Miners & the State in the Ottoman Empire, The Zonguldak Coalfield, 1822-1920

 The story of the miners of Zonguldak presents a particularly graphic local lens through which to examine questions that have been of major concern to historians-most prominently, the development of the state, the emergence of capitalism, and the role of the working classes in these large processes. This book examines such major issues through the actual experiences of coal miners in the Ottoman Empire. The encounters of mine workers with state mining officials and private mine operators do not follow the expected patterns of labor-state-capital relations as predicted by the major explanatory paradigms of modernization or dependency. Indeed, as the author clearly shows, few of the outcomes are as predicted. The fate of these miners has much to offer both Ottoman and Middle East specialists as well as scholars of the developing world and, more generally, those interested in the connections between economic development and social and political change.

Review: Overall, to read Quataert's rich and important book both with and against the grain is to question important assumptions about fee and unfree wage labor under capitalism and to throw down the challenge of reconstructing a materially grounded history from below.A" * International Journal of Middle East Studies This is an intelligent, original and coherent work that constitutes a genuine contribution to an historiography still in its early stages.A" * Annales Quataert offers a valuable in-depth study based on a detailed and critical utilization of rich and unprecedented archival source material. - The study provides immense information embedded in a lucid narrative.A" * International Review of Social History "... fascinating ... The book is a very important contribution to the social history of the late Ottoman Empire and Turkey, a field of study where Quataert has been the pioneer par excellence. ... The description is rich in material for further study." * Erik-Jan Zurcher, Chair of Turkish Studies, Leiden University "... [the author's] comparisons with the experiences of other countries are truly valuable. His mastery of later Ottoman times is impeccable and enviable." * Mete Tuncay, Head of History, Istanbul Bilgi University