- Medieval Studies, Medieval History, Economic History, Atlantic World, Maritime History, Economic Theory, and 13 moreMedieval Iberian History, Portuguese History, Economic Justice, First Global Age, 1400-1800, Early Modern Portuguese History, 15th century Atlantic Europe, Medieval trade, Anglo-Portuguese Studies, Urban History, Medieval Europe, Medieval England, Portuguese Medieval History, and Port citiesedit
- I'm a researcher at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto, working at the CITCEM. My research is on merchants and maritime communities in the late Middle Ages.edit
Embora as relações comerciais anglo-portuguesas para o período tardo-medieval sejam bem conhecidas, a indexação numa base de dados de quase 11 mil registos de entrada e de saída da alfândega de Bristol permite-nos questionar e repensar o... more
Embora as relações comerciais anglo-portuguesas para o período tardo-medieval sejam bem conhecidas, a indexação numa base de dados de quase 11 mil registos de entrada e de saída da alfândega de Bristol permite-nos questionar e repensar o comércio externo de Portugal. É
com base nesses livros de contas guardados nos arquivos nacionais britânicos (Kew, Londres) que este artigo examina o comércio entre Bristol e Portugal, entre os anos de 1461 e 1504. Estas fontes inéditas permitem perceber a relevância económica de Portugal no quadro europeu, bem como o carácter preponderante de Lisboa enquanto grande cidade de comércio internacional.
Although the study of Anglo-Portuguese commercial relations is well-known for the later Middle Ages, a new database containing up to 11 thousand records of entry and exit in the Bristol customs allows us to rethink Portugal’s foreign trade. Buttressed by these Customs Accounts preserved at the National Archives (Kew, London), this article examines the trade between Bristol and Portugal, for the period from 1461 to 1504. These sources enable us to place Portugal within the framework of European economy, and to confirm Lisbon’s preponderance as city of international trade.
com base nesses livros de contas guardados nos arquivos nacionais britânicos (Kew, Londres) que este artigo examina o comércio entre Bristol e Portugal, entre os anos de 1461 e 1504. Estas fontes inéditas permitem perceber a relevância económica de Portugal no quadro europeu, bem como o carácter preponderante de Lisboa enquanto grande cidade de comércio internacional.
Although the study of Anglo-Portuguese commercial relations is well-known for the later Middle Ages, a new database containing up to 11 thousand records of entry and exit in the Bristol customs allows us to rethink Portugal’s foreign trade. Buttressed by these Customs Accounts preserved at the National Archives (Kew, London), this article examines the trade between Bristol and Portugal, for the period from 1461 to 1504. These sources enable us to place Portugal within the framework of European economy, and to confirm Lisbon’s preponderance as city of international trade.
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Recent historiography argues that the legal autonomy of municipal governments created the necessary conditions for successful commercial transactions and economic growth in certain parts of Europe in the later Middle Ages, and that these... more
Recent historiography argues that the legal autonomy of municipal governments created the necessary conditions for successful commercial transactions and economic growth in certain parts of Europe in the later Middle Ages, and that these features attracted foreign merchants. This article uses empirical data from England, Flanders and Normandy to test the following questions: were there significant differences in rules, laws and institutions between one place and another in late medieval western Europe? Were the Portuguese merchants drawn to markets that hypothetically had more effective institutions? The findings demonstrate that legal institutions and conflict management were very similar across western Europe, and that there is no evidence that the Portuguese opted for trading in a certain market because of its effective institutions. Moreover, the article claims that the merchants seemed to prioritise protection and privilege while trading abroad, and it highlights the role of commercial diplomacy in conflict management.
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The maritime history of Portugal is commonly associated with Henry the Navigator and the voyages of exploration during the “age of discoveries,” which allowed the exchange of exotic commodities and the cross-cultural encounter of... more
The maritime history of Portugal is commonly associated with Henry the Navigator and the voyages of exploration during the “age of discoveries,” which allowed the exchange of exotic commodities and the cross-cultural encounter of civilisations. But before Portugal became an empire, its merchants and ships were commuting between Iberia and Atlantic markets laden with figs, raisins, wine, olive oil, and other typical Portuguese commodities. This article discusses the medieval origins of Portugal's maritime trade before the overseas expansion by presenting a critical overview of the first commercial contacts in England, Flanders, Zeeland, and Normandy, and by analysing the major shifts in Portugal's commercial exchange. It also examines the relation between fifteenth-century commerce and overseas expansion in order to identify changes in Euro-Atlantic trade patterns.
