Italian merchants played a pivotal role in the international trade of England and the Low Countries during the late Middle Ages. While the field is well established, the examination of a vast array of Italian business sources kept in private and public archives offers important new insights.
The ten studies in this volume (two published in English for the first time) reveal previously unknown sources. These are used to examine the role and activity of Italians in London and Bruges. Most of the volume is devoted to the Italian communities in England, many of whom were merchants. They are discussed not only for the role they played in English foreign trade but also for their model of settlement, their relationship with the local population and for the institutions they established. Given the near absence of surviving English business records prior to 1500, this book also provides valuable material for those interested in English mercantile activity. Many indigenous merchants feature in the financial accounts of Italian banks.
Italian Merchant Bankers in North-Western Europe in the Late Middle Ages will be of value to economic historians of England and the Low Countries, and, more broadly, to students and scholars interested in late medieval trade and finance.