Tarih ara~lIrmalan i,erisinde ~ehir tarih,iliginin ozel bir veri vardlr. Unutulmamahdlr ki bilWnpar,alann ilrilnildilr. Bu baglamda 6 yilzyIl ya~aml~ ve olduk,a geni~ topraklara yaYllml~ olanOsmanh Devleti'ni daha iyi anlamanm yolu devletin ~ehirlerindeki ekonomik ve sosyal hayatl iyikavramaktan ge,er.19. yilzyIlda Osmanh devleti ,okil~ donemine girmi~ti. Devletin emperyalist Avrupah devletlerineline dil~mesi ekonomide oldugu gibi bir,ok alanda geri gitmesine neden olmu~tu. Bu yuzyIldaAdapazan, devletin i,erisinde bulundugu durumu kavramamlzda bize olduk,a yol gosterir. Devletintoprak kaylplanyla go,men durumuna dil~en Osmanh vatanda~lan Anadolu'nun bir,ok ~ehrinioldugu gibi Adapazan'm da mesken tutmu~lardlr. Bu yilzyllm ba~lannda Sapanca'ya bagh olanAdapazan, zamanla aldlgl bu go,lerin de etkisiyle geli~mi~ ve onemli bir Osmanh kenti durumunagelmi~tir. Ozellikle bu yuzyIlm ikinci yansmda bagh oldugu izmit'i bile nufus ve bir ,ok alandageride blrakml~tl.Adapazan Kazasmm, istanbul'a yakmhgmdan kaynaklanan stratejik konumu, sahip oldugu onnanzenginligi Ermeni ve Rum gibi gayrimuslim milletleri de bunyesinde banndlrmasl ozellikle 19.yuzyll i,erisinde Avrupahlarm bu kente dikkat ,ekmelerine vesile olmn~tur.Avrupahlar, ingilizlerle yapIlan 1838 Balta Limanl Anla~masl gibi yaptlklan bir,ok anla~mayla eldeettikleri tavizleri, Adapazan' nda da azami uygulaml~ladlr" Yalmz ekonomiye el atmaml~lar,misyonerlik faaliyetleri, egitim ,ah~malan gibi bir,ok konuda Adapazan'm uygulama alam olarakkullanml~lardlr.Adapazan'nda Avrupahlann a,uklan fabrikalar, i~letmeler, temsilcilikler, bolgedeki halkl kl~kIrtmafaaliyetleri, misyonerlik amaclyla yapllan geziler ve mtilakatlar, en sonunda da egitim alanmdakite~ebbusleri bu ,ah~mamn konusunu olu~turmaktadlr.
Within historical researches, there is an important place of city historiography. It is not forgotten thahe whole is product of the components. In this connection, the best way to understand the OttomanIEmpire which lived for six centuries and expanded her lands in a vast region get through economical~nd social life in cities of that state.n the 19'" century, the Ottoman Empire entered into a period of dissolution. The imperialist state,'caused her decline in terms of many aspects as well as economy. In this century, Adapazari, as a caststudy, is an important research area to understand such process. Because of loosing lands to the othestates, a lot of Ottoman citizens who are now emigrants settled many cities of Anatolia as well asAdapazari. In the beginning of this century, Adapazari which was bound to Sapanca developed b'courtesy of migrations in the course of time. Especially, in the second half of this century, sh,emained behind izmit which was bound."rhe district of Adapazari, her strategical position because of her closeness to Istanbul, richness irerms of forest, living of non-Muslims like Armenians and Greeks there, especially in the 19'" century-omp~ .",Europeans profited the concessions of the agreement of Balta-Limam which was signed between thEOttoman Empire and Britain also in Adapazari. However, they did not participate in the economicalctivities, but in the missionary activities and educational matters they worked.[The subjects like factories, business enterprises, agents which were established in Adapazari by[Europeans, missionary travels and interviews and enterprises in the educational field are composed 0he main attentions this study..