Reference Type: Book Section
Author: Kerekes, Dóra
Year: 2007
Title: Örmények a haditanács szolgálatában
Translated Title: [Armenians in the service of the war council]
Editor: Őze, Sándor - Kovács, Bálint
Book Title: Örmény diaszpora a Kárpát-medencében II. kötet
City: Piliscsaba
Publisher: Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kar
Volume: II
Number of Volumes: 2
Language: Hungarian
Keywords: Armenian minority, history, law, war, elites, politics, modernization, economy, employment, diplomacy, emigration, social groups
Abstract: (En) From the middle of the 17th century, the Armenian minority played a more and more important role in the Eastem relations of the Habsburg Empire. Their activity became lively particularly after the Peace of Vasvár, when the firman of Mehmed IV (1648-1687) in 1666 allowed free trade for the subjects of the Habsburg Emperor in the entire terrítory of the Ottoman Empire. As a consequence, the "Orientalische Handelskompanie" (Eastem Trade Company) was established, having a great influence on trade in South-Eastem-Europe. Although, according to the laws, which were in force in the Habsburg Empire, forcign merchants could have come only until Schwechat, but thus, they settled down in increasing number around Vienna, mainly around those places where they could control the in- and outgoing goods.
These foreign merchants were called "Racis" (rácok), and to this collective term belonged the Armenians, the Serbs, the Greeks, the Bulgars, the Vlachs, but it also occurred that Hungarians and Polish were counted among them. In fact, from this diverse, but equally treated and harshly sepa-rated group several, mainly couriers, sometimes interpreters or embassy assistants emerged who were capable to influence the actual relation of the Habsburg and Ottoman Empire.
The Armenian presence in diplomacy had a great period during the first phase of the reoccupying wars (1683-1686), but after taking Buda, their significance decreased as they could not provide the required news about the far regions. But at the same time, their credits gained before made it possible for the Viennesc colony to survive and after 1699, the Treaty of Karlowitz, which put an end to the Ottoman wars to still have a role in the long-distance trade, since many of them became court retailers as well.
URL: http://www.sulinet.hu/oroksegtar/data/magyarorszagi_nemzetisegek/ormenyek/ormeny_diaszpora_a_karpat_medenceben_II/pages/magyar/007_kerekes_dora.htm