Muhacir Komisyonu Maruzat ’na G re (1877-78) 93 Harbi Sonras Muhacir skan //// Settlement of Immigrants after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 According to the Immigrant Commission Report

This article examines the immigration wave in the aftermath of the RussoTurkish War of 1877-78 in light of a report of the Ottoman Immigration Commission. The Ottoman Immigration Commission was founded to register and settle the immigrants and to supply their needs. The report examined here makes it easier to follow the population movements because it records both the origin of immigrants and the place of their settlements. The November 13, 1881 dated record contains the information of 90,672 immigrants, 82,000 of which emigrated from the lands lost in 1877-78 war. Approximately 40,000 of these immigrants came from Bulgaria and the remaining came from Batum, Sohum and Eastern Rumeli. There were a total 51,000 immigrants to be settled, 35,000 of whom were in Istanbul. Around 55,000 immigrants were settled outside Istanbul in the towns and villages of Salonika, Sinop, and Izmit.