Editing Hydra (island) (section)

=== Ottoman era: period of commercial and naval strength ===
{{Further|Ottoman Greece}}
[[File:Hydra island - panoramio - dims321.jpg|thumb|Traditional houses]]

Hydra was relatively unimportant during much of the period of Ottoman rule. At the end of the sixteenth century, there was a wave of migration consisting of big families from the Hellenic and Asia Minor regions to the island. Due to the infertile ground, the inhabitants turned to the sea.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Vicky Katsoni |editor2=Ciná van Zyl |date=21 June 2021 |title=Culture and Tourism in a Smart, Globalized, and Sustainable World: 7th International Conference of IACuDiT, Hydra, Greece, 2020 |publisher=Springer Nature |pages= |isbn=978-3-030-72469-6 |oclc=1258664982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c1w0EAAAQBAJ}}</ref> Its naval and commercial development began in the 17th century, and its first school for mariners was established in 1645.<ref>''Iles grecques'', Guide Bleu, Hachette, 1998. p. 185.</ref> Apparently, the first truly Hydriot vessel was launched in 1657. However, the conflict between the [[Republic of Venice]] and the Ottoman Empire limited the island's maritime development until after 1718 and the [[Treaty of Passarowitz]]. From the 17th century on, Hydra began to take on a greater importance because of its trading strength.

During the first half of the 18th century, Hydra built the same kind of vessels as were built in the other [[Aegean Islands]]: the ''sachtouri'' of 15 to 20 tons, and the ''latinadiko'' of 40 to 50 tons. The Hydriots contented themselves with trading in the Aegean, going as far as [[Constantinople]]. A great change occurred in 1757 after they launched a vessel of 250 tons. The larger boats enabled Hydra to become an important commercial port. By 1771, there were up to 50 vessels from throughout Greece in the [[Roadstead|roads]]. Ten years later, the island had fitted out 100 vessels.<ref>Georgios Voyatis, ''Le Golfe Saronique'', p. 164.</ref>

However, the Ottoman Empire and its policies constrained Hydra's economic success. Heavy tariffs and taxes limited the speed of development. The Ottoman administration limited free trade, permitting only Ottoman vessels to navigate the [[Dardanelles]] and the [[Bosphorus]], and hence to have access to the [[Black Sea]], its ports, and the trade in grain from their hinterlands. The [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]] changed all this. [[Russia]] gained from the Ottoman Empire the right to protect the Empire's Orthodox Christians. The religious protection had a commercial corollary: the Hydriots began to sail under the Russian flag. The treaty also provided for free passage between the Aegean and the Black Sea. Hydra entered its commercial era. Hydriot vessels carried goods between Southern Russia in the east and the Italian ports of [[Ancona]] and [[Livorno]] in the west. From 1785 on, the Hydriot shippers began to engage in commerce, not just transport. Each vessel became its own small commercial enterprise, and trade with the [[Levant]] quickly began to depend on Hydra's vessels, though not without competition from those of [[Spetses]] and [[Psara]].

The plague of 1792 killed a large part of the population, and many people moved away. As a result, the town was almost completely abandoned for a while. By the end of the 18th century, Hydra had again become quite prosperous, with its vessels trading as far as France, Spain, and even the Americas. [[Napoleon]] presented the island with the huge silver chandelier in the cathedral as a gesture of gratitude for the Hydriots' role in running the British blockade and so bringing food to France.