Victor Fontanier’s Consulate at Trabzon (1830-1832)

It is possible to understand the rise of Trabzon trade in 1830s from the French decision to re-establish with great expectations the French consulate which had been closed since 1827, and the appointment of Victor Fontanier, previously sent by the French government to the Levant. The French, after the British decision of Trabzon as a commercial centre for Persian transit trade and more importantly, the failure of Gamba’s mission as French consul at Tiflis to develop French trade with Georgia and the Persia, tried to take part in the international trade developed in Trabzon in 1830s. We can see the French desire for Trabzon trade in the extensive instructions given by French Foreign Minister Polignac to Fontanier in 10 June 1830. Besides, the political developments created by the Ottoman-Russian War of 1828-1829 in the region began to attract the attention of the great powers. In this context, Fontanier was sent again to the East, this time as a consular agent to Trabzon, by French government with a very comprehensive political and commercial mission for the French interests in the region. However, Fontanier’s short consular period neither responded the French expectations nor the French trade developed in Trabzon market like the British trade. Referring to the French archival sources and Fontanier’s travel book, this paper aims to evaluate the consulate of Victor Fontanier in 1830-1832