BLACK SEA

The project "History of the Black Sea, 18th-20th centuries" continues using and enriching the research of the project “The Black Sea and its port-cities, 1774-1914. Development, convergence and linkages with the global economy” which lasted during 2012-2015. It continues the publication of books, enriches the databases and adds to the publication of templates for the port-cities in English, Russian and Greek.

Project co-ordinator: Anna Sydorenko/Gelina Harlaftis
Funded by: IMS-FORTH

Participation in Conferences (selected)

Delis Apostolos, International Conference in Memory of Evridiki Sifneos, From the Aegean to the Black Sea, Institute of Historical Research, Athens, Greece, 14–15 October 2016, “Perils and Difficulties in Black Sea Navigation in the nineteenth century”.

Harlaftis Gelina, International Conference, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies/Harvard University & Ilia State University, “Black Sea Studies. The past, present, and future of a region”, 29–31 May 2023, Batumi, Georgia, “The View from the Sea that Embraces the Land. What is an Interdisciplinary History of the Black Sea?”.

---- 9 September 2018, Ancona, European Business History Association, The firm and the sea: Chains, flows and connections. Keynote speech, “The Relation to the Sea. European Maritime Business and maritime transport systems in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea”.

---- 9–11 May 2018, Constanţa, 5th MMHN International Conference. Keynote speech “Writing the history of a Sea: The maritime history of the Black Sea”.

---- 29 July - 3 August 2018, Boston, World Economic History Association. Paper titled “A Methodological Approach of the Economic History of a Sea. The Paradigm of the Black Sea port-cities and their globalization process”.

---- 29 July - 3 August 2018, Boston, World Economic History Association. Paper titled «The development of the maritime transport systems of the northern Black Sea coast, 1770s-1850s».

---- 15-16 December 2017, Αθήνα, International Symposium “Russian Religious Art in Orthodox East: Politics, Art and Technology”, co-organisation Institute for Mediterranean Studies-FORTH and Benaki Museum. Paper presented “«Vagliano Brothers». Τhe Cephalonian big merchants and shipowners of South Russia - «Big benefactors» of Greece.”

---- September 2017, Batoum, Georgia. Conference organised in the framework of “Batumi, Odessa, Trabzon - The Cultural Semantics of the Black Sea from the Perspective of Eastern Port Cities” project implemented by the Center for Literary and Cultural Research (ZfL) in Berlin in cooperation between ZfL and Ilia State University (Tbilisi). Paper presented «Maritime transport systems, dynamic change of port-cities and the globalization process of the eastern shore of the Black Sea in the nineteenth century” στο International Conference Port cities as contact zones and cities of exception (with a special focus on the Black Sea after 1774).

---- 27 June to 1 July 2016, Perth, Western Australia, 7th IMEHA International Congress of Maritime History, Murdoch University. Paper titled “Dynamic Change of Port Cities, Maritime Transport Systems and the global linkages of the Black Sea in the Nineteenth Century”.

Lyberatos Andreas, International Conference in Memory of Evridiki Sifneos, From the Aegean to the Black Sea, Institute of Historical Research, Athens, Greece, 14–15 October 2016, Ports and Hinterland sof the Western Black Sea in the Long Nineteenth Century.

Papadopoulou Alexanra/Petmezas Socrates, 9th IMHA International Congress of Maritime History, “Oceans: Local Mobility, Global Connectivity, Busan, Korea, 19-24 August 2024, “The Black Sea in the emerging global economy of the 19th century: The role of merchant shipping in the internationalization of the region’s grain trade”.

---- International Conference in Memory of Evridiki Sifneos, From the Aegean to the Black Sea, Institute of Historical Research, Athens, Greece, 14–15 October 2016, “An Overview of the Black Sea Grain Trade, 19th-­‐20th Centuries”.

Ponomaryova Iryna, 6th Mediterranean Maritime History Network, Rethymno, Greece, 27–31 May 2024, “The Port city of Mariupol as unique industrial – resort and tourist center of Ukraine”.

