Χρονολόγηση Γεωγραφικός εντοπισμός Lower Danube IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ. 1. Introduction

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1 Περίληψη : The European Danube Commission (Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή Δουνάβεως, Commission Européenne du Danube) was established in 1856, following the decision of the Paris Convention, in order to see to the carrying out of the major works at the mouth of the river (Sulina). Apart from the dredging of the mouth, the commission constructed a large port in the city of Sulina as well as a hospital. After the Second World War the commission was dissolved. Χρονολόγηση Γεωγραφικός εντοπισμός Lower Danube 1. Introduction From the end of the 14th century the Balkan section of the Danube was under Ottoman control and until the 18th century, shipping on the river was, essentially, permitted only to ships which belong to subjects of the sublime Porte. From 1784, in accordance with the agreement made with the Ottoman Empire, the subjects of the Hapsburg monarchy were entitled to sail along the river. However, these rights, just as others granted to the English, Russians and French merchants and seamen, were restricted. 1 The Vienna Convention (1815) established the beginning of the internationalisation of all the major rivers of Europe. Nevertheless, later on, under the Treaty of Adrianopolis (2nd September, 1829) signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, the river was partially internationalized. The increase in the export of corn from the Danubian principalities to the countries of western Europe underlined the importance of the Danube. However, the development of trade was impeded by the poor condition of the mouth of the Sulina, at the estuary of the river, which was under Russian protection. The English merchants, seamen and diplomats, especially, stressed that the Russian authorities were not taking care of the estuary so as to obstruct the movement of ships and, therefore, turn to the southern Russian port of Odessa, far from the rival ports of Brăila and Galaț i. 2 This situation was also beneficial to the Greek seamen who had settled in Sulina, as the large sailing boats were unable, owing to the shallowness of the waters of the river, to travel with a full cargo to the Danubian ports and so, were obliged to transship their cargo, at least a part of it, onto smaller riverboats (slepia), which nearly always belonged to Greeks The Crimean War ( ) and the establishment of the European Danube Commission The conflict between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, which broke out in 1853 and rapidly acquired wider dimensions as England and France allied with sublime Porte and launched a campaign against the Russians in Crimea, produced fundamental changes to the region of the Danube as well. In the first, the importance of the Danubian principalities was strengthened even further owing to their supplying corn to Western Europe, as well as to the wish of the Western Powers and Austria that the region not come under the unilateral control of Russia or the Ottoman Empire. In order to ensure the control of the estuary region as well as to carry out the necessary works which would allow the crossing of the river by ships with a larger holding capacity, it was decided at the Paris Convention, in 1856, to establish a committee, the European Danube Commission (Commission Européenne du Danube). Its members were from the great European powers of that period: Great Britain, France, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Prussia, the Hapsburg Monarchy and Italy (at that time the Kingdom of Sardinia). Initially, the commission was appointed for a two-year term but, it was quickly decided to make it indefinite. The Berlin Convention of 1878 incorporated Romania into the commission as it had gained its independence. 4 Δημιουργήθηκε στις 7/2/2017 Σελίδα 1/5

2 Later, under the London Convention of 1883, which was signed by all countries which participated in the commission, its jurisdiction was extended up to Brăila. It s worth noting that the countries on the Danube, especially Romania, conducted a systematic struggle in order to extend their rights to the policing of the Danube, as they believed the authority of the commission to be a form of direct intervention in their internal affairs The work of the Commission Despite the difficulties they confronted, the technicians of the commission, under the supervision of the English engineer, Charles Hartley, successfully accomplished the dredging of the Danube estuary at Sulina, the removal of numerous old sunken ships in the area and the frequent clearance of sand which had been accumulated and obstructed the free passage of riverboats. By 1861, the depth of the estuary had doubled and by 1872, it had tripled. 6 The commission also handled the improvement of port installations at Sulina, along which larger ships could now sail, as well as the organisation of a small shipyard. In addition, regulations were drawn up concerning the riverboats of the Danube and, primarily, with respect to the improvement of the policing of the river in order to deal with piracy and smuggling. 7 The European Danube Commission also played a significant social role, as the hospital of Sulina attended to seamen of all nationalities who worked on riverboats or on ships whilst it also funded various schools and institutions of the Lower Danube such as, the Catholic church in Galaț i. 8 Naturally, a great many Greeks were used in its service as seamen, boat mechanics and navigators, and fewer in administrative positions. The work of the commission combined with stricter policing led to a decline in ship wrecks not only in the river but also in Sulina The European Danube Commission and Greek Shipping The measures taken by the commission to improve river-shipping on the Danube in addition to the work it performed constituted a significant challenge for the Greek shipowners of slepias and sailing boats. The deepening of the mouth of the Danube meant that more and larger ships could sail into the harbours of Brăila and Galaț i. Since the largest holding-capacity sailing boats and, still more, the steamboats belonged to foreigners, excluding Greek ownership, made it clear that Greek shipping had to modernise in order to confront the fierce new competition. 10 In the following decades, and especially after 1866, Greek merchants and shipowners went on to construct modern riverboats at the shipyards of Vienna, Linz and primarily, at those of Bucharest. The riverboats which they acquired contributed to ensuring that a large part of corn transport from Brăila and Galaț i to Sulina remained in the hands of the Greeks. 11 Moreover, the organisation of Greek trade and shipping companies was modernized through the establishment of marine insurance companies and mainly, through the creation of an extensive network of steamship agencies. 12 Undoubtedly, the Greek merchants and shipowners felt the establishment of the commission to be a threat. This was indicated by the negative position taken by the Greek consuls, especially of Tulcea and of Sulina, as well as the Greek Admiralty. The consuls believed that the dues imposed by the commission were excessive and were not on a par with the work they did; which they considered to be unsuccessful. Characteristic is the stance taken by the vice- consul of Tulcea, who whilst referring to the increase of the dues at the end of 1860, stressed that the measure aimed at nothing else but the complete destruction of Greek shipping and trade and accused Austria in particular, of wishing to expel the Greeks from the Danubian trade. 13 Furthermore, later (1868), the Greek Admiralty protested about the excessive inspection of Greek ships as well as the absence of medical care for Greek seamen in the commission s hospital in Sulina. 14 However, despite the actions of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its ambassadors in London, Paris and St Petersburg, the Greek position was not taken into consideration by the commission when making decisions. 15 Δημιουργήθηκε στις 7/2/2017 Σελίδα 2/5

