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- Convenor:
-
Maarten Draper
(European University Institute)
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- Location:
- Bloco 1, Sala 0.06
- Start time:
- 13 July, 2017 at
Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
- Session slots:
- 1
Short Abstract:
In this panel the character and function of Italian merchant communities in several early modern port cities are discussed in order to explore the idea of 'Italian merchant diaspora' and its role in the expansion of the European economic system.
Long Abstract:
In his contribution to Einaudi's series Storia d'Italia, Fernand Braudel famously introduced the concept of 'the Italy outside Italy', thereby referring to the cultural, political, and economic role Italy played on the European stage. The chapter focuses on the Renaissance period, which reflects a more general concern within historical literature on Italy on the time of 'Italian greatness', but hardly deals with the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. However, some recent studies have suggested that, although Italian merchants were no longer the leading commercial group of Europe, Italy's role in international commerce was not finished by the seventeenth century. Rather, Italian mercantile and banking networks adapted to the new situation by cooperating more with foreigners and operating within other empires.
In this process, communities of Italian merchants living outside Italy constituted a vital link between the commercial systems of Italy and those of their host countries. Their presence in important port cities such as Lisbon, Cadiz, or Amsterdam facilitated the circulation of goods, knowledge, and credit between the shores of Europe and the America's. In this panel the characteristics these groups of merchants and the role they played in the development of the European commercial system are explored further. How can the groups of Italian merchants living and working outside Italy be characterized? What was their role in the expansion of the European economic system? What was their relationship with their place of origin? Would it make sense to speak of an 'Italian merchant diaspora'?
Accepted papers:
Session 1Nunziatella Alessandrini (CHAM)
Paper short abstract:
This paper is focused on the social and economic role of the Florentin Merchant Giacomo de’ Bardi in Lisbon during the 16th century.
Paper long abstract:
Since the 14th century, the de' Bardi family of Florentine merchants developed a politic of spreading their economical activities by establishing branches in several Italian and foreign cities. In 1338 they were given commercial privileges by the Portuguese king and, with the Atlantic and East expansion, they considerably increased their businesses. In the 16th century, a member of the family, Jacome (Giacomo) de' Bardi, had a determinant socio-economic role, both within the Italian community in Lisbon as in the Portuguese society.
With an history ranging throughout all the 16th century, including important moments of political and economic changes, the case of this particular merchant reflects all the pecularities of the ways of acting of Italian merchants outside their home land even though always maintaining strong bonds with Italy.
Maarten Draper (European University Institute)
Paper short abstract:
In this paper the social, religious, political, and economic activities and affiliations of the Italian merchants in Amsterdam in the second half of the seventeenth century is reviewed. The main question of the paper is: to what extent was 'Italianness' the basis of these activities?
Paper long abstract:
Perhaps one of the most debated changes in the early modern history of the European economy is the rise of Dutch commerce and shipping during the seventeenth century. After Antwerp lost its primacy due to the Dutch Revolt, Amsterdam became the center of European trade for a period of time. The city's population boomed due to expanding trade, shipping, and industry. Amsterdam was a gateway to the vast Dutch trading system and offered opportunities to a wide range of immigrants from across Europe.
A small, divers group of merchants from Italy, or of Italian descent, was also attracted to Amsterdam. The group consisted of Genoese, Florentines, Venetians, and Lombards, who came to Amsterdam directly from Italy, or via other northern trade centers. The group consisted of Catholics, Calvinists, and Jews. As Amsterdam did not formally recognize 'trade nations', the question arises whether they constituted a group at all.
In this paper this question is explored by reviewing the social, religious, political, and economic activities of the Italian merchants in Amsterdam in the second half of the seventeenth century. Through a study of both Dutch and Italian source material an attempt is made to assess to what extent 'Italianness' was a basis for these activities. Finally, the findings are related to discussions about the merchant diasporas and the 'modernity' of the Amsterdam institutional context.
Fausto Fioriti (Università degli Studi di Milano)
Paper short abstract:
L'intento di questo intervento è quello di analizzare l'esperienza di Battista Durazzo che, per poco più di un anno, visse a Smirne come agente di una compagnia commerciale. Del suo caso ci interessa mettere in evidenza la sua formazione mercantile, le sue attività e le sue reti commerciali.
Paper long abstract:
La riapertura dei rapporti con la Porta nel 1665 diede al patriziato e ai mercanti genovesi nuove possibilità di guadagno: l'Impero Ottomano era un enorme mercato di sbocco e la Repubblica di Genova stava vivendo una seconda età dell'oro legata, soprattutto, all'arrivo di grandi quantità di argento dalla Spagna. Le nuove possibilità di guadagno coinvolgevano tutti gli strati della società: dai finanzieri aristocratici ai padroni marittimi, dai procuratori ai mediatori, fino ad arrivare a quanti lavoravano nella manifattura tessile destinata all'esportazione.
Per quanto riguarda i commerci col Levante le fonti sono piuttosto avare, specie quelle private. Fanno eccezione le carte di Battista Durazzo, patrizio genovese che visse e commerciò a Smirne per circa un anno e mezzo tra il 1668 e il 1669. Si tratta di cinque libri contabili e un copialettere, che ci hanno permesso di ricostruire il suo soggiorno in quello che era il più importante scalo commerciale dell'Impero Ottomano. Soprattutto ci informano sulla sua formazione mercantile e sul suo modus operandi, mostrandoci una quotidianità segnata da complesse relazioni interpersonali che lo legavano sia ai giusdicenti locali sia agli altri mercanti attivi sulla piazza, fossero essi franchi, ebrei, armeni o genovesi. Una documentazione preziosa che ci dà la possibilità di ricostruire le sue reti commerciali, fornendoci molte informazioni economiche sulla Smirne del Seicento.