In the early nineteenth century, Beirut was no more than a small sea village with its small population and dilapidated facilities. Beirut had golden opportunities to seize political and economic advantages on the eastern Mediterranean region in the course of the nineteenth century, although there were other competing cities which already had vested rights in the region.
The starting point of this research begins with the question of why Beirut became the most prominent sea-port on the eastern Mediterranean in the nineteenth century and how it kept its leading position in this region. For the explanation of this emergence of Beirut as a political and economic center of the eastern Mediterranean area during this period, not only external factors which favored Beirut but also internal factors such as local struggles to guarantee Beiruti’s political and economic advantages will be employed.
In the early nineteenth century, Beirut was no more than a small sea village with its small population and dilapidated facilities. Beirut had golden opportunities to seize political and economic advantages on the eastern Mediterranean region in the course of the nineteenth century, although there were other competing cities which already had vested rights in the region. The starting point of this research begins with the question of why Beirut became the most prominent sea-port on the eastern Mediterranean in the nineteenth century and how it kept its leading position in this region. For the explanation of this emergence of Beirut as a political and economic center of the eastern Mediterranean area during this period, not only external factors which favored Beirut but also internal factors such as local struggles to guarantee Beiruti’s political and economic advantages will be employed.