Migration and Disease in the Black Sea Region Migration and Disease in the Black Sea Region Ottoman-Russian Relations in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries Andrew Robarts Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc LONDON • OXFORD • NEW YORK • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway London New York WC1B 3DP NY 10018 UK USA www.bloomsbury.com BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2017 © Andrew Robarts, 2017 Andrew Robarts has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: HB: 978-1-4742-5949-1 ePDF: 978-1-4742-5950-7 ePub: 978-1-4742-5951-4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Cover design: Sharon Mah Cover image © Ox-carts in the Ukrainian Steppe. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images) Typeset by Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. Contents List of Figures vi List of Maps vii Acknowledgments viii Introduction 1 1 The Black Sea Region in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries 11 2 A Trans-Danubian Waltz: Bulgarian Migration in the Ottoman-Russian Black Sea Region 33 3 At the Limits of Empire: Migration, Settlement, and Border Security in Russia’s Imperial South 57 4 Reconstruction and Reconciliation: Migration and Settlement in the Early Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Balkans 83 5 “Instruments of Despotism” (I): Quarantines, Travel Documentation, and Migration Management in the Ottoman Empire 109 6 “Instruments of Despotism” (II): Epidemic Disease, Quarantines, and Border Control in the Russian Empire 139 7 Imperial Confrontation or Regional Cooperation? Reconceptualizing Ottoman-Russian Relations in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries 169 Notes 184 Bibliography 247 Index 262 List of Figures 1.1 R ussian travel document authorizing the resettlement of a Bulgarian migrant in Bessarabia (1830). 22 1.2 R ussian travel document authorizing the resettlement of a Bulgarian migrant in Moldavia (1830). 23 4.1 Th e battle on the River Kamchik on October 15, 1828. 100 6.1 Q uarantine ships in Russia. 149 6.2 Plan of the Russian quarantine complex in Ismail (1844). 157 List of Maps 1 Map of the Black Sea region. x 2 Cities, towns, and political divisions in the Black Sea region (late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries). xi 3 Map of Turkey and southern Russia (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images). xii Acknowledgments This book is the culmination of many years of study and research, in both the United States and abroad. I have incurred many debts and made many new friends along the way. At Georgetown University, I would like to thank, first and foremost, Professor Catherine Evtuhov. For over two decades now, Professor Evtuhov has been a consistent source of support, encouragement, and intellectual guidance. Professor Gabor Agoston shepherded me through the pitfalls attendant with the study of the multifaceted Ottoman Empire. Professors John McNeill and Charles King made sure that I maintained a broad analytical frame and drove my intellectual inquiries into the fields of world and regional history. In Bulgaria, I would like to thank Professor Alexei Kalionski of Sofia University who proved to be a great listener and a valuable source of advice on Ottoman, Russian, and Bulgarian history. The archival and research staffs at the Bulgarski Istoricheski Arkhiv of the Narodna Biblioteka—Kiril i Metodi and at the Tsentralen Durzhaven Arkhiv were consistently helpful and supportive of my research project. In Moscow, my appreciation goes to the staff of the Gosudarstvennyi Arkhiv Rossiiskoi Federatsii and Rossiiskii Gosudarstvennyi Voenno-Istoricheskii Arkhiv for their professionalism. Special thanks go to the very kind and helpful staff in the academic reading room of the Gosudarstvennaia Istoricheskaia Publichnaia Biblioteka. In Turkey, Kahraman Şakul and Günhan Börekçi accompanied me during my initial forays into Istanbul’s archives and libraries. I’m quite convinced that their introductions to key staff members in these research institutions lent instant credibility to my research project. Thank you both. My thanks as well go to the staff of the Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi and Islam Araştırmaları Merkezi. The latter institution always provided a quiet, calm, and cool environment on chaotic and steamy summer days in Istanbul. Along these lines, it was my pleasure to stay at the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) in Arnavutköy for several months in 2008. Although my stay in Odessa was far too brief, Lilia Belousova made sure that my time in the Odessa State Archives was as collegial and productive as possible. The lengths she went to during my short and intense research visit to Odessa will always be appreciated. Acknowledgments ix Many institutions and organizations supported me financially during the research and writing phases of this project. My thanks go to the Graduate School at Georgetown, the Department of History at Georgetown, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT), the Social Sciences Research Council (SSRC), the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX), Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) grants, the Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS), and the Cosmos Club Foundation for their generous financial support. During the journeyman phase of my academic career, I had the great pleasure of working and teaching at the University of California, Riverside, and Central Connecticut State University. At UCR, I am particularly thankful for the collegiality and consistent support provided by Professors Georg Michels and James Brennan. AT CCSU, Kathy Hermes served as a mentor and friend. Thank you Kathy. I would like to offer my deepest gratitude as well to my colleagues at the Rhode Island School of Design. Finally, my family—although occasionally perplexed as to why I was investing so much time researching and writing on the Black Sea region —offered unconditional support and maintained an unwavering faith in my academic pursuits. My mother and father (Dee and Richard Robarts) instilled in me, from an early age, a passion for history and a desire to explore the world. My brother, Alex, and my little daughter, Claire, helped me “keep things real.” And finally, and most importantly, to my wife, Amy, thank you for your patience, for wading through the early drafts of this book, and for your unfailing belief in me. I made it.