to Artin Karamanyan Effendi. After this partnership formed, official permission for coal production from National Mine Management was given on June 26, 1898. Their guarantors for the mine were the miner Yuvan, Gerzeli Hasan and the miner Murad Şaban. Since they did not begin producing coal within 18 months, they lost their official permission for coal production on December 11, 1899.71

Coal Mine 373: This mine was founded by Hilmi Effendi and Merchant Aram Hallacyan. However, no other information regarding foundation date, location or operations were available.72

3. Cooperation in Trade Life
A very good example of the “art of living together” can be seen in the history of cooperation in the Eregli Coal District. The Muslims and

68 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 369; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 176.
69 BOA, Y.MTV, nr. 309/22.
70 Matlubat Defteri Cild-i sâni 1315, p. 172; ZKÜ, Matlûbât Cild-i sânî Defteri 1320, nr. 98, p. 105.
71 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 371; A. Öğreten, Ereğli Kömür Havzasında Bahriye Nezareti.., p. 176.
72 ZKÜ, Vukuat Defteri, nr. 85, p. 372.

Non-Muslims collaborated to form the Zonguldak Trade Association on August 30, 1919 (1335). In the first election of board members, both groups worked together in peace and harmony. The members of the association were as follows:73

Chairman : Miner Maksut Bey
Deputy Chairman : Bartınlı Kozmides Effendi
Members : Miner Mihail Hristo Effendi
: Miner Hoca İstefan Effendi
: Tradesman Karabet İstanbulluyan Effendi
: Tradesman Toma Fotyadis Effendi
: Tradesman Ohannis Hazarbetyan Effendi
: TradesmanBekir Sıtkı Bey
: Tradesman Heci Antranik Effendi.

As is seen from the names, the chairman and one of the members were Turkish-Muslim and four of them were Armenians among the seven non-Muslim members.

In the second election on March 29, 1922 (1338), the chairman and the elected board members were as follows:74

Chairman : The ex-city governer of Kastamonu, tradesman İbrahim Bey
Deputy Chairman : Hajji Ahmed Ali zade Ali Effendi
First assistant : Tradesman Alişan Bey
Second assistant : Boyacıoğlu Anesti Effendi
Members : Çakalzade Mehmed Effendi
: Eyüp Çavuş zade Ahmed Effendi
: Tradesman Ohannis Hazarbetyan
: Hajji Bekir zade Nuri Effendi
: Bodos Antomilidis Effendi

73 Cumhuriyetin 10 Yılında Zonguldak ve Maden Kömürü Havzası, Zonguldak Ticaret ve Sanayi Odası, İstanbul 1933, p. 49.
74 Cumhuriyetin 10 Yılında Zonguldak..., p. 50.

: Hırant Panoysan Effendi
: Kalınoğlu Koço Effendi

CONCLUSION

It is well known that the art of living together between Muslim Turks and Armenians goes back to 1071, the first entrance of Muslim Turks to Anatolia. This art of living together lasted until the early years of the 20th century. This study shows that harmony between Muslim Turks and Armenians is “not a myth” but a prominent “fact”. Peaceful partnerships in the mining companies were formed by Armenians and Muslim Turks. Armenian miners played some role in 41 out of 385 coal mines in five regions. Thirty-four out of 41 coal mines were founded by the cooperation of Armenians and Muslim Turks, four of them were opened by joint ventures of Armenians themselves, and only one coal mine was opened by an individual Armenian miner. Two coal mines were founded by cooperation between Muslim Turks, Armenians and other Cristian miners. This suggests that Armenian miners had more confidence in cooperation with Muslim Turks rather than with their own people.

The guarantor system in the mining sector is another indication of Muslim/non-Muslim cooperation. There was social cooperation and support between coal miners without considering sectarian, religious and ethnic differences as was typical in Ottoman society. As expressed in the section II.1, the miners who wanted to manage coal mines in the Ereğli Coal Mine basin were asked to find guarantors. The guarantees were like the letters of guarantee that are approved by current banks today. However, unlike the current letters, these were provided without any payment. In this respect, it can be said that the guarantees were genuine example of sharing and cooperation.

Social cooperation and support had the effect of increasing coal production over time. According to accounting records of the fiscal year 1891, apart from Amasra’s mines in which there were no production activity, the total amount of coal produced in the coal basin by the private sector was 1,403,987 kantars (104,398.7 tonnes). In addition,

109,086 kantars of coal were produced by government-owned mines.75 During the fiscal year of 1893 1,726,086 kantars (172,608.6 tonnes) of coal were produced by 96 coal mines in five regions.76 Records dated October 6, 1917 indicate that 1,400 tonnes were produced daily by private companies and 2,500 tonnes in total by all companies, including government-owned mines throughout the Kilimli, Kozlu, and Zonguldak Regions, excluding the Alacaağzı and Amasra regions.77

The only recorded problem affecting partners in the mining sector was the death of Istefan Marko. On June 20, 1892 the deceased Istefan Marko’s wife and orphans, who were the shareholders of 38 numbered mines in Zonguldak region, requested their operation and share rights be paid back to them.78

Most of the coal mines, which were Armenian-partnered or Armenian-owned, were small companies. These small companies could not compete against the big companies that later entered the sector, and thus the small companies left the mining industry. In particular, the French-owned Ereğli Company pushed the small companies out of the region after having gained rights to operate the Zonguldak port and railway enterprises.

During the First World War, while the Ottoman Empire had applied mandatory migration for some Armenians from Anatolia, other Armenians who were living in the Ereğli Coal Mines Basin, which was part of the Kastamonu State, were exempt from the migration.79 Presently, there aren’t any non-Muslims living in the Ereğli Coal Mine Basin. Most of the non-Muslims, who had been involved in the mining industry, came to Ereğli Coal Basin from other parts of the Ottoman state where they had previously been involved in other trades. Many of them settled in Istanbul and returned to those trades.

75 ZKÜ, Derdest Defteri 1307, nr. 23, p. 2-3.
76 BOA, ŞD, Bahriye, nr. 8/25, p. 4.
77 TTKEDA, Muharrerat Defteri, nr. 8, p. 1.
78 ZKÜ, MİKD, nr. 6, 8 Haziran 1308/23, p. 4.
79 Davut Kılıç, “1915’te Tehcir Edilmeyen Ermeniler”, Ermeni Araştırmaları 1. Türkiye Kongresi Bildirileri, II, ASAM-Ermeni araştırmaları Enstitüsü yayını, Ankara 2003, p. 118.

As non-muslim people, Greeks (who were Ottoman citizen) were sent to Greece from Turkey during the population exchange which followed the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne in 24th July 1923. After the signing of the Lausanne Treaty in 1923, the Armenian miners as well as other Muslim or non-muslim private sector miners sold their mines to the government of newly established Turkish Republic and quitted from mining sector as a consequences of the nationalization of the mining sector by the new govenment.80 Some of these people went to Istanbul, but the most of them migrated to Western countries with the expectation of getting or setting up new businesses, as was done by three million Turkish citizens.

80 BCA, 30.18.01.01/015.58.1.

REFERENCES
Arşiv Kaynakları
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BCA, 30.18.01.01/015.58.1.
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Arşivsiz Kaynak
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