1 Onluk – Eyalet of Tunis

In 1656, the Eyalet of Tunis was navigating a complex and deteriorating currency situation, caught between the monetary policies of its Ottoman suzerain and the relentless pressure of European commercial and monetary influence. The primary unit of account was the Ottoman akçe, but its value had been severely debased over the preceding century due to imperial financial crises. In practice, a multitude of physical coins circulated: debased Ottoman issues, Spanish pieces of eight (reales), Venetian ducats, and various French and Italian coins, all competing for acceptance and fluctuating in value against one another. This created a chaotic environment for tax collection, trade, and daily transactions, as the intrinsic silver content of a coin often mattered more than its official denomination.

The local Muradid dynasty (c. 1613-1702), which held de facto power under Ottoman authority, struggled to assert monetary control. Their attempts to mint local copper fulus for small-scale trade were insufficient to stabilize the system. The real economic power lay with European merchant colonies and the corsairing elite, who operated largely on a silver-based, Mediterranean-wide standard. Spanish American silver, entering through trade or piracy, became a crucial but unstable monetary base. This reliance on foreign silver made Tunis vulnerable to European economic shifts and currency manipulations, undermining the Bey's fiscal autonomy.

Consequently, the currency situation of 1656 was characterized by chronic instability, price volatility, and a disconnect between the official Ottoman monetary system and the hybrid, silver-driven reality on the ground. This environment fostered corruption, as money-changers (sarrafs) wielded significant power, and complicated state finances. The monetary chaos reflected the Eyalet's broader political position: nominally Ottoman, deeply integrated into Mediterranean circuits, yet striving for a measure of local governance that remained elusive in the economic sphere.