A Satirical and Sarcastic Report on the Minister of Finance, Musa Safveti Pasha (1841-1845)

Abstract

This article analyzes a previously unpublished satirical and sarcastic report targeting Musa Safveti Pasha (Minister of Finance, 1841-1845), a highly controversial figure during the Tanzimat period in the Ottoman Empire. Safveti Pasha was a key member of the opposition faction that resisted the reformist group led by Reşîd Pasha following the 1839 proclamation of the Gülhane Decree, marking a significant power struggle between the Sublime Porte and the palace/military establishment. Despite holding critical posts for nearly thirty years, Safveti Pasha lacks a balanced historical biography, with sources divided between those who praised him and those who saw him as an exemplar of corruption. This report strongly aligns with the latter view, accusing the Pasha of engaging in deliberate corruption and establishing a “parallel financial structure” with non-Muslim merchants to exploit state resources. The report details numerous abuses, including: manipulating the exchange rate of the kaime (paper money), enriching himself through illegitimate monopolies that drained the treasury, dismissing reformist bureaucrats, and engaging in corruption in army contracts. Furthermore, it alleges he obstructed agricultural development. Written with clear political intent, the report’s significance lies in its revelation of the deep-rooted problems of Tanzimat finance, the potential for abuse of new financial instruments, and the destructive impact of bureaucratic conflict on the institutional mechanism. This article aims to decipher, transliterate, and publish this rare report using a comparative method with supporting archival documents and literature, providing crucial insight into the period’s financial turmoil.

It is declared that scientific and ethical principles were complied with during the preparation of this study and all the works referred are mentioned in the bibliography.

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This article has been reviewed by at least two reviewers using a double blind peer review model. A similarity check was performed to confirm that it was free of plagiarism.

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The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest.

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This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC).

We wish to express our profound gratitude to the authorities of the Atatürk Library and the Süleymaniye Library for kindly providing us with unwatermarked copies of the manuscripts, and in particular to Mr. Salih Kahriman and Mr. Ahmet Sait Kutgül for their invaluable assistance.