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7 - The organization of trade in Europe and Asia, 1400–1800

from Part Two - Trade, Exchange, and Production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2015

By
Francesca Trivellato
Edited by
Jerry H. Bentley ,
Sanjay Subrahmanyam  and
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks
Jerry H. Bentley
Affiliation:
University of Hawaii, Manoa
Sanjay Subrahmanyam
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
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Summary

This chapter describes the study of the organization of trade in Europe and Asia during the early modern period. Technological innovations in ship design and navigation instruments were not the only factors that improved the safety and reliability of long-distance trade. European transoceanic navigation became more secure in the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries because of the institutional support that the Dutch and English made available to their vessels rather than because of dramatic technological improvements. Periodical markets where buyers and sellers could meet and inspect the merchandise were a universal solution to the weakness of information networks. Raising funds to finance long-distance trade was no less a problem than securing competent and reliable associates and agents abroad. In Europe, women's dowries commonly provided an influx of capital and shielded partners from external creditors since, in case of bankruptcy, dowries took precedence over other credits in the debt settlement.
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge World History , pp. 160 - 189
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2015

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References

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