A black spot on the reputation of the Northwestern Caucasus is still the colossal experience of the slave trade, which both some specific historians and Western propagandists, who cultivate the role of the Caucasus as a region that fell victim to the colonial aggression of the Russian Empire, are desperately trying to forget. In addition, work on this propaganda circuit began several centuries ago. Traditionally, scouts from Britain, France, and so on, after their "service" in the Caucasus, returned home and sat down to write memoirs in which whitewashing the image of the rebellious mountain tribes involved in the slave trade reached a new level. Often the very fact of slavery was not mentioned at all; it was hidden behind a kind of "screen" of exquisite national costumes and exotic traditions, such as atalism and kunachestvo.
At the same time, for the Russian Empire, the eradication of the slave trade was an urgent task, about which Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich himself wrote - he wrote with his own hand:
In order not to be accused of bias, the author will try to rely not only on the works of Russian historians and researchers of the Caucasus, but also on the works of foreign authors, more precisely, that part of them that was not so engaged by the authorities of European countries and adequately reflected reality.
The roots of the slave "business" go back centuries. Some historians see the Byzantines (9-12 centuries), and later the Venetians and Genoese (13-15 centuries) as the culprits of the appearance of the slave trade in the North Caucasus, in particular in Circassia. However, it is difficult to call them directly responsible. For example, the Byzantines were drawn into this story only due to the existence of the slave trade during the very existence of the empire, which with one of the suppliers of living goods, i.e. with pirates, by the way, she waged serious wars. But the Genoese and Venetians have already become entangled in the slave trade at the state level. They adapted their own legislation to regulate the slave market and at first simply collected a fee from the traders.
Sale of a girl into slavery on the Black Sea coast.
And here two natural questions arise: who traded and who traded? To the credit of the Circassians, it is worth noting that at the very beginning of the Venetian-Genoese period in the 13th century, slaves were supplied to slave markets by Tatar leaders, who annually raid Poland, the Russian lands and the Caucasus. Using their almost exclusive right to trade in the Black Sea, European "entrepreneurs" transported slaves even to Egyptian lands. In Egypt, Russian and mountain slaves were ransomed and formed from them either harems or troops (!).
The contribution of the Circassians themselves to the slave trade was small, but it gradually grew. The idea of a quick profit was too tempting. The military class within the mountain society, living only by the sword, and very disconnected from the related tribes, soon began to compete with the Tatar merchants. Thus, the Genoese ethnographer and historian Giorgio Interiano wrote in the late 15th and early 16th centuries:
An extensive network of colonies in Venice and Genoa turned into markets for the slave trade. Trade went briskly, and slaves even ended up in Europe. The Russians were considered the most expensive slaves, the Circassians were cheaper, and the Tatars closed the cynical price rating for people - they also traded them, while the Tatar "businessmen" themselves.
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The situation was changing rapidly. By the end of the 15th century, the Black Sea colonies of Europeans were invaded by the Ottomans, who became the main consumer of slaves. Moreover, slaves were one of the foundations of the Porta economy. Thousands of people were forcibly sent to the Ottoman Empire every year. The natural partners of the Ottomans in this matter were the Crimean Tatars and the Circassian nobility for many centuries. In the Northwest Caucasus, the Turks seized all ports and trading posts of Venice and Genoa without exception.
Crimean Kaffa - center of the slave trade.
The following centers of the slave trade can be distinguished. Brisk bargaining was going on in Gelendzhik. Even the very name "Gelendzhik", according to one version, comes from the Turkish word Gelin, ie bride, because Circassian women were a hot commodity. Bargaining went on in Sukhum-kala (Sukhumi), and in Anapa, and in Tuapse, and in Yenikal (Kerch), etc. At the same time, it seems that there have always been attempts to forget about such a shameful business. For example, the British official Edmond Spencer, who back in the 1830s "traveled", or rather spied, in Circassia, described Sujuk-kale as a "snow-white castle" in a picturesque and fertile region that fell into decay after the "barbaric attack Russians ". Not only was Sujuk a small provincial fortress, and by no means a "castle", so the economy of the "fertile" region around the "castle" was based on the slave trade, which Spencer did not even remember.
