Relations between Ottoman Empire and Britain have a long history. After its foundation in 1326, Ottoman Empire have advanced towards west and conquered Constantinople and renamed it to Istanbul in 1453 and acquired supervision of the Black sea and the main paths to the Balkans and advanced to the eastern Adriatic. In 1520 Ottoman’s were the indisputable pioneer of the Muslim world and they had impeccable power over western Europe.
Then the encounters between Ottoman Empire and Britain have begun. Official diplomatic relations were based with the appointment of an English ambassador to the Sublime Porte as the Ottoman Empire was acknowledged in 1583. in 1793 London received one of the first permanent Turkish embassies established abroad.
Anglo-Turkish commercial and cultural relations precede the establishment of the first English consulates at Istanbul and Izmir in the 16th and 17th centuries. Starting in the Middle Ages with the import of spices and luxury goods, such as “Turkey carpets”, trade between Britain and Ottoman Empire expanded over time, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. Anatolia became a significant source of raw materials like cotton, foodstuffs like raisins and dried figs and tobacco. In the 19th century it became a significant market for British manufactures.
