On 20 November 1863 Mithat Paşa, then the Ottoman governor of Niş in what is now Serbia, spearheads the establishment of Memleket Sandıkları (Homeland Funds) in the town of Pirot.
On 20 November 1863 Mithat Paşa, then the Ottoman governor of Niş in what is now Serbia, spearheads the establishment of Memleket Sandıkları (Homeland Funds) in the town of Pirot. Providing state-guaranteed credit for farmers, these later served as the core from which Ziraat Bank grew.
The first agricultural-finance loans are introduced. Capped at a maximum of twenty gold pounds (about USD 6,000 in today’s money) per borrower, the loans had repayment terms of between three and twelve months.
Turkey’s first statutorily regulated credit system is launched.
Mithat Paşa’s Homeland Funds are reconstituted as Menafi Sandıkları (Benefit Funds).
The agricultural credit funds are reorganized to make them stronger and more sustainable.
The Benefit Funds are shut down to protect farmers in Edirne, Salonika, Manastir, Kosovo, Yanya, and Shkodra from exploitation and their capital is transferred to the newly-formed Ziraat Bank. The Bank’s branch network is expanded and begins lending to farmers.
Devlet Üretme Çiftlikleri (State Farms) are launched with Ziraat Bank financial support.
Ziraat Bank’s headquarters are opened in İstanbul.
Ottoman-Russian War (War of ‘93).
The first telegraph landline links India and Europe.
The First Constitutional Era begins with the promulgation of the Ottoman Basic Law.
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone.
Ottoman-Russian War (War of ‘93).
Thomas Edison invents the electric light bulb.
The Ottoman tax system is reformed.
Karl Benz introduces the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the world’s first purpose-designed automobile.
