This article examines the evolving role of the Ottoman navy in the mid-eighteenth century in protecting Ottoman seas from maritime violence. Despite enjoying a general peace with its European neighbors, merchant shipping in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean and coastal settlements were frequently subject to seaborne violence from European privateers, Maltese corsairs, and domestic pirates. Based on extensive research in the Ottoman archives, this article analyzes the development of the policy of protection (muḥāfaẓa) through defensive naval patrols, which occurred in conjunction with a strengthening of coastal fortifications and the implementation of innovative legal measures. The aims of this protective policy were to protect domestic and international trade, and to demonstrate imperial authority in Ottoman waters both in response to a demand for protection from subjects in the provinces from local and foreign violence, and as part of strengthening and consolidating Ottoman maritime territoriality in the Mediterranean.

中文翻译：

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保护地中海：奥斯曼帝国对海上暴力的反应，1718-1770

本文考察了 18 世纪中叶奥斯曼海军在保护奥斯曼海免受海上暴力侵害方面不断演变的作用。尽管与欧洲邻国享有普遍和平，但地中海东部水域和沿海定居点的商船经常遭受来自欧洲私掠船、马耳他海盗和国内海盗的海上暴力。基于对奥斯曼帝国档案的广泛研究，本文分析了通过防御性海军巡逻的保护政策 (muḥāfaẓa) 的发展，该政策与加强沿海防御工事和实施创新法律措施相结合。这项保护政策的目的是保护国内和国际贸易，