A first and pioneering organization in the Ottoman economy: Şirket-İ HAYRİYE 

Şirket-i Hayriye, the first urban public transport company established in the Ottoman Empire and the initiator of the history of Turkish maritime transport, was the first in the economic structure of the Ottoman Empire. In particular, it represented the first step of the process of corporation, which was a reflection of the change that gained speed and dimension after the Tanzimat.

Perhaps, since the Ottoman economy could not yet adapt to the phenomenon of corporatization, various difficulties emerged during the foundation of the Şirket-i Hayriye, especially during the formation of its capital. The problem of adaptation to the process of corporation of the Ottoman economy; the absence of legal arrangements to determine the legal status of the joint stock company, the lack of knowledge and experience in the corporation, and the idea that the joint stock company's position in the economy would not be formed.

Despite all these unfavorable elements, it was established that sufficient conditions were reached for the establishment of the Şirket-i Hayriye. it was thought that a company could be established with the necessity of keeping separate house and saving the citizens who survived the big cost. As a result, the suggestion for the establishment of a steamboat company in the Bosphorus was proposed.

The developments that took place during the formation of the establishment capital of the Şirket-i Hayriye showed that the bureaucrats and the capitalist group agreed to accelerate the process of incorporation in order to achieve economic development in the Ottoman Empire. In its establishment and in the formation of its capital, the Şirket-i Hayriye, in which the bureaucrats and the capitalist group acted together, set an example for the formation of capital of other state-owned enterprises, especially İşbank, which was established in the Republican era.

Şirket-i Hayriye, in terms of organization formation conditions and the presence of forms of capital whose significance for the Ottoman economy, leads the structure that forms the basis of Turkey's economy.

MANAGEMENT PROCESS 

With the establishment of the Şirket-i Hayriye, it was seen that the decision was made by the director to be appointed by a commission consisting of shareholders who were not appointed to the duty of the board of directors and general manager. In this context, following the first director of the Şirket-i Hayriye, Monsieur Lafontin, the company was awarded to Antuan Kalcıyan and Agob Bilezikçiyan for a six-year period in 1852 with a cost of two hundred thousand bags per year.
On 13 January 1852, between the Şirket-i Hayriye and the operators, a contract was made consisting of twenty-two articles covering topics such as the use of ferries, passenger safety, maintenance and cleaning of the ferries, safety of navigation, payment of employees' wages. After the management of the company, which could not stand up to the management of the company, left the management in 1854, the merchant Ali Hilmi Efendi Şirket-i Hayriye was appointed as a manager. Ali Hilmi Efendi first established the board of directors and led him to take active roles in the board of directors and the chairman.

When Ali Hilmi Efendi was the manager of the company in 1854, the Şirket-i Hayriye's income was 10.184.411 kuruş and the expense was 6.941.575. A dividend amount of 1,000,000 cents was reserved. The company had six ferries, a boat in the boat, a carpenter's workshop, a plunger, three coal barges and a fire pump. The land of the company was located in Büyükdere and Hasköy, where a locksmith and lumber warehouse were located. However, the company's ferry was also built in London.

The establishment capital and shareholders of ŞİRKET- İ HAYRİYE

The shares of the company were initially prepared as 500 units. A stake would be sold in 3,000 units. Later on, the number was increased to 2 thousand by adding 500 shares. Sultan Abdulmecid, the sultan of the period, took the highest share of the stock. Some of the other shares of the company were as follows: Grand Vizier Reşit Pasha, Serasker Damat Mehmet Ali Pasha, Tophane Faith Pasha, Pasha Governor, Mustafa Pasha, Egyptian Yusuf Kamil Pasha's wife Zeynep Hanim, Sarraf Mgrdkish, Sarraf Ishak, Sarraf Egyptian Kevork Ibrahim, Sarraf Miseyani , Banker Abraham.

INCOME COMPONENTS

The income components of the Şirket-i Hayriye included revenue from the transportation of tickets and goods. In addition to this, there were income items such as renting ships for various purposes, canteen rent on ships, interest and debris price.
 
The income of the şirket-i Hayriy was renewed in 1910 and it was listed in the Internal Ordinance as follows:

1- Ticket and freight revenue received from passengers.
2- The transportation of the Asakir-i Osmaniyye and the price of the rented ferries.
3- Steamboat and piers canteen and company's fixed goods).
4- Transfer of shares and transfer to the valley.
5- The interest and interest interest of the borrower to the shareholder.
6- Compensation for damages caused by the ship and the casualties.
7- The cost of debris taken in or out.
8- Interest and dividends.
9- Retail and non-commercial assets.

