BRITISH CONSULATES IN PORT CITIES OF THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA AND AZOV REGION OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24919/2519-058x.12.178904Keywords:
consulate, consular district, the British Empire, the Russian Empire, portAbstract
Summary. The purpose of the research is to study the history of British consular offices in port cities of the Southern Ukraine at the times of the Russian Empire. The research methodology is based on search and comprehensive study of representative complexes of primarily sources on the history of the British consulates in the region, in particular, the annual consular reports to London. The scientific novelty: changes in the network of consulates of the British Empire and in the configuration of British consular districts in the region have been tracked; lists of consular representatives in each consular office have been composed; the specifics of the consuls’ status, functions and working conditions have been researched. Сonclusions. The development of the network of British consular offices in port cities of the Northern Black Sea and Azov region, which took place after the end of the Crimean War, unambiguously demonstrated the understanding by official London prospects of the deployment of economic ties with the region. During the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries the consular district of Odessa turned into the largest British consular district on the territory of the Russian Empire in number of consular offices. Forming the consular staff, the British Empire for a long time preferred appointing «non-trading» consuls, or «consul de carriere», which required considerably more money, but allowed consuls to focus on their professional duties, while the majority of consular representatives of other countries in the region were engaged in business. On the other hand, approaches of official London to the formation of the consular staff, financing consuls and the regulation of their activities had a number of disadvantages, which ultimately led to a revision of these approaches. However, the dynamics of development of economic relations between ports of the Northern Black Sea and Azov region and the British Empire was affected by a wide range of factors, and, despite the efforts of the British consuls, this dynamics was not always positive. So, the consuls only had to report about such a state of affairs, recalling with nostalgia «better times» of British trade in the region.
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