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Resumo Este artigo pretende estudar as relações entre Portugal e a Inglaterra desde meados do século XIV até às primeiras décadas do seguinte, através de uma análise combinada aos tratados, embaixadas e actividade mercantil em... more
Resumo
Este artigo pretende estudar as relações entre Portugal e a Inglaterra desde meados do século XIV até às primeiras décadas do seguinte, através de uma análise combinada aos tratados, embaixadas e actividade mercantil em Inglaterra, na qual se procura entender que nexos terão existido entre diplomacia e comércio. Nesta perspectiva, a primeira parte caracteriza alguns acordos políticos e económicos obtidos em Inglaterra, bem como o perfil dos agentes diplomáticos, enquanto que na segunda parte é apresentado um estudo de caso em que se pretende perceber qual o efeito da actividade diplomática sobre o comércio.
Palavras-chave: diplomacia, comércio, Portugal, Inglaterra
Abstract
Our aim is to understand correlations between diplomacy and trade in Anglo-Portuguese relations from the mid-fourteenth century to the first decades of the fifteenth century. This we achieve through a combined analysis of treaties, their context and personnel involved, against the perceived development of Portuguese mercantile activity in England..The first section sets out to demonstrate how varying political and economic interests were reflected on the making of treaties, while in the second section a case-study of the effects of diplomacy on trade is presented.
Keywords: diplomacy, trade, Portugal, England
Este artigo pretende estudar as relações entre Portugal e a Inglaterra desde meados do século XIV até às primeiras décadas do seguinte, através de uma análise combinada aos tratados, embaixadas e actividade mercantil em Inglaterra, na qual se procura entender que nexos terão existido entre diplomacia e comércio. Nesta perspectiva, a primeira parte caracteriza alguns acordos políticos e económicos obtidos em Inglaterra, bem como o perfil dos agentes diplomáticos, enquanto que na segunda parte é apresentado um estudo de caso em que se pretende perceber qual o efeito da actividade diplomática sobre o comércio.
Palavras-chave: diplomacia, comércio, Portugal, Inglaterra
Abstract
Our aim is to understand correlations between diplomacy and trade in Anglo-Portuguese relations from the mid-fourteenth century to the first decades of the fifteenth century. This we achieve through a combined analysis of treaties, their context and personnel involved, against the perceived development of Portuguese mercantile activity in England..The first section sets out to demonstrate how varying political and economic interests were reflected on the making of treaties, while in the second section a case-study of the effects of diplomacy on trade is presented.
Keywords: diplomacy, trade, Portugal, England
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[If you need a copy of this paper, you can request a copy by e-mail.] La Flandre a toujours été un destin important pour les marchand portugais, au Bas Moyen Âge. La liberté de commerce a souvent été octroyée par les Ducs de Bourgogne,... more
[If you need a copy of this paper, you can request a copy by e-mail.]
La Flandre a toujours été un destin important pour les marchand portugais, au Bas Moyen Âge. La liberté de commerce a souvent été octroyée par les Ducs de Bourgogne, Assurant l’établissement d’un comptoir portugais, et le droit d’exercer la justice dans la communauté portugaise. En tout cas, des conflits commerciaux, des intérêts politiques et souvent des épisodes de violence auraient un effet dans le commerce international. Est-ce que ces conflits se basaient sur la nationalité des marchands ? Les marchands portugais seraient-ils considérés comme des étrangers et, en consequence, privés de leurs droits ? Quels mécanismes les auraient pu protéger des tromperies, des vols et de la violence ? Ce travail, élaboré avec des sources flamandes, bourguignonnes et portugaises, ne constituant qu’un premie ressai d’une recherche en cours, s’adresse à cês questions en même temps qu’il offre des informations sur les activités des marchands portugais dans la Flandre médiévale.
