Commerce and experience in the seventeenth-century Mediterranean : the market dynamics, commercial culture and naval protection of English trade to Aleppo
This thesis has been written to illustrate the experience of commerce and some of the conditions under which it was undertaken by merchants in the seventeenth-century Mediterranean. It is intended for economic historians with an interest in market exchange. In the Introduction, I review the historiography of commerce and, principally, the interaction between centres of international trade in western Europe and other regions of the world. Differences of interpretation turn on the degree to which western European merchants were able to bring to bear the potential advantages they had in capital resources, financial techniques, comparative advantage, economies of scale and commercial information on regional markets as early as the seventeenth century. Drawing on the existing literature, I argue that the interaction between markets was limited by slow communications and market disequilibria caused by inelasticities of supply. Merchants who organized commercial companies sought to overcome the uncertainty and risk that resulted from trading under these conditions. The principal source for the policies of the Levant Company are the Court Books. They provide neither extensive summaries of policy positions nor justifications
Dickie, Trevor
History
Commerce and experience in the seventeenth-century Mediterranean : the market dynamics, commercial culture and naval protection of English trade to Aleppo. This thesis has been written to illustrate the experience of commerce and some of the conditions under which it was undertaken by merchants in the seventeenth-century Mediterranean. It is intended for economic historians with an interest in market exchange. In the Introduction, I review the historiography of commerce and, principally, the interaction between centres of international trade in western Europe and other regions of the world. Differences of interpretation turn on the degree to which western European merchants were able to bring to bear the potential advantages they had in capital resources, financial techniques, comparative advantage, economies of scale and commercial information on regional markets as early as the seventeenth century. Drawing on the existing literature, I argue that the interaction between markets was limited by slow communications and market disequilibria caused by inelasticities of supply. Merchants who organized commercial companies sought to overcome the uncertainty and risk that resulted from trading under these conditions. The principal source for the policies of the Levant Company are the Court Books. They provide neither extensive summaries of policy positions nor justifications
commerce experience seventeenth_century mediterranean market dynamic commercial culture naval protection english trade write illustrate experience commerce condition undertaken merchant seventeenth_century mediterranean intend economic_historian interest market exchange introduction_review historiography commerce principally interaction centre international_trade western_europe region world differences interpretation turn degree western_european merchant able bring_bear potential advantage capital resource financial technique comparative advantage economy scale commercial information regional market drawing exist_literature argue interaction market limit slow communication market cause supply organize commercial company seek overcome uncertainty risk result trading condition principal_source policy levant company court books provide neither extensive summary policy position justification