Under the economic influence of the Turks, Circassians, Georgians, Kalmyks, Abazes, etc. were now sold in slave markets. Despite the fact that the Russian "product" became several times less, the bargaining remained so successful that they bought a slave in the North Caucasus, and later transferred it to Crimea was extremely profitable to sell. Charles de Peissonnel, a French diplomat on the Black Sea coast, in his treatise on trade in the Black Sea in the first half of the 18th century, in addition to textiles, leather, knives and saddles, also mentions living goods:
Slave market in the Ottoman Empire.
Slavery under the Turks became such a widespread business that it was even considered a kind of socio-cultural lift. So, some Circassians sold their own children to the Ottomans. After the sale, the boys often went to the troops, but their parents hoped that over time, in the Ottoman army, their children would be able to make their way up with their dagger. Girls (and Circassian women were highly valued) fell into the harem. In this case, their parents hoped that with their beauty and skill of a specific order, they would achieve the affection of the influential owner of the harem. Thus, sorry, trade ties were strengthened through the bed, and some noble Circassians even moved to Porto, rebuilding houses for themselves on the Turkish coast, often becoming branches of the slave trade. As a result, Caucasian businessmentaking advantage of the change in the military-political situation and other factors, they survived the "business" of their Tatar competitors.
In the Northwest Caucasus, slave markets and the process itself usually looked like this. The slaves were driven to the Black Sea coast, where Turkish merchants were already waiting for them, living for weeks in unsightly stone semi-dugouts. As soon as the deal was concluded, the purchased "goods" were closed in the same semi-dugout, which, like the merchant, waited weeks for the end of the bargaining. After the "businessman" had recruited a sufficient number of slaves, they were driven onto kaiki - rowing, less often sailing ships. After the beginning of the struggle of the Russian Empire against slavery on these shores, the Turks hid the ships in the mouths of the rivers, and sometimes even clouded them hundreds of meters inland.
An illustrative example of such a concealment of "evidence" of the slave trade can be found in the diaries of Lieutenant Nikolai Simanovsky. In one of General Velyaminov's campaigns in 1837, the lieutenant, during reconnaissance, together with a detachment, came across a couple of ships hidden in the gorge. In order to fight the slave trade, these ships were immediately burned.
The beginning of the decline of a whole era of the slave trade was laid by the signing of the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 by the Russian Empire. On the one hand, the “business” that had lived for centuries seemed unshakable. So, in order for a Turk to enrich himself for the rest of his life, only 5-6 successful flights to the shores of the Caucasus were required. At the same time, large merchants fully paid for the loss of 9 ships with slaves on board with one successful deal. However, the view of the Russian officers, command and the imperial court itself on the problem of the slave trade was unequivocal: slavery must be eradicated by any means.
Circassians - hot commodity vile business.
For the Turks and the Circassian nobility, the eradication of slavery turned into a breakdown of the entire economic order. After all, the Circassian nobility could not enrich themselves and pay for the purchase of weapons without trading in slaves, and the Circassians almost did not use slaves in their own economy - this was unprofitable, given the industrial backwardness and harsh natural conditions. The Ottomans used not just slave labor, but also the fighting qualities of slaves, craft skills and so on.
A unique historical situation has developed. On the one hand, the Circassian peoples paid for the national struggle of Circassia against the Russian Empire "for freedom and independence" in part by selling into slavery representatives of both their own people and others, whom they could capture during the raids. On the other hand, the struggle of the Russian troops with the cave business of the slave trade was itself a war against the unfriendly mountain tribes.
The main, so to speak, striking force in the fight against slavery was the Black Sea Fleet. Indeed, at the beginning of the 19th century, there were simply no explored roads suitable for constant patrolling on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Annual expeditions along the coast could not solve the problem of the slave trade and did not even set such goals for themselves. Thus, the command decided to cut the very umbilical cord of the problem, i.e. cut off the flow of Turkish finances for the Circassian nobility (salt was often used as money), weapons and other things. But the very communication of ordinary highlanders and Russians also became a weapon.
So the last stage began - the decline of the slave trade on the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea.
