Data on Breeding Horses in the Townships of Kirmasti and Mihaliç of Bursa in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Kirmasti (Mustafakemalpaşa) and Mihaliç (Karacabey) were two border townships affiliated with Bursa, the central province of the Hudâvendigâr County, located to the south of the Marmara Sea. Due to the fertile land, this region was one in which there was intensive agriculture, and the raising and breeding of cattle as an important activity. Another important common characteristic of these two provinces was that horse breeding was widespread throughout the villages. In the 1844 census it can be seen that there were more horses bred in the Kirmasti and Mihaliç Townships than the villages needed; that is, there were more horses than the residents could use in their daily life. These data are important in that they demonstrate the horses were bred for commercial reasons. Without a doubt it is no coincidence that the Mihaliç Çiftlikât-ı Hümâyûnu was established in the same region. Karacabey Harası, an extremely important institution in the breeding of race horses in Turkey, continues to exist today in the region of Mustafakemalpaşa and Karacabey as an indication of the tradition of breeding horses in the region.This article focuses on the data concerned with horse breeding during the 19th century in the townships of Kirmasti and Mihaliç, as well as examining the establishment of Mihaliç Çiftlikât-ı Hümâyûnu and the process in which this became the Karacabey Harası in the Republican era