Doğu Hindistan ve Basra Körfezi'nde Rakip İş Ağları: Thomas Bowrey’in Ticari Ağlarının Rekabetçi Dünyası (1690-1713)

Abstract

17. yüzyılın sonu ve 18. yüzyılın başı, Doğu Hindistan Denizi ve Basra Körfezi'ni kapsayan yoğun bir ticari rekabet ve ağ bağlantılı ekonomik faaliyet dönemine tanık oldu. İngiliz Doğu Hindistan Şirketi ve Hollanda Doğu Hindistan Şirketi gibi büyük imtiyazlı şirketler deniz ticaretine hakimken, bağımsız tüccarlar küresel ticareti şekillendirmede önemli ancak sıklıkla göz ardı edilen bir rol oynadılar. Bu çalışma, Hindistan, İran ve Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nu birbirine bağlayan karmaşık ticaret yollarında seyreden, bu rekabetçi ortamda faaliyet gösteren bir İngiliz tüccar olan Thomas Bowrey'in (1659–1713) iş ağlarını inceliyor. Arşiv kayıtlarından yararlanarak ve Sosyal Ağ Analizi kullanarak, Bowrey'i özel finansörler, yatırımcılar ve tüccar ortaklarından oluşan bir takımyıldıza bağlayan ikili bağları inceliyor. İngiliz Doğu Hindistan Şirketi gibi imtiyazlı şirketlerin tekelci yapılarının aksine, Bowrey'nin merkezi olmayan iş modeli bölge ötesi işbirliğine, risk paylaşım düzenlemelerine ve ticaret gemisi Mary Galley gibi ortak mülkiyet girişimlerine dayanıyordu. Bu çalışma, bağımsız aktörlerin yenilikçi finansal araçlar, deniz sigortası ve imparatorluklar arası ittifaklar yoluyla kurumsal hakimiyete nasıl direndiğini, George Jackson, Elias Dupuy, Thomas Hammond ve Richard Tolson gibi kilit isimlerle ortaklıklarını analiz ederek vurgulamaktadır. Dahası, Bowrey'nin ağını, büyük liman kentlerindeki İngiliz, Hollandalı, Fransız ve Osmanlı çıkarları arasındaki daha geniş jeopolitik ve ticari rekabet içinde konumlandırır. Bu çalışma, resmi kurumsal girişimlerin hakimiyetiyle birlikte var olan ve bu hakimiyete meydan okuyan alternatif ticaret yapılarının anlaşılmasına katkıda bulunmaktadır. Bowrey'nin iş ağını yeniden yapılandırarak, dalgalı bir küresel pazarda faaliyet gösteren bireysel tüccarların dayanıklılığı ve uyum kabiliyetine ışık tutmakta ve erken modern ticaret dünyasını şekillendirmede bağımsız ticari aktörlerin etkinliğini ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

• Erken Modern İş ve Ticaret Ağları
• Thomas Bowrey
• Mary Galley Ticaret Gemisi
• Sosyal Ağ Analizi
• Doğu Hindistan Ticareti

Rival Business Networks at the East India Sea and Persian Gulf: The Competitive World of Thomas Bowrey Commercial Networks (1690-1713)

Abstract

The late 17th and early 18th centuries witnessed a period of intense commercial rivalry and networked economic activity spanning the East India Sea and the Persian Gulf. While large chartered corporations such as the British East India Company (EIC) and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) dominated maritime trade, independent merchants played a crucial yet often overlooked role in shaping global commerce. This study examines the business networks of Thomas Bowrey (1659-1713), an English merchant who operated in this competitive landscape, navigating the complex trade routes that connected India, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire. Drawing on archival records and employing social network analysis (SNA), it examines the dyadic ties linking Bowrey to a constellation of private financiers, investors, and merchant partners. In contrast to the monopolistic structures of chartered companies like the British East India Company (EIC), Bowrey’s decentralized business model relied on transregional collaboration, risk-sharing arrangements, and joint ownership ventures such as the merchant ship Mary Galley. This study highlights how independent actors resisted corporate dominance through innovative financial instruments, maritime insurance, and inter-imperial alliances by analyzing his partnerships with key figures-including George Jackson, Elias Dupuy, Thomas Hammond, and Richard Tolson. Furthermore, it situates Bowrey’s network within the broader geopolitical and commercial competition among English, Dutch, French, and Ottoman interests across major port cities. This study contributes to the understanding of alternative trade structures that coexisted with and challenged the dominance of formalized corporate enterprises. By reconstructing Bowrey’s business network, it sheds light on the resilience and adaptability of individual merchants who operated in a volatile global marketplace, revealing the agency of independent commercial actors in shaping the early modern trading world.

Keywords

• Early Modern Business and Commercial Networks
• Thomas Bowrey
• Merchant Ship Mary Galley
• Social Network Analysis (SNA)
• Indian Ocean Trade

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