The very decline of the slave trade on the coast of the northwestern Caucasus, given the depth of its penetration into all spheres of life, was a long process with the breakdown of all relations that had developed over centuries: from family to commercial and even international. For Turkish merchants, the Circassian nobility, without their ability to pay as slaves, lost importance.
One of the decisive roles in breaking the cynical and unusually profitable chain was played by the Black Sea Fleet. And he opposed not just a band of Ottoman merchants. Often, professional spy-provocateurs from Europe also became his opponent. The Adrianople Peace Treaty, which approved the new borders of the empire, although it was formally recognized by the leading countries of the world, did not weaken their desire to expel Russia from the Black Sea. Quite the opposite.
Since 1830, in order to eliminate the sea communications through which slaves were transported to the Port, and weapons, salt and other things were transported to Circassia, the Black Sea Fleet began to patrol the coastal territory of the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea. These actions are often referred to as cruising. This unwittingly misleads the reader about the fact that large forces of the fleet were involved in these events. In fact, brigs, corvettes, and even ordinary transports armed with several guns were allowed to the bottom of the slave ships.
At the very beginning of the struggle against the slave trade, the famous Admiral Alexei Samuilovich Greig was at the helm of the Black Sea Fleet. This indefatigable naval commander himself played far from the last place in the very signing of the Adrianople peace. After all, it was Greig who successfully commanded the fleet in the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-29. However, Aleksey Samuilovich was too active a figure. For example, it was he who initiated the first excavations of Chersonesos. Therefore, during his command, there was no regular patrolling. Sporadic control of the hostile Caucasian coastline was limited to a few months a year.
But even this was enough for the Ottoman merchants, who had gone too far from their own greed, to feel it on their own skin. From now on, ships with the Ottomans dreaming of untold riches, previously moored openly during the day, began to observe all the rules of conspiracy. Any daytime mooring is a thing of the past. The slave trader agreed in advance with the Circassian partners to make signal fires in a certain place (the agreed number of lights). Further, on a dark moonless night, the Ottoman ship approached the shore, unloaded and carefully camouflaged itself. And the bargaining itself was already in the mountains, so that a random patrol would not spot the spontaneous market.
Ivan Aivazovsky. * The seizure of a Turkish boat by Russian sailors and the release of captured Caucasian women *.
But these actions did not always justify themselves. Turkish merchants now simply, with all their desire, could not bring all living goods to the Port. As a result, the domestic market began to fill up with slaves, which even in its "best years" did not particularly need such a product. Now the price of a slave could no longer fully offset the risks and costs. But what has lived for centuries does not die overnight. Moreover, for many, this “business” was not just criminal enrichment or a bad habit, but a way of life, way of life.
In 1832, de facto (and since 1834, de jure) Greig was replaced by the legendary conqueror of Antarctica, who made a circumnavigation of the world, the founding father of Novorossiysk and combat admiral Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev. Mikhail Petrovich took up the development of the Black Sea Fleet with extraordinary tenacity. His position on the training of sailors was harsh, but extremely effective: training should take place at sea in an environment as close as possible to combat. This position of the impetuous Lazarev, who hated clerical work, was the perfect fit for the situation. There were enough sea targets for our fleet in the water area.
In connection with this situation, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich introduced a number of decrees in 1832. It was forbidden to deliver practically any cargo to the rebellious territory of the North Caucasus, including those involved in the slave trade. Consequently, any sea transport was considered a smugglers' ship when approaching the shore. And since cargo was most often only payment for slaves, on the way back these transports turned into slave-owning ones.
Patrolling intensified, becoming a kind of school for young sailors. By 1832, at least one ship was either arrested or sunk every week. In addition, if Russians were found among the slaves (sometimes they were captured soldiers), then the slave owners themselves were locked in the hold and either they shot the ship from cannons or simply burned it. For some time now, slavers and smugglers, who have seen the St. Andrew's flag on the horizon, i.e. the same people tried to get rid of the load - simply to drown people. But this did not help the businessmen, after a thorough interrogation "at sea" the truth most often surfaced.
