Odessa and its wheat trade in the long 19th century, 1794-1905

The chapter traces the history of grain trade from the port of Odessa. It opens with a discussion of the city’s foundation and of the broader shifting political and military realities of the Black Sea in the 19th century. The chapter then delves into an analysis of the different phases which characterized grain trade from Odessa. It focuses on agricultural production, trade, and land, as well as maritime transport, but also on the broader local and regional social, technological, architectural, military, and political conditions which affected the economy and were equally shaped by its developments. This discussion is carried out within a broader chronicle of European and global grain market developments in the 19th century. The aim is to produce a narrative that gives a full account of the significantly different phases of Odessa’s grain trade and of how economic, social, and political realities intertwined in shaping them.