Turkey

The hostilities between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies during the First World War ended in October 1918. It was hoped that the long-established trading relationship between Britain and the Ottoman Empire could be rekindled. The British Trade Corporation positioned itself at the forefront of this commercial drive. Its principal trading interests were undertaken through the Levant Company, while its banking interests in Turkey were undertaken by the National Bank of Turkey. Britain’s misjudged heliophile policies, especially the promise of Greek territorial gains after the war, helped precipitate the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. It also created lasting damage to Anglo-Turkish relations, which severely impacted British commercial interests in the new Turkish Republic.