In the decades leading up to World War I, industrial capitalism began to emerge in Ottoman Macedonia, and its impact was felt on social and state structures.

The port city of Thessaloniki was at the center of this transformation, spearheaded by the Jewish community. However, the most notable place of development is found deep in rural Macedonia, where, despite adverse conditions, industrial capitalism sprang forth from local productive forces.

In the late Ottoman years, Greek merchants and industrialists from the Vermio region successfully competed with the Jewish capitalists of Thessaloniki and played a crucial role in shaping the historical trajectory of the so-called "Turkey in Europe."

This book analyzes the historical emergence of Ottoman Macedonian capitalism by utilizing archival material combined with bibliographic sources and field research. It offers a new panoramic view of the economic history of the late Ottoman Empire and serves as an invaluable resource for scholars of Ottoman, Greek, and Turkish history.