Electrification of İstanbul (1878-1923)

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the history of introduction and development of electrical technology in Ottoman Istanbul with a special focus on the 1910 concession, and its implementation, which was held to construct the first power plant in Istanbul, the Silahtarağa Power Plant. The concession became the arena for international competition, and revealed the critical roles of multinational companies, consortiums, and the international banking in the electrification business of Istanbul, along with the various diplomatic maneuvers of European and American states, which depicted the diffusion of foreign capital into the Ottoman lands. Under this complex competitive environment, rather than being a passive receptor of technology, the Ottoman bureaucracy and engineers played an active, well-informed and sophisticated role that they were able to select the appropriate technology to be applied in Silahtarağa plant, design necessary rules and regulations for it and control technology’s implementation stage.