The transcription and evaluation of the population registration book 1833 of Çankırı [H. 1252 (1836-1837)]

This study is related to the transcription and evaluation of the population registration book no 1833 of Çankırı. This registration book, dated 1252 in Hijri Calendar, is one of the first examples of the modern Ottoman population registers which were begun to be kept in 1831. There has been an increase in post graduate dissertations about population registration books after such books were digitalized and made available to the use of researchers by the Ottoman Archives Department of the Prime Ministry. Even though these books are of local nature, they provide data about the local history which are also useful for national and world history. Based on the current bibliography, we can safely state that the studies on the history of Çankırı are still in their infancy period. Therefore, the dissertation about the population registration book No 1833 not only provides a valuable source for the local history, but also serves as a reference for the studies to be made on 140 similar population registration books concerning the center of the Çankırı sanjak and its districts and villages. Furthermore, this population registration book No 1833 coincided with the period of Tanzimat-ı Hayriye (Ottoman Sultan's Reforms) during which modernization reforms were introduced representing radical break with the past. The population census was one of those reforms. However, the population books contain data about the male population only. But they allow us to make estimations on the female population as well. By the end of the century, the female population was also included in the censuses, which made it easier to make estimations for the past periods. It is also possible to make analysis, based on these books, in terms of urbanization such as neighborhoods, buildings and professional categories as well as economic situation and employment. We should have first begun the study by asking the question what this data signify for modern day Çankırı. However, we were careful to remain within the confines of the post graduate dissertation and therefore we followed the same methods used in previous similar studies. Even though the method which was followed was mainly one of description of the data by means of tables, some analytical assessment of the data were also made.