3 5. The Commission during the Interwar years After the end of the First World War the new geopolitical environment which had been created, owing to the isolation of Russia now the Soviet Union- and the downgrading of countries like Austria and Germany as well as Turkey, necessitated the re-structuring of the European Danube Commission. At the international conference which was held in Paris ( ) all the countries in the vicinity of the Danube (Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Romania), Italy, France and Great Britain, as the great powers, as well as Greece, and Belgium, due to the exceptionally significant shipping and trade interests they had in the region participated. 16 The Greek government sought the inclusion of the country in the European Danube Commission, however, it failed, primarily because it encountered the coordinated reaction of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and, especially, that of Romania. As is understandable, although Romania acknowledged the significance of the Greek shipping in the region, it sought to restrict the jurisdiction of the commission and to strengthen its position in the Lower Danube, which was, anyway, completely within its territory. 17 More generally, the decisions of the conference were negative with regards to Greek interests as it strengthened the presence of the Danubian countries and undermined the international character of Danubian shipping. 18 In addition, during the interwar years the development of the most important port of Romania in the Black Sea, Constanţa, led to the gradual downgrading of the Danubian ports, especially that of Sulina, and consequently that of the commission. The commission, nevertheless, continued its technical and harbour function, however, relinquishing more and greater responsibilities to the Romanian authorities. 19 From 1938 (the Sinaia Agreement), the shipping on the Danube was essentially under Romanian control. 20 The dissolution of the commission was finally realized, unilaterally, in 1948, following a decision taken at the Conference of Belgrade on the Danube and it was replaced by a joint Soviet-Romanian commission. This was, naturally, also due to the wish of the Soviet Union to avert the interventions of Western powers in the countries that were now under its sphere of influence See, Cârț â nă, I. Seftiuc, I., Dunărea în istoria poprorului Român (Bucureşti 1972), pp Halm, H., Habsburgischer Osthandel im 18. Jahrhundert. Österreich und Neureußland (II): Donauhandel und Schiffahrt (München 1974) Cernovodeanu, P., British Economic Interests in the Lower Danube and the Balkan Shore of the Black Sea Between 1803 and 1829, Journal of European Economic History 5 (1977), pp See, Cârț â nă, I. Seftiuc, I., Dunărea în istoria poprorului Român (Bucureşti 1972), pp Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), pp and mainly Cernovodeanu, P., Relaț iile comerciale româno-engleze în contextual politicii orientale a Marii Britanii ( ) (Cluj-Napoca 1986), pp Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), pp Χαρλαύτη, Τ., Ιστορία της ελληνόκτητης ναυτιλίας 19ος-20ός αιώνας (Αθήνα 2001), σελ The whole process was called λίμπο or λιμπάρισμα. 4. See, Cârț â nă, I. Seftiuc, I., Dunărea în istoria poprorului Român (Bucureşti 1972), pp Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), pp και Stanciu, Ș., România şi Comisia Europeană a Dunării. Diplomaț ie. Suveranitate. Cooperare internaț ională (Galaț i 2002), pp For more details see, Stanciu, Ș., România şi Comisia Europeană a Dunării. Diplomaț ie. Suveranitate. Cooperare internaț ională (Galaț i 2002), pp See, Καρδάσης, Β., Από του ιστίου εις τον ατμόν. Ελληνική εμπορική ναυτιλία (Αθήνα 1993), pp. 120, Concerning more explicit information see, La Commission Européenne du Danube et son œuvre de 1856 à 1931 (Paris 1931), σελ Regarding the personality and the Δημιουργήθηκε στις 7/2/2017 Σελίδα 3/5

