In my dissertation project, I am working on extracting the history of the Imperial Slave Market in Istanbul. Travel accounts are one of my primary sources of information about the market's history. In light of this, I decided to leverage technology to create digital data from these accounts during my DH Certificate Program.
As I read through many accounts, I realized that some critical details could be forgotten or overlooked over time. To avoid this, I opted to use technology to create a searchable database that can help organize the mass of historical documents effectively. By doing so, I can easily access and analyze the information, thereby enabling me to extract invaluable insights about the history of the Imperial Slave Market.
After conducting extensive research on dozens of accounts, I compiled all the data, which involved relevant links and websites for already digitized accounts. I then extracted crucial information from each account and integrated it into my data, making it easily searchable. For sources that were yet to be digitized, I employed OCR technology to extract the relevant sections. In this manner, I ensured that all pertinent information was accurately captured and made readily available.
The data collection process is still ongoing. My aim is to cover all travel accounts that have a section about Ottoman Slavery and Imperial Slave Market.
Each article has its own page with related information, including;
-Publication year
-Author’s year of visiting Istanbul
-Publisher
-Page number
-Related textual mentions of the Istanbul Slave Market
-Visuals (if any are included in those sections)
All data will be available to the public after I complete the project and publish the results of related projects.
