The Boycott Movement Against the American Singer Manufacturing Company in İzmir and its Neighbourhood (1910-1911)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was defined as to examine the boycott starting against the American Singer Manufacturing Company (SMC) in İzmir and its neighbourhood in the years 1910-1911. Within the frame of the Singer boycott, the reaction against foreigners and its influence in İzmir and around were also analysed in the study. The first boycott in the Ottoman State started due to the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria in 1908. Afterwards, the Greek boycott occurred because of the Crete issue in 1910-1911. As an extension of the Greek boycott, a boycott arose also against the American SMC in Aydın province in 1910. The reason for the boycott was that most of the company employees were Greek. İzmir Boykotaj Cemiyeti (İzmir Boycott Association) asked for dismissal of the Greek citizens working for the company. SMC protected its employees for the reason that its works would not be failed in Ottoman lands. Eventually, the boycott started against the company in İzmir and its neighbourhood and later in Ayvalık. The boycott caused a tension between American Embassy and Ottoman bureaucratic positions. The boycott against SMC should be evaluated in the scope of Greek boycott rather than a reaction against America. The main sources of the study were the Ottoman Archive Documents of the State Archives Department of the Presidency and periodicals of the time.