Soon daring landings began on the Caucasian coast, from Anapa to Sukhum. On the conquered territory, fortifications were erected, which made up the Black Sea coastline. Joint actions of troops and navy on the Caucasian coast were very successful and in some way even created the legendary trinity of General Nikolai Raevsky and admirals Serebryakov and Lazarev.
Monument to the founding fathers: Lazarev, Serebryakov and Raevsky. Novorossiysk.
Therefore, in order to increase the effectiveness of the fight against Ottoman ships, the fleet often began to act hand in hand with the foot battalions of the Tengins, Navaginians and Linearians. So, if patrol ships noticed the movement of the enemy in order to hide sea vessels on land, then, not being able to act in a foreign element, the fleet turned to the troops. Thus, an amphibious group was formed, which was delivered by sea to the desired place. Such landings were swift and short-term, because their main task was to burn down the ships of violators, and the tasks of freeing slaves and arresting (or destroying on the spot) slave traders were decided according to the situation.
In the summer of 1837, Lazar Serebryakov himself took part in one of these landing sorties. A Russian patrol ship spotted two Turkish ships docked 4 km from the Dzhubga River, but was unable to destroy them in time with naval artillery. Therefore, a group of ships, which included the legendary brig "Mercury" (in 1829 this ship gained "immortality", emerging victorious in a battle with two battleships of the Ottomans), took on board a landing as part of one battalion of the Tengin regiment. The sudden landing was successful, and both Turkish ships were burned.
However, neither the Ottoman Empire, with its immeasurable appetite, nor Europe, which has dreamed of a vassal position of a frighteningly incomprehensible Eastern power, for sure, did not want to give the North Caucasus to the Russian Empire just like that. Therefore, at first, the Western press criticized the blockade of the Caucasus coast, giving out cargoes going by sea, almost like humanitarian aid. And later, the supplies of Turkish and European weapons were not at all presented as payment for slaves, but as "assistance in the liberation movement." This informational "fake" of the 19th century was extremely necessary, because the Ottoman merchants and Western "allies" never provided assistance for free, but the payment by slaves was too wild for a sensual philistine ear.
Ivan Aivazovsky. * Brig * Mercury * attacked by two Turkish ships *.
In order to make it as difficult for the Russians as possible to pacify the Caucasus and liquidate the cave business of the slave trade, Porta and some European countries (Britain and France in general) began to use a variety of methods. European "travelers" began to appear on ships transporting contraband, so that the risk of an international scandal would slow down the ardor of Russian sailors.
Separate flights have also begun to be practiced. One ship delivered contraband as payment for living goods. After a quick unloading, the transport in full sails rushed away from dangerous waters for it. Some time later, subject to all the conditions of secrecy, another vessel, without wasting time on unloading, moored to the shore and took the slaves.
At the same time, the sooner the victory in the Caucasus approached and, accordingly, the victory over the slave trade, the more often the “allies” of the rebellious Circassians went to the most open provocations. The most famous such action was the incident with the schooner Vixen. On November 11-12, 1836, the 20-gun brig "Ajax", patrolling the Caucasian coast under the command of Nikolai Wulf, received an order from Rear Admiral Samuil Andreevich Esmont to immediately catch up and capture an unidentified schooner traveling along the Black Sea coast.
Capture by brig * Ajax * schooner * Vixen * at Sujuk-Kale.
Despite the stormy weather, two days later the unidentified schooner was detained by the Ajax brig in the Sudzhuk-Kale area (now Novorossiysk). During the search, salt was discovered, which from time immemorial has been used as currency in the transactions of slave traders, and our sailors also noticed that, undoubtedly, part of the cargo had already been sent ashore. In addition, there was a "foreign merchant" on board, under the guise of which James Bell, a very well-known provocateur and spy, was hiding in narrow circles. A huge international scandal erupted, which almost became a false start for the Crimean War.
The fact that the English "merchant" was not only aware of the slave trade on the Caucasian coast, but was also involved in it, is beyond doubt. And the proof of this is not only the presence of a cargo of salt on board, but also the use of the thriving centers of the slave trade in the past as places for unloading and anchorage of ships. Sujuk-Kale, where Vixen was detained, was once not just an outpost of the Ottoman Empire, but also a large market for slaves. And on the map compiled by James Bell himself later, each such market was indicated with extreme precision with reference to the area. All the peculiar "port infrastructure" of the slave traders was also used by the enlightened Europeans. However, in his memoirs, albeit in a blurred form, Bell himself did not deny that he knew who he was "working" with.
