The establishment of the French consulate at Samsun and the situation of the city according to French archival documents

Just like Trabzon, Samsun, one of the most important ports of the Southern Black Sea, entered into a rapid development process in the 1830s owing to the high potential of agricultural production and its geographical location. As a sign of this developmental process foreign consulates began to be established in the city after the 1840s. The French, had consulates in the southern Black Sea cities since 1803 and then, began to be more interested in this commercial potential. The establishment of the French consulates took place after the Crimean War, a period when the French interests in the city increased significantly. Referring to correspondences of French consuls in Trabzon, this paper aims to follow the establishment process of French consulate in Samsun that resulted in 1863 and to make some findings about the situation of the city taking French consular agent s reports into consideration.