That the Levant Company did not consider the result of Sir John’s expedition to Adrianople at all commensurate with the expenditure it had entailed may be seen from its Instructions to subsequent ambassadors: not to go out of Constantinople for the presentation of their Credentials, but to await there the return of the Court, and to forbear renewing the Capitulations, unless the juncture of affairs should happen to prove so favourable that some new Articles for the security and advancement of trade might be obtained; but, in any case, not to entertain any thoughts of renewing them without first consulting the Company [Register, 1668-1710, S.P. Levant Company, 145].
Under the Turk in Constantinople: A record of Sir John Finch's Embassy, 1674-1681
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About This Book
A detailed historical account of Sir John Finch's years as English ambassador in Constantinople between 1674 and 1681, reconstructed from original dispatches, letters, and contemporary memoirs. The narrative combines transcribed correspondence, reports from other English residents and foreign envoys, and archival research to depict Ottoman administration, court politics, commercial interactions, and the daily challenges faced by diplomats and merchants. Episodic chapters juxtapose official negotiations, personal observations, and procedural details, often reproducing the language and spelling of seventeenth-century documents to convey immediacy. The work balances documentary evidence with contextual commentary to illuminate the practicalities of seventeenth-century Anglo‑Ottoman relations.