Ottoman maritime transition from sail to steam (1825-1855)

For the Ottoman Empire, the first half of the 19th century was a time of significant change and development in the area of maritime. The Ottoman side was found wanting upon the new technological maritime developments that took place all around the globe. Thus, the construction of both steamships and sailing ships began in Ottoman shipyards. Sailing ships were built not only in Istanbul but many other places with ports and havens as well. The Ottomans generally utilised their own engineers and experts regarding the construction of the sailing ships; and also started to benefit from the expertise of American engineers in 1831. As well as building these sailing ships, the Ottomans also had steamships. Part of the steamships aqcuired following the year 1828 were orders placed to the Ottoman shipyards (namely "Tersane-i Amire") or to the British. But the machinery of all the said ships was purchased from the British. Other than the machinery, all the equipment necessary for the construction of sailing ships and steamships were provided by domestical means or via trade. The Ottomans continued their policy of possessing both steamships and sailing ships until 1852, but after that date, the production of sailing ships was discontinued and the switch to steamships became official. Following this, a new era in Ottoman maritime began, which involved the conversion of sailing ships into steamships. This technological endeavour which was one or two decades late in comparison to countries like Britain or France, proved that the said switch to steamships was finally made (at least in the navy), and that the old technologies were finally replaced by the new. Although Ottoman maritime involved steamships, providing the necessary infrastructure for the said technology was not entirely successful. The reasons that played a part in this are the inability to thoroughly train the domestic specialists on the construction and maintenance of the said machinery and the continued dependence on foreign specialists on this matter.Keywords:1.Sailingships 2.Steamships 3.Shipyard 4.Technology 5.Maritime