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Sena Kaya

Doktorandin

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  • 2016-2020 - Bachelor Studium an der Mimar Sinan Universität der Schönen Künste, Istanbul

    2020-2024 - Master Studium der Geschichte in Marmara und Budapest

    Seit 2024 Doktorand am Lehrstuhl für Neueste Geschichte (19./20. Jahrhundert) von Prof. Benedikt Stuchtey an der Philipps-Universität Marburg

  • International Competition in the Mesopotamian Region within the Framework of the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company Limited (ETSN) (Working Title)

    In the 19th century, with the development of steamship technology, British politicians sought alternative routes to easily reach its largest colony, India. In this context, two routes were debated in Parliament: the Suez-Red Sea route and the Syria-Iraq-Basra Gulf route. Through exploration expeditions and studies on these two routes, it was determined that the second route was more suitable for steamships. After obtaining concession from the Ottoman Empire in 1834 and 1841 to operate two ships on the Euphrates River, the British realized the potential in the region and increased their influence. Following the expeditions on the Euphrates River, permission to establish a steamship company under the name of “The Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company Limited” in 1861 was given to Captain Henry Blosse Lynch, who was the second captain of the reconnaissance fleet.

    The first part of this project will examine the efforts of the Lynch Company to establish its influence in the region through initiatives undertaken with the Ottoman government, the number of passengers transported between Basra and Baghdad, the capacity of trade goods, the logistics of the transportation process, and the contribution of this trade to both the Ottoman and British economies, from its founding to its dissolution.

    The second part will focus on the competition between Britain and Germany to gain privileges in the region, which gained international significance following the discovery of oil in Iraq in 1902, just before World War I. The impact of this rivalry on Ottoman subjects, as well as the reactions of Ottoman parliament members and the local press against the concessions granted to foreign states will be explored. Furthermore, the initiatives of Ottoman, British, and other foreign shipping companies that competed with the Lynch Company in Mesopotamia will be discussed