Flanders has always been an important marketplace for Portuguese merchants, in the later Middle Ages. Freedom of trade was often granted by the dukes of Burgundy, ensuring the establishment of the Portuguese factory, and the right to apply justice within the community. Yet, commercial conflicts, political interests, and seldom cases of violence would have an effect on international trade. Would those conflicts be based on the nationality of merchants? Would Portuguese merchants be considered foreigners and, due to such condition, have their rights deprived? Which mechanisms would have allowed them protection from cheating, theft and violence? This paper, sustained by Flemish, Burgundian, and Portuguese sources, being a first draft of an ongoing investigation, issues these questions while presenting some data on the activity of Portuguese merchants in medieval Flanders.
La Flandre a toujours été un destin important pour les marchand portugais, au Bas Moyen Âge. La liberté de commerce a souvent été octroyée par les Ducs de Bourgogne, Assurant l’établissement d’un comptoir portugais, et le droit d’exercer la justice dans la communauté portugaise. En tout cas, des conflits commerciaux, des intérêts politiques et souvent des épisodes de violence auraient un effet dans le commerce international. Est-ce que ces conflits se basaient sur la nationalité des marchands ? Les marchands portugais seraient-ils considérés comme des étrangers et, en consequence, privés de leurs droits ? Quels mécanismes les auraient pu protéger des tromperies, des vols et de la violence ? Ce travail, élaboré avec des sources flamandes, bourguignonnes et portugaises, ne constituant qu’un premie ressai d’une recherche en cours, s’adresse à cês questions en même temps qu’il offre des informations sur les activités des marchands portugais dans la Flandre médiévale.
Flanders has always been an important marketplace for Portuguese merchants, in the later Middle Ages. Freedom of trade was often granted by the dukes of Burgundy, ensuring the establishment of the Portuguese factory, and the right to apply justice within the community. Yet, commercial conflicts, political interests, and seldom cases of violence would have an effect on international trade. Would those conflicts be based on the nationality of merchants? Would Portuguese merchants be considered foreigners and, due to such condition, have their rights deprived? Which mechanisms would have allowed them protection from cheating, theft and violence? This paper, sustained by Flemish, Burgundian, and Portuguese sources, being a first draft of an ongoing investigation, issues these questions while presenting some data on the activity of Portuguese merchants in medieval Flanders.
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With the development of research in economic history, historians are now testing the hypothesis that maritime networks and port cities contributed to the phenomenon of European integration. This essay applies a holistic approach to... more
With the development of research in economic history, historians are now testing the hypothesis that maritime networks and port cities contributed to the phenomenon of European integration. This essay applies a holistic approach to discuss how the city of Lisbon, located outside the privileged setting of multi-cultural interactions that was the Mediterranean Sea, became appealing to merchants from far and wide in late-medieval Europe. To do so, it examines a whole array of commercial, normative, fiscal, royal and judicial sources from European archives to discuss if it is possible to observe this phenomenon of European integration in fifteenth-century Lisbon. It first presents and analyses examples of meaningful pull factors, and then it debates elements of integration and opposition in Portugal’s main port city. Although Lisbon grew to become a cosmopolitan city of merchants, the rise of trade also turned into a factor of intense competition, which sometimes pushed traders in the opposite direction of a purported European integration.
‘Un porto di due mari. Lisbona e le reti marittime europee del XV secolo
Con lo sviluppo della ricerca relativa alla storia economica, gli storici stanno attualmente verificando l'ipotesi di come le reti marittime e le città portuali abbiano contribuito al fenomeno dell'integrazione europea. Questo saggio applica un approccio olistico per discutere di come nell’Europa tardo medievale la città di Lisbona, posta fuori da quello scenario di interazioni multiculturali rappresentato dal Mar Mediterraneo, divenne interessante anche per i mercanti più distanti. Per fare ciò vengono esaminate una serie di fonti fiscali, commerciali, normative, reali e giudiziarie provenienti da alcuni archivi europei per discutere se sia possibile considerare questo fenomeno di integrazione europea nella Lisbona del XV secolo. In primo luogo si presentano e analizzano esempi significativi di fattori di aattrazione, quindi si discute relativamente agli elementi di integrazione e resistenza nella principale città portuale del Portogallo. Sebbene Lisbona stesse diventando una città cosmopolita di mercanti, l'ascesa del commercio si trasformò anche in un fattore di confronto e rivalità, che a volte spingeva i commercianti nella direzione opposta a quella di una presunta integrazione europea.
