Bernard Camille Collas: La Turquie en 1864.Paris 1864 First edition,in 8vo,modern leather over boards,text clean and bright,complete 480p.,overall in very good plus condition. Collas was a French economist and financial expert,his work stripped away the romanticism of the Levant to reveal the cold, hard numbers of the Ottoman treasury,it was the first era of massive international loans to the Sultan, and European investors were desperate for accurate data. Collas analyzes the 1862-1863 budget,the first ever official one in Ottoman history and explains the chaotic state of the Sultan's revenue. He provides detailed data on the first railways, telegraph lines, and the industrial attempts Collas argues that despite the debt, the natural wealth of the Empire is immense. He inventories the production of grain, silk, and minerals,he breaks down the governance of provinces to provide a balance sheet for each region. An extremely accurate description of many Greek areas in the mid of 19th century.Finally explains the Capitulations that allowed Europeans to trade and live in the Empire under their own laws and the impact of them on the society and on the State budget. One of the very first economic report on the Ottoman Levant