Sydorenko Anna, International Workshop, “Seizing Trade Opportunities: Ports and the Role of Greek and Other Minorities”, Oslo, Norway, 13 September 2024, “Navigating the Northern Black Sea Region: Model of Analysis of the Port Cities of the Northern Coast of the Black Sea”.

---- 6th Mediterranean Maritime History Network, Rethymno, Greece, 27–31 May 2024, “Navigating the Northern Black Sea: Model of Analysis of the Port Cities of the Northern Coast of the Black Sea”.

---- Osmanlı Anadolu’ sunda Krizler, Dönüşüm ve Tarım Politikaları, 1830-1880, Izmir, Turkey, 25–26 April 2024, “Tracing the Spread: Animal Diseases and Trade Dynamics Along the Northern Black Sea Shore”.

---- International Conference, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies/Harvard University & Ilia State University, “Black Sea Studies. The past, present, and future of a region”, 29–31 May 2023, Batumi, Georgia, “The Transformation of the Urban Landscape of the Port City of Theodosia during the 19th century”.

---- ODEMARS International Workshop “Ants or frogs around a pond’: Public space, architecture, memory and identity in port-cities of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean (18th-20th centuries)”, Athens, Greece, 22 January 2022, “Mapping Greek Merchants’ real estate properties in the port-city of Odessa”.

---- 5th Web-seminar of the Greek Economic History Association, 5 April 2021, “From the plow to the deck: creating a maritime workforce in Southern Russia (19th century)”.

---- Conference “Port cities as contact zones and cities of exception (with a special focus on the Black Sea after 1774)”, Batumi, Odessa, Trabzon - The Cultural Semantics of the Black Sea from the Perspective of Eastern Port Cities project, Center for Literary and Cultural Research (ZfL)/Berlin & Ilia State University (Tbilisi), Batumi, Georgia, 5–6 September 2017, “Imperial interests in the Crimean port-cities. Sevastopol: main export port or military naval base? (second half of the 19th, beginning of the 20th century)”.

---- International Conference in Memory of Evridiki Sifneos, From the Aegean to the Black Sea, Institute of Historical Research, Athens, Greece, 14–15 October 2016, “The Port Systems of Southern Russia, 19th‐early 20th centuries”.

The aim of the project was the identification, analysis and synthesis of the economic and social develοpment of 20 port-cities of the Black Sea that formed an integrated market that became the larger grain-exporting area in the world in the second half of the nineteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth century.

Project Leader Professor Gelina Harlaftis

Co-ordinator of the IMS-FORTH group Andreas Lyberatos

Funded by Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs

Research Group IMS-FORTH Χρήστος Χατζηιωσήφ, Αντρέας Λυμπεράτος, Απόστολος Δελής

The aim of the project was the identification, analysis and synthesis of the economic and social develοpment of 20 port-cities of the Black Sea that formed an integrated market that became the larger grain-exporting area in the world in the second half of the nineteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth century. By placing in the centre of the analysis the sea and its ports, the analysis penetrated in the economic activities of the port-cities, the coastal area and the hinterland, the integration of markets and their interlinkages with the global economy, beyond political boundaries and divisions. The linkages with the global economy triggered development and convergence of regional markets in the global economy.

The project was led by the Department of History of the Ionian University, with Gelina Harlaftis as co-ordinator, a collaboration, on a national level, with the Institute for Mediterranean Studies-FORTH, the University of Crete, the National Hellenic Research Foundation, , the University of Thessaly and the University of the Aegean. On an international level, it collaborated with 23 academic institutions – Universities, Research Institutes and Archives – from the Black Sea countries, that is Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia, as well as from Moldavia, Norway, Italy, Israel and the United States. The collaborating group consisted of the following academic institutions: Boğaziçi University, Bilkent University, Düzce University and 19 May University from Turkey, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Varna University from Bulgaria, “Dunarea De Jos” University of Galati from Romania, Moldavian Academy of Sciences from Moldavia, State Archives of Odessa, State Archives of Nikolayev, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, University of Berdyansk, University of Mariupol and University of Kharkov from Ukraine, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), Southern Russia Academy of Sciences (Rostov-on-Don), State Russian University of Human Studies, European University of St. Petersburg and State University of St. Petersburg from Russia, Elia State University (Tiblisi) from Georgia, Jerusalem University from Israel, Southern State Connecticut University from U.S.A and Maritime Museum of Bergen from Norway. See www.blacksea.gr.

THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH AND THE PRODUCTS IN www.blacksea.gr

The Black Sea databases

The Black Sea Databases contain six databases: 1) Black Sea Historical Statistics, 1813-1914, 2) Jason database, 1810s-1910s 3) Argo database, 1835-1918 4) Golden Fleecedatabase, 1830s-1910s 5) Argonauts database, 1793-1920 6) Medea database, 1889-1930. The names of the last five databases have derived their names from the ancient Greek myth of the Black Sea, the Argonauts, where the main hero Jason on his ship Argo sailed in the Black Sea in search of the Golden fleece; in the Black Sea lands he married a woman called Medea whom he brought back to Greece.

• The database Jason, contains 2,200 entries with names of merchants, shipowners and bankers that were active in the Black Sea port-cities from the beginning of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Every entry has the surname, the name, the date of birth, the nationality, the profession, the guild, the size of imports and exports, the ships owned, the archive where the information comes from. Both Jason and Argo are interrelated and they are published in http://blacksea.gr/db/.
• The database Argo contains 1,900 entries of ships registered in the Black Sea port cities. Every entry has the name of the ship, the type, the tonnage, the flag, place of built, date of built, the captain, the owner, the place of registration, the archive where the information comes from. This database is interrelated with the database Jason. BothJason and Argo are interrelated and they are published in http://blacksea.gr/db/.
• The database Golden Fleece contains 23,679 entries, voyages of ships from the beginning of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. It concerns arrivals and departures from Odessa and Constantinople, and arrivals to the ports of Marseille from the Black Sea ports. Every entry includes the date of arrival/departure, the name of the ship, the flag, the tonnage, the type, the port of origin, the type and quantity of cargo, the merchant to whom it is addressed and the archival source from which the information is derived. The database is in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
• The database Argonauts contains 22,106 entries of baptisms, marriages and deaths of the Greeks from Odessa from the beginning of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. Every entry contains the date of the event, the surname, name, nationality, age, gender, name of parents, their profession and nationality, the name of the godparents/best men or women, their nationality and the cause of death. The database is in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
• The database Medea, contains 6,060 entries of immigrants from Odessa to Buenos Aires. Every entry contains the name of the immigrant from Odessa to Buenos Aires. Every entry contains the name and surname of the immigrant, the nationality, the place of origin, the age, gender, and the ship with which he/she sailed. The database is in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
• The creation of the Black Sea Historical Statistics, contains statistics on shipping and trade for the Black Sea port-cities under examination. More specifically, a) the shipping statistics contain for each port-city arrivals and departures of total number ships, tonnage, flag, type of ship and number of crew b) the trade statistics, that is, exports and imports in value and grain exports in value and quantity according to the type of grain for every port-city, for every country, and export destination. The statistical data has been derived from primary sources from Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian archival sources as well as from British and French Consular archives. These statistics are going to be published in the entry "Statistics in the Black Sea Port Cities - Interactive history, 1780s-1910s, http://blacksea.gr/en/cities. The statistical series are in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Conferences/Workshops

The participants of the project presented 114 papers in international conferences and seminars of the Black Sea project but also in other international conferences. The Black Sea project organized 3 international conferences, in Odessa, Ukraine, (September 2013), Constantza, Romania and Varna, Bulgaria (May/June 2014) and in Istanbul, Turkey (September 2014). An internal workshop took place to present the project to the external evaluator C.Knick Harley in Athens (April 2015), and a workshop in Rostov-on-Don, Russia (June 2015).

