Struggling With Detrimental Publications in the Ottoman Empire in the Case of Trabzon Province

Abstract

The development and transformation of the press and publishing activities contributed to the history of civilization in many ways. Especially after the widespread use of the printing press, the information and ideas put on paper became easily accessible to many people. However, that situation started to worry the state administrators. State administrators tried to develop some measures against all kinds of publications that were contrary to their opinions and advantages. Accordingly, censorship against publications not approved by the ruling class became widespread. They established various institutions and put forward different practices to detect, control, and prevent the spread of the documents they called detrimental. In this study, the struggle of the Ottoman Empire against the publications described as detrimental is discussed in the Trabzon Province. The state's point of view against such publications, how detrimental publications were introduced into the Ottoman country, and the measures taken by the state in this context were tried to be examined.