In 1857 a local group headed by Bulgarian merchants from the town of Şumnu applied for the Rusçuk and Varna railway concession, in what was one of the earliest attempts by Ottoman subjects to carry out such a capitalist undertaking. Since their application was officially and unofficially supported by the Sublime Porte, this article discusses the genesis and unfolding of this local project as one which resulted both from a ‘top-down’ initiative instigated by the Ottoman government and a ‘bottom-up’ enterprise influenced by new trends in Ottoman economic life.

中文翻译：

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“自上而下”或“自下而上”的现代化：19世纪下半叶奥斯曼帝国的地方铁路企业家

1857 年，一个由来自苏姆努镇的保加利亚商人领导的当地团体申请了鲁苏克和瓦尔纳铁路的特许权，这是奥斯曼帝国臣民最早尝试进行此类资本主义事业的尝试之一。由于他们的申请得到了崇高门的正式和非正式支持，本文讨论了这个当地项目的起源和展开，该项目是奥斯曼政府发起的“自上而下”倡议和一家“自下而上”企业的结果受到奥斯曼经济生活新趋势的影响。