LES PIONNIERS DU COMMERCE FRANÇAIS A THESSALONIQUE AU COURS DU XVIIe SIECLE
Georges Koutzakiotis, Institut de Recherches Historiques / FNRS, Athènes
The Pioneers of French Commerce in Thessalonica during the 17th Century
Abstract: The twentieth-century historiography devoted to the trade of the Levant has raised a number of questions that require elucidation; among others, that of the establishment, for the first time, of a French consul in Thessalonica. More precisely, according to the historiography, the steps for the founding of a French consulate in this city had begun in 1680, but a consul was finally established there in 1685. The present study, based mainly on unpublished sources, examines all relative efforts until 1688, and shows that a French consul tried to settle down in Thessalonica already since 1644. It is certain, however, that the consul Jacques Gleize (1685-1688) was to inaugurate an uninterrupted succession of French consuls and to lay the foundations for the long activity of French commerce in this port.
Keywords: 17th Century, Commerce, Consuls, France, Thessalonica