The creation of the new Balkan states along ethnic lines, the construction of the railroads, and the economic ascendancy of the German-speaking countries altered the European share of the Macedonian market in the period from 1870 up until the Balkan Wars. France and Britain in turn lost part of the Macedonian market to Austria-Hungary as well as to other central and northern European nations (Belgium, Germany).
Meanwhile, the improvement in the credit system, the founding of new banks, and the change in the whole trade network contributed to an impressive rise in imports (despite increased customs duties), especially between 1900 and 1912, in all Macedonian cities and towns, but primarily in the ports of Thessaloniki and Kavala.
The Thessaloniki customs-house
Built 1910
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See Also
