Global Catholicism, Local Power Networks, and Intermediary Agencies in Early Modern Ottoman Europe

Who were the agents that shaped the course of Catholic missionary activities in the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire between the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century? How did this multiplicity of involved individuals, interest groups, and institutions complicate the incorporation of these areas into the Catholic sphere of influence? And in what ways does the case of Ottoman Europe complement and/or complicate our understanding of the processes of integration unfolding across the world in the early modern period?

Guided by these questions, this project aims to provide a comprehensive study of the complex local power networks that shaped Catholic missionary activities in Ottoman Europe from the late sixteenth to the turn of the eighteenth century. To this end, it will systematically map out and examine the networks of key local agents to illuminate uncharted aspects of the dynamics of Catholic missions in the Early Modern Period.

In this way, this project aspires to break new ground and make a major contribution to the study of early modern Ottoman Southeast Europe by highlighting previously unexplored aspects of the dynamics of Catholic missions and of the functioning of the Ottoman provincial society. By combining micro-, meso-, and macro-level approaches and by integrating linguistically and methodologically fragmented inquiries, it aims to transcend the persisting national and/or confessional frameworks in writing the history of Southeast Europe. Furthermore, this project is designed to rethink the colonial dimensions of global Catholicism in a multidisciplinary fashion and to tie the region of Southeast Europe—which is not normally part of global historical frameworks—to broader narratives of early modern European and global history. The results of the project will be published in a monograph and in scientific journal articles and will be presented at international conferences and workshops.