Books

Thirteen volumes, e-books, are the outcome of the project with the title Black Sea Working Papers, in which the studies of 80 authors are included which of a total size of more than 4,000 pages. All the e-books will be ready for publication in the project's website www.blacksea.gr by the end of 2016. The books are the following:

1. Constantin Ardeleanu and Andreas Lyberatos (eds), Port-Cities of the western shore of the Black Sea: Economic and Social Development, 18th – early 20th centuries, Black Sea Working Papers volume 1, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

2. Evrydiki Sifneos, Oksana Iurkova and Valentina Shandra (eds), Port-Cities of the northern shore of the Black Sea: Institutional, Economic and Social Development, 18th – early 20th Centuries, Black Sea Working Papers, volume 2, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

3. Gelina Harlaftis, Victoria Konstantinova and Igor Lyman (eds), The port-cities of the eastern coast of the Black Sea, late 18th – early 20th centuries, Black Sea Working Papers Volume 3, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

4. Mikhail Davidov, Gelina Harlaftis, Vladimir Kulikov and Vladimir Morozan, The Economic Development of the Port–Cities of the Northern and Southern Black Sea Coast, 19th – Beginning of the 20th century. Transport, Industry and Finance, Black Sea Working Papers, volume 4, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

5. Edhem Eldem, Vangelis Kechriotis, Sophia Laiou (eds), The Economic and Social Development of the Port–Cities of the Southern Black Sea Coast,Late 18th – Beginning of the 20th century, Black Sea Working Papers volume 5, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

6. Vassilis Colonas, Alexandra Yerolympos and Athina Vitopoulou, Architecture and City planning in the Black Sea port-cities, Black Sea Working Papers, volume 6, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

7. Maria Christina Chatziioannou (ed.), Linkages of the Black Sea with the West. Trade and immigration, Black Sea Working Papers, volume 7, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

8. Socratis Petmezas, George Kostelenos and Alexandra Papadopoulou (eds), with the collaboration of Marios Emmanouil, The development of 24 Black Sea port-cities. A statistical approach, Black Sea Working Papers, volume 8, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

9. Athanasios A. Pallis, Ioannis N. Theotokas, Maria Lekakou (eds), Black Sea Ports, Shipping and Cities in Modern Times. From Central Planning to Reintegration in the Global Economy, Black Sea Working Papers, volume 9, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

10. Evrydiki Sifneos, Imperial Odessa: Peoples, Spaces, Identities, Black Sea Working Papers, volume 10, under publication in Brill publications, Leiden, 2017

11. Alexandra Papadopoulou, The intregration of the Black Sea markets to the Global Economy, 19th century, Black Sea Working Papers, volume 11, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

12. Anna Sydorenko, The economic and social development of the Crimean city-ports during the second half of the 19th century, Black Sea Working Papers, volume 12, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

13. Iannis Carras and Eugene Chernukhin, The Balkan Merchants of Nezhin 17th-19th centuries, Black Sea Working Papers, volume 13, under publication, www.blacksea.gr, 2016

Website: www.blacksea.gr

Black Sea Port Cities - Interactive History

In the second page, The Black Sea Port Cities - Interactive history, 1780s-1910s is an interactive history of 24 port-cities (Varna, Burgas, Constantza, Braila, Galatz, Nikolayev, Odessa, Kherson, Eupatoria, Sebastopol, Theodosia, Kerch, Berdyansk, Mariupol, Taganrog, Rostov-on-Don, Novorossiysk, Batoum, Trabzon, Giresun, Samsun, Sinop, Istanbul – and Nezhyn as a "land port") written by more than 40 historians from Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, specialists of the port-cities. It contains more than 1,500 templates – in a form of encyclopedic entries – of more than 2,500 pages for all port-cities, hundreds of photographs of peoples and places. A large number of the templates are based on primarily archival research and each template contains bibliography and archival sources. The aim of Port Cities - Interactive History is informative, that is, to make various aspects of the historical evolution of the port-cities known to a wider public and bring out the local and national bibliography and archival wealth. The goal is to have all templates in three languages, English, Russian and Greek. For each port-city there are templates in the following five categories: 1. Administration, 2. Urban landscape and Geography, 3. Culture and Community, 4. Economy and Infrastructure, 5. Statistics. The Statistics are based on the Black Sea Statistical series formed by the project and based on Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian, British and French statistics.