‘Un porto di due mari. Lisbona e le reti marittime europee del XV secolo
Con lo sviluppo della ricerca relativa alla storia economica, gli storici stanno attualmente verificando l'ipotesi di come le reti marittime e le città portuali abbiano contribuito al fenomeno dell'integrazione europea. Questo saggio applica un approccio olistico per discutere di come nell’Europa tardo medievale la città di Lisbona, posta fuori da quello scenario di interazioni multiculturali rappresentato dal Mar Mediterraneo, divenne interessante anche per i mercanti più distanti. Per fare ciò vengono esaminate una serie di fonti fiscali, commerciali, normative, reali e giudiziarie provenienti da alcuni archivi europei per discutere se sia possibile considerare questo fenomeno di integrazione europea nella Lisbona del XV secolo. In primo luogo si presentano e analizzano esempi significativi di fattori di aattrazione, quindi si discute relativamente agli elementi di integrazione e resistenza nella principale città portuale del Portogallo. Sebbene Lisbona stesse diventando una città cosmopolita di mercanti, l'ascesa del commercio si trasformò anche in un fattore di confronto e rivalità, che a volte spingeva i commercianti nella direzione opposta a quella di una presunta integrazione europea.
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This book is on the history of Porto in the fourteenth century.
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This book is on the History of Porto in the fifteenth century.
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For many years, historians have considered the Anglo-Portuguese commercial agreement of 1353 and the Treaty of Windsor of 1386 as part of the political friendship between England and Portugal, and as tools for promoting trade between the... more
For many years, historians have considered the Anglo-Portuguese commercial agreement of 1353 and the Treaty of Windsor of 1386 as part of the political friendship between England and Portugal, and as tools for promoting trade between the two realms. Recent research, however, has been putting this theory into perspective by suggesting that the first commercial statute was not negotiated to boost Anglo- Portuguese trade but to allow safe passage through English waters into Norman and Flemish ports, and that the alliance of 1386 actually created obstacles for the merchants of Portugal in Euro-Atlantic markets. To what extent was commercial diplomacy beneficial for Portuguese merchants? How did this economic relation evolve throughout the later middle ages? This paper will address these questions by taking into account information from Portuguese, English, Flemish, and French sources to discuss the origins of Anglo-Portuguese commercial relations in the middle ages, and its relevance for the Portuguese economy during the transition to the early modern period.
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Trade was often the intermediary vessel of cultural novelties across Europe in the Middle Ages, stimulating the contact between different communities and allowing ideas to spread from one region to another. This paper will discuss... more
Trade was often the intermediary vessel of cultural novelties across Europe in the Middle Ages, stimulating the contact between different communities and allowing ideas to spread from one region to another. This paper will discuss cross-cultural trade in medieval Europe by presenting some examples of how art, architecture, and societies were shaped by the exchange of a vast array of commercial and intellectual wares. It will show how merchants and the wheels of commerce also provoked shifts in knowledge, institutions, society, fashion, and taste, thus being partially responsible for moving medieval Europe forward.
Durante la Edad Media, aunque la mayor parte de la población de Portugal vivía en el interior, los portugueses siempre han sido considerados gente de mar. Transportistas, mercaderes y marineros establecieron contactos comerciales con las... more
Durante la Edad Media, aunque la mayor parte de la población de Portugal vivía en el interior, los portugueses siempre han sido considerados gente de mar. Transportistas, mercaderes y marineros establecieron contactos comerciales con las principales ciudades del Norte de Europa, en Bristol, Londres, Harfleur, Middelburg o Brujas.
El objetivo de esta ponencia es entender la articulación que existió entre los hombres - los portugueses - y el mar - las ciudades portuarias de la Europa atlántica. ¿De dónde eran estos hombres? ¿Cuál fue el origen de sus productos? ¿Existió una correlación entre las ciudades de origen (en Portugal) y los puertos de destino (en Inglaterra, Normandía, Flandes)? ¿Cuáles fueron las principales consecuencias del comercio atlántico en el desarrollo urbano de Portugal?