4 acivities of the for 50 years mechanic of the Committee, Charles Hartley, see, Turnock, D., Sir Charles Hartley and the Development of Romania s Lower Danube-Black Sea Commerce in the late Nineteenth Century, in the Anglo-Romanian Relations after 1821 (Iaşi 1983), pp See, La Commission Européenne du Danube et son œuvre de 1856 à 1931 (Paris 1931), pp and chiefly, Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή του Δουνάβεως, Κανονισμός Ναυτιλιακός και Αστυνομικός εφαρμοστέος επί του Κάτω Δουνάβεως. Διατίμησις των ναυτιλιακών δικαιωμάτων Οδηγός του ναυτιλλομένου (Γαλάτσι 1888). The regulation was printed also in French, Italian and Romanian. Regarding the Soulinas port see also, Cioriceanu, G.D., Les grands ports de Roumanie (Paris 1928), pp See, La Commission Européenne du Danube et son œuvre de 1856 à 1931 (Paris 1931), pp See also, Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), p See, Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), pp It is worth noting that many Greeks who then worked on hauling ships overland were obliged to search for another occupation, as above, pp Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), pp , , For more details see, Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), pp Concerning the ship agencies see also, Χαρλαύτη, Τ., Ιστορία της ελληνόκτητης ναυτιλίας 19ος-20ός αιώνας (Αθήνα 2001), pp See also, Societatea de Assicurare Danubiul Processe verbale ale adunărei generale a acţionarilor Braila, 1868 Ασφαλιστική Εταιρία «Ο Δούναβις», Πρακτικά της Γενικής Συνελεύεσεως των μετόχων. Βραΐ λα, 1868 (Galatz 1868). 13. Historical Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, file 58/1, 1860, where many reports can be found from Tulcea, Brăila, Galaț i and Sulina. See especially, Βασιλικόν Ελληνικόν Υποπροξενείον Τούλτσης (Πέρβελης), n. 429, 9 Ιουλίου 1860, προς Υπουργόν Εξωτερικών Α.Γ. Κουντουριώτη. 14. See, Historical Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, file 58/1, 1868, Υπουργείο Ναυτικών, n. 3230, 22 Μαΐ ου 1868 προς Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών. 15. See also, Historical Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, file 58/1, 1860, where reports of the Greek ambassadors in London, Paris and St Petersburg are cited. 16. See, Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), pp Regarding the efforts of the Greek government in the conference in Paris see, Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), pp Especially, regarding the case of Greece s participation in the Committee see, ibid, pp Concerning the Romanian policy see, Stanciu, Ș., România şi Comisia Europeană a Dunării. Diplomaț ie. Suveranitate. Cooperare internaț ională (Galaț i 2002), pp It is indicative that river-shipping along the tributary of the Danube was allowed only to Greek ships under the Romanian flag, something that caused the decline in the Greek presence; see, Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), pp See, Stanciu, Ș., România şi Comisia Europeană a Dunării. Diplomaț ie. Suveranitate. Cooperare internaț ională (Galaț i 2002), pp See, Stanciu, Ș., România şi Comisia Europeană a Dunării. Diplomaț ie. Suveranitate. Cooperare internaț ională (Galaț i 2002), pp See, Φωκάς, Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως (Θεσσαλονίκη 1975), pp Concerning the historical context see, Φωκάς Σ., as above, pp Βιβλιογραφία : Δημιουργήθηκε στις 7/2/2017 Σελίδα 4/5

5 Χαρλαύτη Τ., Ιστορία της ελληνόκτητης ναυτιλίας, 19ος-20ός αιώνας, Νεφέλη, Αθήνα 2001 Καρδάσης Β., Από του ιστίου εις τον ατμόν. Ελληνική εμπορική ναυτιλία , Πολιτιστικό Τεχνολογικό Ίδρυμα ΕΤΒΑ, Αθήνα 1993 Φωκάς Σ., Οι Έλληνες εις την ποταμοπλοΐ αν του Κάτω Δουνάβεως, Ίδρυμα Μελετών Χερσονήσου του Αίμου, Θεσσαλονίκη 1975 Seftiuc I., Cârț ână I., Dunărea în istoria poprorului Român, Bucureşti 1972 Cernovodeanu P., Relaț iile comerciale româno-engleze în contextual politicii orientale a Marii Britanii ( ), Cluj-Napoca 1986 Stanciu Ş., România şi Comisia Europeană a Dunării. Diplomaț ie. Suveranitate. Cooperare internaț ională, Galaț i 2002 Turnock D., "Sir Charles Hartley and the Development of Romania s Lower Danube Black Sea Commerce in the late Nineteenth Century", Anglo-Romanian Relations after 1821, Iaşi 1983, Πηγές Historical Archives of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, f. 58/1, Historical Archives of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, f. 58/1, Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή του Δουνάβεως, Κανονισμός Ναυτιλιακός και Αστυνομικός εφαρμοστέος επί του Κάτω Δουνάβεως. Διατίμησις των ναυτιλιακών δικαιωμάτων. Οδηγός του ναυτιλλομένου (Galați 1888). La Commission Européenne du Danube et son œuvre de 1856 à 1931 (Paris 1931). Δημιουργήθηκε στις 7/2/2017 Σελίδα 5/5