BELGIAN COMPANIES’ INFRASTRUCTURAL WORKS IN OTTOMAN CITIES

Because of weak domestic capital and technical capacity, infrastructure services provided to the Ottoman society started to be given to foreign companies in the 19th century, and this was accelerated during the reign of Abdulhamid II. In this time, Belgic came the first in doing businesses under concessions. The Belgians founded companies to provide services in electricity, tramway and water distribution in Salonika, Smyrna and Istanbul. Doing businesses in a planned way, the Belgians usually established partnerships with local peoples because of the Ottoman government’s preferences of its citizens. Having good relations with the public, the Belgians often familiarized their businesses to the public to expand their profits. They succeeded in running successful and profitable businesses. This article focuses on Belgian capital and businesses in establishing profitable infrastructures in Ottoman cities, their relations with both the public and the government. The paper also provides information about quality and quantity of Belgian investments in Ottoman city infrastructures