Catalogue description Secretaries of State: State Papers Foreign, Turkey

Mainly in-letters to the Secretary of State from the English (later British) Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey). Many papers (particularly petitions) are from the Levant Company, which financed diplomatic representation in the Levant until 1804 (see also SP 105). Some despatches from the consulates at Smyrna (now Izmir in Turkey) and Aleppo (now Haleb in Syria) are also included. Many draft replies (and in some cases the despatches themselves) by the Secretary of State are also in the series, though they are less frequently found in the earlier volumes. Amongst other miscellaneous papers are letters from the Patriarch of Constantinople and certain British naval officers.

For letter books compiled during the embassy of Sir Robert Ainslie to the Ottoman Empire see:

FO 261

Selected documents dated before August 1589 are described in theCalendar of State Papers Foreign Series of the Reign of Elizabeth I ed A J Butler S C Lomas and R B Wernham (London 1901-1950). For references to the more important papers for the period August 1589 to December 1595 see theList and Analysis of State Papers Foreign Series Elizabeth I I-VI ed by Richard Bruce Wernham (London 1964-1993). Please speak to staff at the Map and Large Document Room enquiry desk for the precise location.