Wealth Inequality in Galata in the First Half of the 17th Century: Evidence from Probate Records

Abstract

The issue of inequality has been one of most important discussion topics in the field of economics for a longtime. Statistical tools combine with the ease of access to data, economic historians have recently expanded their field of study to include pre-industrial period. Inequality for the Ottoman society has also recently started to be discussed, albeit belatedly. Probate records, which are the outputs of the inheritance process found in Court Registers, provide unique information about ordinary people. In light of the probate records, this article is a study of history from below that discuss the distribution of wealth in Galata in the first half of the seventeenth century. In addition to the determination of inequality the possible relationship of gender, title, location and some markers with wealth distribution was discussed in the study. Additionally, access to each element of wealth and the contribution of each of these types of wealth to general in equality were calculated in the study in which wealth inequality was decomposed through different forms of wealth.