The Azadlu Gunpowder Works: Catalyst for the Military Industry Complexes of Istanbul

This article argues that the catalyst for the industrialization along the coastal strip from Yedikule (Seven Towers) to the Çekmece region in the first half of the 19th century was the Azadlu Gunpower Works. It follows the new scholarship that focuses on the Ottoman transformations from 1768 – 1839, which laid the groundwork for the Tanzimat reforms. After a brief discussion of the gunpowder plants in Istanbul that preceded the Azadlu, i describe the stages of gunpowder production in order to highlight the reasons for the need for a new gunpowder works. Moreover, I show the interconnection between the new gunpowder plant with distant and nearby provinces, in order to demonstrate the way in which it transformed its immediate surrounding, and created a regional network for collecting raw materials.