Social and economic life in Galata in the second half of the 17th century according to the İstanbul Kadi Registers

Galata was in a considerably significant position throughout its history, especially during the Byzantine and Ottoman Empire periods. It owes its important position to its structure that harboured the different ethnic, religious, and cultural elements together. This cosmopolitanism denoted the area with a distinct status and turned it into a location frequented by travellers and envoys. The busy trade activities in the area also bolstered this structure. Thanks to its harbour suitable for trade, merchants also frequently visited the area and became a piece completing the mosaic. This study attempted to examine the Ottoman Galata of the second half of the 17th century; it tried to examine the period's socio-cultural life both in the capital that is also an administrative centre and in the specificity of this area. Galata was chosen as the central area in the study because it can be taken as an example for the sustainability of common life and reciprocal socio-economic relations with its property in which Muslim and non-Muslim relations are intertwined; also, it stands in an important position for understanding the state's stance against non-Muslims. Court Records are the primary sources that render this diversity examinable. Court records are in a considerably important status due to the information they contain. They enabled conveying the period's socio-economic life to our present day.