外债问题与奥斯曼帝国的深层危机

Foreign Debt and the Deep Crisis of the Ottoman Empire

奥斯曼帝国并不是由于外债而亡国,但探讨外债问题,可以揭示奥斯曼帝国逐渐衰弱、几度危机直至最后瓦解过程中的一些细节问题。虽然帝国政府的税收收入和贸易收入一直是增长的,但赶不上军费、警务开支和其他行政费用的增长。由于财政困难未能从根本上得到解决,政府被迫举债。奥斯曼政府不同时期举借外债的原因不同,外债规模也有差异。为清偿债务而成立的公债管理处,带给奥斯曼帝国直接的益处和深层的危害。这个机构化解了帝国的外债危机,但其职能扩大之后深入奥斯曼帝国的各个领域,对帝国的政府管理和普通民众的观念均产生了重要影响,同时削弱了帝国臣民对统治者的忠诚。

Although the fall of the Ottoman Empire was not attributed to its foreign debts,the latter reflected certain details in the recession,crisis and ultimate collapse of the empire. With the increasing tax and trading income incomparable to the soaring expenditure on military,administration and domestic security,the empire was forced to borrow foreign debts which varied in amounts and were resulted from different motives,to mitigate its financial difficulties. Established to repay debts,the Ottoman Public Debt Administration brought direct benefits and latent hazards to the empire. It helped the empire surmount the fiscal crisis,but with functions infiltrating in many aspects of the empire,it also had adverse influences on a wide range of affairs from imperial administration to civil consciousness,including a vitiated loyalty of people to the Turkish governors.