Davit Merkviladze
PhD in History
Independent Researcher
Tbilisi, Georgia
Places of Slave Trade in 17th Century Western Georgia
Based on Foreign Authors' Accounts
In the 17th century, the slave trade was widespread throughout the Caucasus. Valuable information about this practice comes from various foreign authors who either lived in or traveled through Georgia during this time, including Pietro Avitabile, Giuseppe (Giuseppo) Giudice, Cristoforo Castelli, Arcangelo Lamberti, Giuseppe Maria Zampi, Ottoman historian Evliya Çelebi, French merchant Jean Chardin, and the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Macarius.
Slave trading became particularly entrenched in Western Georgia for several reasons. Due to the extreme poverty of the local population, the drastic decline in local production, and the severe scarcity of currency in circulation, most goods brought in from Ottoman ports on the Black Sea could only be acquired by exchanging them for enslaved individuals. At specific times of the year, trading ships from the Ottoman Empire carrying various goods arrived at the ports of Western Georgia, where a brisk trade in slaves took place. The slaves sold here were mostly taken to Istanbul's slave markets, where they were sold at significantly higher prices.
Apart from large ships, merchants from Ottoman border regions frequently arrived at the ports of Western Georgia with smaller vessels and returned to the Ottoman Empire loaded with enslaved people.
A similar situation occurred in the Northwestern Caucasus, where mass slave trading also took place near ports, from which the purchased individuals were transported by sea to the Ottoman Empire.
According to Lamberti and other foreign authors, the port most frequently mentioned for the slave trade in Georgia is Kobuleti in Guria (referenced by Castelli, Lamberti, and Macarius of Antioch). Additionally, a "great river flowing into the Black Sea" is mentioned as a location for the slave trade (Macarius of Antioch). This "great river" could be the Rioni or Enguri rivers. If it refers to the Rioni, the slave trade would have taken place at the port of Poti; if it is the Enguri, the trade occurred in Anaklia. Chardin also mentions the trading location of Isgauri. According to Evliya Çelebi, merchants from Lazeti sailed up the Chorokhi River to Samegrelo, where they exchanged slaves for goods and returned to the Ottoman Empire to sell them for a profit. However, this account contains inaccuracies, as it would have been impossible to reach Samegrelo from the Ottoman Empire via the Chorokhi River due to its location and flow direction. It is more likely that the Rioni River was meant in this case, indicating that smaller-scale slave trading occurred along its course. Chardin mentions Isgauri, a coastal town, where he describes a large square known as the "Great Market of Samegrelo," where he saw "chained slaves" and customs officers. Isgauri is believed to be the same as Skurcha.
The information provided by these foreign authors is an invaluable historical source for studying this topic.
Keywords: Slave Trade, 17th Century Western Georgia, foreign authors on Western Georgia, the Black Sea, Kobuleti.