FIGURE A.1. Population of Acre, 1690 to 1840.
1. Maundrell, “Journey,” 428, mentions in 1687 “a large Khan, a mosque and a few poor cottages.” In a footnote, 300–400 inhabitants are indicated.
2. Eneman, Resa, 278, gives in 1711 100 Greek families, 10 Jewish, and 200–300 Turkish households. This would imply a total of some 1,200 to 1,600 people and seems high. His count may include incidentally stationed troops. He also writes “Maronita Nagra fa’ Kopter och Armener inga.”
3. De Saint Maure, Nouveau Voyage, 370, declares in 1721 “S. Jean d’Acre est aujourd’hui assez peuplé par le grand nombre de Chrétiens de Nazareth qui sont venus pour fuir la persecution des Arabes” [A good part of the population of Acre today is made up of Christians from Nazareth fleeing Arab persecution.] We do not know what “assez peuplé” means, but it seems that the Christians were a majority.
4. a: AN AE B1, 978, July 20, 1731, and March 16, 1732, describe the occurrence of plague in Acre and coast.
b: Thompson, Holy Land, in 1732 remarks that “this [French Khan] is one of the best buildings … in town; nay, the only one if we except the mosque.” The population must have been fairly small.
5. a: Mariti, Voyage, I, 295, recorded in 1760 that the population had reached 16,000 but that in the same year some 5,000 died of the plague.
b: AN AE B1, 287, March 1760, report from Aleppo describes major plague in coastal cities.
c: Ya’ari, Sheluhei, 450, writes that the 1759 earthquake in Safed sent many Jews to Acre, where most perished in the plague of 1760.
6. a: Lusignan, History, 180, estimates in 1770 the population at 40,000. This seems wildly exaggerated. (His estimate of 250 people for Haifa at the same time seems to be reasonable; ibid., 182.) See also Carmel, Geschichte, 34.
b: While Lusignan in 1770 estimates a population of 40,000, Browne in 1797 will estimate a population of half that or less. But Lusignan’s estimate does not seem quite that outrageous if we take into account the devastating plague of 1785/86.
c: The plague of 1785/86 resulted, according to French sources, in the death of several French people and half the population (AN AE B1 979, July 12, 1785; Feb. 15, 1786; July 10, 1786). Although this is certainly an exaggeration, the death of a third of the population in one epidemic seems, in traditional settings, quite possible (Dols, Black Death, 215–218). The loss of population was compounded in the following winter by starvation. According to the French sources (AN AE B1 979, Dec. 10, 1786) starvation was so severe that people ate the cadavers of the dead. Some 4,557 are said to have perished during the famine. (Charles-Roux, Echelles, 137, quoting a letter from Consul Renaudot, April 18, 1787. Unfortunately, Renaudot does not tell us how he obtained this number.)
Extrapolating from Browne’s figure and the heavy losses of population in the ten previous years, even a moderate estimate would suggest 25,000 to 30,000 inhabitants in the late years of Ẓāhir al-‘Umar’s rule, because for the decade 1775–1785 we have no hint in the records of an influx of population into the city, nor any reason to assume that there was one. (See Jacoby, “Crusader Acre,” part 1, for estimates on crusader populations. He claims that even at optimal times 40,000 inhabitants were a physical impossibility. Roughly 9,000 people are living in the walled city of today.)
7. Browne, Travels, 366, in 1797 estimates 15,000–20,000 inhabitants.
8. Seezen, Reisen, 77, in 1806 states that “die Stadtmauer hält den Ort klein aber stark bevölkert.”
9. al-‘Awra, Tārīkh, 186–198, reports a severe plague which killed one-fourth to one-half of all the Muslims, as many as 120 a day—but no Christians. Though the incident is listed in his chronicle for the year 1811, it must refer to the same plague as the French report below. Al-‘Awra’s dating has proved repeatedly to be faulty.
10. The French consul in Acre wrote on March 15, 1813, that out of a population of 5,000 ten died of the plague every day. By April 7, this rate had risen to 14–28 people daily, and on May 20, 1813, he wrote that since January “1,800 or one-third of the population” had died, which would leave a population of approximately 3,500 (AN AE CC Acre, II).
11. Turner, Journal, III, in 1815 indicates a total of 9,000 inhabitants, of which 2,500 were Muslims; 500 Maronite, Jewish, and Latin; 2,000 Greek Catholics; and 2,000 Greek Orthodox.
12. Richter, Wallfahrten, 68, in 1816: “Die Stadt soll 15,000 Einwohner zählen unter welchen viele Armenier und Griechen sich befinden.” He does not seem to be sure. Certainly “viele Armenier” seems surprising.
13. Forbin, Travels, 128, writes that he saw in 1817/18 some 8,000–10,000 inhabitants.
14. Wilson, Travels, II, 48, in 1819: “upward of ten thousand inhabitants,” all in a miserable state.
15. Scholz, Reise, 244, in 1820/21: “Acri hat 12–15,000 Einwohner, davon 800 Griechisch-Orthodoxe, 80 Lateiner, 800 Griechisch-Katholische, 80 Maroniten, 800 Juden.”
16. Berggren, Reisen, II, 225, estimates for 1822 ca. 15,000. Beth Hillel, Unknown Jews, indicates 25,000 “Mahometan” families (i.e., at least 100,000 inhabitants, which is wildly beyond any reasonable figure).
17. Jahn, Reise, 464, estimates for 1826 6,000 inhabitants.
18. Prokesch, Tagebuch, 136, estimates for 1829 10,000 inhabitants, of which 1,500 were Catholic and 500 other Christians. He also mentions 2,000 troops in the citadel but does not indicate whether they are included in the 10,000 or not.
19. Lamartine, Voyage, 328: “Le siège d’Acre par l’armée d’Ibrahim Pacha avait récemment réduit la ville à un morceau de ruines sous lesquelles dix à douze mille morts s’était ensevelis avec des milliers de chameaux.” Even if many of the dead were soldiers, the number of civilians that perished must have been great.
20. Blondel, Deux Ans, 250, comments in 1839 that the siege by Ibrahim and the recent earthquake had made Acre “un vaste chaos de décombres … la population peu considérable” with less than 100 Christians. Narrative of a Mission to the Jews, 314, indicates for the same time 60 Jews in Acre.
21. Fiske, Memorial, 252, describes in 1842 the total ruin of the city after British bombardment.
22. Journal of a Deputation to the East, part 1, 265, indicates in 1849 2,000 people of whom 1,000 were Christians and 120 were Jews.