However, the main thing that the fleet and troops were able to achieve was to deprive the cave business of profitability. Knocking out the support from the slave trade was a significant blow to the cultivation of war by the Porta, Britain and France at the hands of the highlanders.
In the last part we will consider the very interaction of the social structure of Russians and Circassians as a “weapon” accompanying the death of the slave trade.
The eradication of the slave trade proceeded not only with the sword, but also by diplomatic methods and ordinary communication on an equal footing. A significant part of the Russian officers, including the highest, including Nikolai Raevsky himself, tried to win not only obedience to Russian laws, but also the sympathy of the Circassians. Contrary to the widespread misconception that the pacification of the Northwest Caucasus proceeded only with the help of violence, the reality was somewhat different.
A striking example of how cave customs like the slave trade were defeated without the help of weapons is at least the activities of Fyodor Filippovich Roth. This battle-wounded officer retained a kindness of character along with a heightened sense of justice. When in 1841 he was approved as commandant of the Anapa fortress, he launched such a vigorous activity in the field of conquering the hearts of the Natukhais and Shapsugs that soon the number of Circassians who rejected their former way of life began to grow steadily. Roth even had an idea to form a special Circassian squadron from the new citizens of the empire.
Fyodor Filippovich was able to achieve such confidence from the Circassians that instead of using adat (a kind of set of legal norms) in solving various controversial issues, some Shapsugs turned to the commandant of Anapa for help. So there was a slow and extremely painful transition to the adoption of the laws of the empire. It also came to several absurd situations.
Anapa fortress in the 19th century.
Once a group of Circassians came to the Roth and invited him to go on a joint campaign against … General Zass. Grigory Khristoforovich Zass was an irrepressible and warlike officer who did not for a minute share the peacemaking spirit of such figures as Roth or Raevsky. On the contrary, Zass managed to instill such awe in the Circassians in front of his own figure that they considered the general the devil and frightened disobedient children with him. Here is how Nikolai Ivanovich Lorer, a participant in Velyamin's campaigns, a demoted major, a Decembrist and a non-commissioned officer in the Caucasus, describes that situation in his memoirs:
One way or another, but even such a contrast in the approach to the pacification of the Caucasus did its job. More and more Circassians began to settle closer to large fortifications, Anapa or Novorossiysk, where they cultivated the land and were engaged in exchange trade.
So the relationship between the Russians and the Circassians themselves became a weapon (and not only against slavery). Over time, the highlanders began to notice that their nobility was looking towards the Porta, which was getting rich in the works of their own slaves, fellow tribesmen, much more attentively than towards the population of their own villages. At the same time, many Russian military leaders and officers encouraged Circassian trade, did not impose exorbitant taxes on them, and did not show any arrogance. In addition, the highlanders living in peace and harmony, under certain conditions, were even temporarily relieved of all the need to pay taxes, just like the Russian settlers.
Inside a Circassian house.
Trying to suppress the natural communication of the common people, the Circassian nobility, incited by the Ottomans, intensified feudal oppression, often undertook punitive expeditions and in every possible way condoned the slave trade. For example, in the published materials of the Office of the Black Sea Cordon Line, you can find a story written from the words of the 14-year-old son of the Abadzekh tfokotl (a representative of the free peasantry, which was constantly under the heavy rule of the nobility):
And this is not the only evidence. The flight of the Circassians from their own leaders, who are so closely related to the Turks, if not massive, then significant, for sure. At the same time, so significant that from the Circassians who fled from the tyranny of the mountain aristocracy, large dynasties were later formed, which left a noticeable mark in the history of Russia. Both girls and boys fled, whole families and even noble Circassian families fled, fearing the thirst for profit and the power of kindred neighbors, who, according to the established tradition, after plundering the defeated, sold the survivors into slavery.
