According to religious court records: Weaving in the cities of Amasya, Kayseri, Tokat, Trabzon in the 19th century

It is known that Ottoman manufacturing went into a collapsing period in the 19th century. There are various ideas about the reasons for this period. This study deals with Ottoman manufacturing by using examples in cities Amasya, Kayseri, Tokat and Trabzon whose religious court records are examined. The origins of fabrics are tried to be determined. By this way, fabrics woven in cities, their rates, the conditions of manufacturers and dimensions of foreign input are determined. The study includes four cities mentioned. The religious court records that belong to these cities in the 19th century are taken as a source. These religious court records are examined in periods of ten years. The facts are compared with other sources and archive documents.At the end of the study, 313 kinds of fabrics are ascertained in more than 1000 estates1/4 of these fabrics are sorts which were brought from other cities. It is understood that kinds of export fabrics and their usage stayed in a limited level. The most commonly used fabrics during the century were broadcloth, cloture and printed cotton. In the last quarter of the 19th century, variety of fabrics increased. Compared to other three cities examined, the city Tokat had quite a lot livelier manufacturing level. Tokat is in a determining condition for other cities. When we look from the angle of four cities in the content of the study, it is seen that the 19th century had a waving progress for weavers. Manufacturers suffered mostly from increase in costs. However, they tried to adapt new conditions by changing manufacturing methods. It is understood that government, contrary to the rumour about its known. Role, supported manufacturers. It is also understood that the manufacturing atmosphere in these four cities were different from İstanbul and Bursa, which were more well-known textile manufacturing cities.Key words1. Weaving2. Manufacturing3. Craft4. Religious Court Records5. Textil