Customs in the historical process: An example German customs regulation

In the last period of the Ottoman Empire, important legal regulations were made in the process of articulation with the West. The German Customs Regulation, which is the subject of this thesis, is one of them. The Ottoman-British Trade Agreement signed between the Ottoman Empire and England in 1838 and the establishment of the Duyunu General Administration in 1881 affected the structure and functioning of the Ottoman customs. Important information about the late Ottoman customs system has been revealed through the transcription of the Regulation, which was issued at a time when the Ottoman Empire was restructuring the institutions inherited from previous political structures in the process of harmonization with Europe and trying to become a part of the modern economic system. In addition, a general evaluation was made about the Ottoman economic structure and the development of customs in the historical process was discussed. The emergence of Germany as an economic and political power and its rapprochement with the Ottoman Empire, due to the regulation of Ottoman-German customs relations by the Regulation, were also examined within the scope of the study. The increase in commercial activities of the Ottoman Empire, especially the developments in the foreign trade axis, brought customs and legal regulations in customs to the fore. While the Ottoman Empire imported goods such as iron and steel products, fabric, leather goods, toys, hardware, porcelain, glass, watches, glasses, pens, sewing needles, military equipment, money boxes from Germany, cotton, rawhide, silk, carpets. , precious stones, madder and oilseeds are the main components of its imports.It is understood from the regulation that goods such as tea, champagne, coffee, cocoa, sugar, raw tobacco, dried fruit, glassware, paint, chemicals and timber are subject to trade. The regulation includes the structure of customs and the qualifications of the personnel, the controls and inspections to be carried out during the passage of these and similar goods subject to trade through customs, the way the goods are packaged, the taxes to be collected, the procedures and durations to be carried out in placing and removing the goods from warehouses, and how the documents and book records of all these transactions should be made. has been explained. Key Words: German Customs Regulations, Ottoman Customs, Development of Customs, Structure and Functioning of Ottoman Customs