Here is how Lieutenant Nikolai Vasilyevich Simanovsky (will end his service with the rank of lieutenant general), an officer of the Velyaminov expedition of 1837, describes the transition to the side of the Russians of a whole family of Circassians, tired of the endless war of all against all:
Sometimes only part of the family went on the run. Intra-family conflicts became the reason for the flight. So, when a Circassian family decided to sell their sons or daughters into slavery to Turkey, the latter often rushed away from their home. The literate Circassians were especially appreciated, and they were just perfectly aware of their prospects. Thus, the number of mixed marriages of Cossacks and fugitive Circassian women expanded.
Circassian Saklya.
Such fugitives, at the direction of the Russian Empire, settled in certain areas of the plain Kuban. At the same time, while observing the laws of the empire, including the prohibition of slavery, Circassian settlements enjoyed a certain degree of self-government. the Russian authorities did not interfere in the internal affairs of such settlements. Of course, not everything went smoothly, but a number of factors contributed to the rapprochement between the Russians and the Circassians.
Firstly, despite the naming of all Circassians as mountaineers, not all of them lived directly in the mountainous regions. For example, the Natukhai lived on the territory of the plain, so they became one of the first to communicate with the Russians, which attracted the wrath of their warlike neighbors. Punitive campaigns against them by kindred tribes drove away some of the Natukhais towards the Russians. Secondly, the traditional dwellings of the Circassians, the Sakli, were extremely similar to adobe huts. They were whitewashed from the inside and covered with a roof of various kinds of shingles. The author lived for about a month in such a house on Taman. Thirdly, the Cossacks, who partly adopted Circassian clothes, thereby facilitated mutual socialization, etc.
But this concerned the common people. Any senior officer could also resolve the issue of their resettlement on an interpersonal level. But the resettlement of noble families and work with pshi (a kind of designation of the nobility, similar to the title of a prince) was a political matter and was supervised by the emperor himself. The Circassian nobility, who expressed a desire to serve the empire, received the right to additional lands, men of a noble family automatically received army ranks, etc. So, the aide-de-camp of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich was a representative of the Circassian aristocracy Sultan Khan-Girey, who fought in Poland and the Caucasus. And his brother Sultan Sagat-Girey rose to the rank of colonel in the Russian army, was not only a military officer, but also a representative of the Circassians at court. He was killed in the village of Kavkazskaya in 1856. When the news of the death of Sagat-Girey reached the emperor,Alexander Nikolaevich ordered the son of the deceased to be promoted to warrant officer of the mountain militia with a salary of 250 rubles a year, and to pay the widow 1,500 rubles at a time.
Pshekuy Dovletgireevich Mogukorov.
Also, one of the most famous mountaineers, who was a descendant of a family of fugitives from the Shapsug tribe, was General Pshekuy Dovletgireevich Mogukorov, who began serving in the imperial army as a simple ordinary Cossack. Ironically, this Circassian by blood will also contribute to the eradication of the cave "business" of the slave trade and the persuasion of the Circassians to peace and harmony within the Russian Empire. This is how Prokopiy Petrovich Korolenko, a 19th century Cossack historian and ethnographer, described him:
One way or another, but by the middle of the 19th century, thousands of Circassians from different tribes served in the Russian Imperial Army (including the Guards) and the Navy. Only on the Black Sea cordon line by 1842 there were about a hundred officers alone, in whose veins Circassian blood flowed. That is, by the end of the Caucasian War, it acquired the character of a civil one, in a certain sense.
As a result, the actions of the fleet, and the actions of the troops, and the policy towards the Circassians both on the part of the high command and on the part of ordinary officers to varying degrees destroyed the age-old "business" of slavery, broke off trade ties and began to impose a different way of life. Of course, the Crimean War weakened Russia's position on the Black Sea coast and breathed hope for the return of the old order. But the enemy, who relied on the slave trade, in the form of the rebellious Circassians, no longer had either the resources or the previous interest of the Turks (the Ottomans diversified their "business", tired of littering the Black Sea with their ships). In addition, the new "Russian Circassian" army, which saw a different life and went through the crucible of war, in itself became a guarantee of the end of the cave industry.
Author: East Wind
