The settlement and economic development of Hawran 1860 – 1914 : a reconsideration of motives and forces -

Abstract

This thesis attempts to answer the following question: what were the causes behind the resettlement of Mount Lebanon’s Druze to Hawran during the 19th century? Scholars have already proposed answers, and in doing so, focused overwhelmingly on the social and communal traits of the sect as well as its conflict-ridden history. They suggest that the sect’s conservative outlook, communalism, dislike of trade and preference for farming, incentivized relocation to Hawran, where the community had already established a foothold in the 18th century. This study, however, focuses on economic causes. In doing so, it faces a body of statistically-based literature that claims economic conditions in Hawran collapsed just as settlement activity peaked. The first chapter elucidates in detail the limitations of statistical data about trade especially in the context of 19th century Hawran. These shortcomings include an overwhelming focus on grain exports to Europe, contradictory findings regarding grain yields and exports, as well as disagreements regarding geographical constructs, units of measurement and other key concepts. The following chapter taps literary sources to present an alternative perspective about economic conditions in the region. The three categories of literary sources used for this chapter are official Ottoman reports, contemporary newspaper articles, travel literature and memoirs. These four types of sources help highlight aspects of Hawran’s economy completely ignored by statistical data described above. The final chapter analyses settlement activity. It begins by briefly surveying push factors in Mount Lebanon, which affected both Druze and Maronite communities. The Ottoman state’s role in the resettlement process also receives attention, as well as other communities resettling in the Ottoman province of Syria during the second half of the 19th century. In concluding, this study argues that local and regional economic dynamics acted as pull factors attracting Mount Lebano