Why did the Ottomans evict the Italian merchant after 1453?

Hello there,

So it's been bugging me for a while: I know the Italian merchant were evicted from Ottoman territory after the fall of Constantinople. However, since Constantinople was only a small-ish city with no territory by then, I don't quite see the link between the two fact.

Any idea why?
 
The Genoese community in Constantinople fought on the side of the defenders during the fall, quite bravely too. The Ottomans can't have been very happy about that, though I don't know if it was the true cause.
 
The Italian merchants were viewed as parasites on the Byzantine/Ottoman state, performing a role better performed by Ottoman subjects.
 
Economically speaking, the Italians probably represented no gain on the Byzantine/Ottoman economy - the trade from the Black Sea to Pera to Crete and beyond was generally done through Italian convoys and Italian merchants, with little indigenous input. The Byzantines had to put up with Pera due to their need for Italian maritime power; the Ottomans did not require such services.

The ports/colonies used by the Italians during peacetime could also easily be converted into hostile naval bases in wartime. Given the relatively short operating range of medieval galleys, denial of trading ports would also drastically curtail the Italians' freedom of action in the Eastern Med and especially the Aegean.
 
Economically speaking, the Italians probably represented no gain on the Byzantine/Ottoman economy - the trade from the Black Sea to Pera to Crete and beyond was generally done through Italian convoys and Italian merchants, with little indigenous input. The Byzantines had to put up with Pera due to their need for Italian maritime power; the Ottomans did not require such services.

The ports/colonies used by the Italians during peacetime could also easily be converted into hostile naval bases in wartime. Given the relatively short operating range of medieval galleys, denial of trading ports would also drastically curtail the Italians' freedom of action in the Eastern Med and especially the Aegean.

Thanks for the explanation! I understood that the Black Sea stayed open as Constantinople guarded the strait, but what about those in Eastern Med? Why weren't they evicted before? It's not like the situation actually changed much in those parts after the fall, did it?
 
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