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Distribution of Expenses 

The most important item in the expenses of the Şirket-i Hayriye is the operating expenses. Operating costs consist of staff, coal, repair, ship equipment and taxes. Other expenses include insurance allowance, annual profit to the municipality.

The expense items of the Şirket-i Hayriye are listed as follows in Dahili Nizamname:
 
1- Operating costs ie salary, coal, material, repair, subtraction and map difference.
2- Subsidy five percent drop in value of the assets. Drop in value of assets can not exceed 15 thousand small silver coins.
3- One percent of the insurance allocation on capital “if the insurance tax is fifty thousand liras, the percentage will be deducted.
4- Five percent of the interest payments to which the shareholder has been decided shall constitute the property of the remaining company, after deducting the basic expenses from the general income. According to the contract, five percent of the contract, the municipality, according to the fourth article of the contract and the victim and the amount of money in accordance with the allocation of money and capital of the allocation of money and the reserve of the value of the property for the money in return, the value of the property of five thousand thousand pounds by reducing the amount of two percent of the agreement. sixty per cent to the head of administration and two per cent to administrative officers written in Article 2, and eighty-eight per cent will be registered on their own account as a shareholder.

Activity area

The area of ​​activity of the Şirket-i Hayriye is determined as the Bosphorus as stated in the concession order. The oldest scheduled tariff of the Şirket-i Hayriye in the summer season of 1858, the company ferries carries passengers in Istanbul and Bosphorus Rumeli coast, to Istanbul, Besiktas, Ortakoy, Kurucesme, Arnavutkoy, Rumelihisari, Bebek, Emirgan, Istinye, Yenikoy, Tarabya, Buyukdere and Yenimahalle piers ; On the Anatolian coast, to Üsküdar, Kuzguncuk, Çengelköy, Beylerbeyi, Vaniköy, Anadoluhisarı, Kanlıca, Paşabahçe and Beykoz piers.

Occasional expansions are recorded in the scope of the Şirket-i Hayriye. For example, in the years 1868-1869 the company steamers also work in the Islands. In the tariffs of the year 1902, the wharfs of the Şirket-i Hayriye operated ferryboats on the Rumeli side of Boğaziçi, Rumeliaz, Beşiktaş, Ortaköy, Kuruçeşme, Arnavutköy, Bebek, Rumelihisarı, Boyacıköy, Emirgan, İstinye, Yeniköy, Tarabya, Kireçburnu, Büyükdere, Mesarburnu, Yenimahalle and Rumeli Kavağı; On the Anatolian side, it is indicated as Harem, Salacak, Üsküdar, Kuzguncuk, Beylerbeyi, Çengelköy, Vaniköy, Kandilli, Anadoluhisarı, Kanlıca, Çubuklu, Paşabahçe, Beykoz and Anadolu Kavağı. In 1912, the Şirket-i Hayriye steamers carried passengers to Ayastefanos (Yeşilköy).

Number of Passengers and Their Role in Urban Transportation 

When the year is followed, the number of passengers carried by the Şirket-i Hayriye ships shows certain periods. Between the years 1880-1889, an average of 8,622,465 people travel annually by the Şirket-i Hayriye ferries. Between 1890 and 1900, the number of passengers transported by the Şirket-i Hayriye ferries increased in comparison to the previous years. In this period, an average of 9,585,831 people have been moved annually. The increase in the number of passengers between 1901-1914 gains speed. In this period, an average of 12,679,138 people are transported annually. As of 1908, the number of passengers transported each year compared to the previous year is increased and even exceeding one million people. In 1913, 18,613,453 people transported by the Şirket-i Hayriye steamers constitute the largest figure in terms of the number of passengers carried within the company's operating years.

The number of passengers transported by the Şirket-i Hayriye ships has an important place within the total number of passengers carried in the city. It shows that it plays an important role in accelerating the urbanization process which has been continuing since the middle of the century.



The Şirket-i Hayriye's Ferry Fleet

Throughout its operation, the Şirket-i Hayriye has a total of eighty-one steamboat fleets, including three car ferries, seventy-four passenger ferries, three coal ferries and a boating boat. Sixty-six of the company's seventy-seven car and passenger ferries are British made, six are French made, two are German made and one is Dutch made. The two ferries were built in the Hasköy Shipyard.