La hipótesis que aquí se presenta es que había una especialización marítima diferenciada en un determinado período, y que el desarrollo de la actividad marítima del Atlántico ha sido crucial para el crecimiento urbano y definición de las elites municipales.
El objetivo de esta ponencia es entender la articulación que existió entre los hombres - los portugueses - y el mar - las ciudades portuarias de la Europa atlántica. ¿De dónde eran estos hombres? ¿Cuál fue el origen de sus productos? ¿Existió una correlación entre las ciudades de origen (en Portugal) y los puertos de destino (en Inglaterra, Normandía, Flandes)? ¿Cuáles fueron las principales consecuencias del comercio atlántico en el desarrollo urbano de Portugal?
La hipótesis que aquí se presenta es que había una especialización marítima diferenciada en un determinado período, y que el desarrollo de la actividad marítima del Atlántico ha sido crucial para el crecimiento urbano y definición de las elites municipales.
The conquest of Ceuta (1415) and the discovery of the islands of Madeira (1419) and Azores (1427) pushed Portugal towards the Atlantic, in an enterprise carried out largely by adventurers, and encouraged by the puzzling figure of Henry,... more
The conquest of Ceuta (1415) and the discovery of the islands of Madeira (1419) and Azores (1427) pushed Portugal towards the Atlantic, in an enterprise carried out largely by adventurers, and encouraged by the puzzling figure of Henry, ‘the Navigator’. What had been discovered was not just land but new territories to be explored, to obtain new products from and therefore increase profit; striking is the fact that Portugal was a country with no more than a million and a half inhabitants, dominated by a rural landscape, and with an underdeveloped industry. Yet Portuguese seafarers and merchants were a constant presence in markets such as Bruges, Middelburg, Harfleur, London, Bristol and Southampton, first shipping and selling figs, raisins, wine, oil, wax, leather, litmus, and salt – in the beginning of the fifteenth century –, and later sugar, diamonds, ivory, and slaves – from mid-fifteenth century onward. How did the discoveries affect trade networks connecting Portugal to Atlantic Europe? What changes occurred from a small-scale economy of traditional products to one of added value goods? Is it possible to say merchants were agents of the discoveries, thus, to some extent responsible for Portugal’s transition from Iberian kingdom to Atlantic Empire?
Through the analysis of sources from Flanders, England, France and Portugal, the argument put forward in this paper is that Atlantic trade and oceanic expansion were entwined, playing a crucial role in the economy, growth and construction of modern Portugal.
Through the analysis of sources from Flanders, England, France and Portugal, the argument put forward in this paper is that Atlantic trade and oceanic expansion were entwined, playing a crucial role in the economy, growth and construction of modern Portugal.
This paper attempts to discuss whether the increase of legal regulation roughly from the thirteenth century onwards constituted a factor of freedom and growth to international commerce (as Epstein saw it), or a hampering strain, slowing... more
This paper attempts to discuss whether the increase of legal regulation roughly from the thirteenth century onwards constituted a factor of freedom and growth to international commerce (as Epstein saw it), or a hampering strain, slowing down contacts transferences that could have been otherwise much more intense.
It is well known that the twelfth and thirteenth centuries swept the Christian West with ample and varied changes, ranging from economy and social outline to politics and literate culture. As the capacity to produce rose, so too did the trading channels that moved products around; simultaneously, as society and its affairs grew more complex and as rulers, in different degrees according to place and time, sought to ennoble and broaden their authority with the care of the subjects and the common weal, the development of law, both in theory and practice, became of the essence. With the triumph of the written record, accountability pervaded every sphere of human activity. But do these general lines, necessarily incomplete, even if acceptable, tell all there is to know about the genesis of late medieval or early modern European trade?
It is desirable that a broad outline must be supplied with thick, particular description and analysis in order to be better understood. This paper will thence be focused on 1) a specific community of merchants – the Portuguese in Flanders in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; 2) the institutional framework and the judicial procedures by which that community had to abide in Flanders – through the study of select court cases from Bruges; 3) and the legal output in Portugal concerning trade (to be found fully crystallised within a systematic body of law in the fifteenth-century ordinances of Kings Duarte and Afonso V), against a background of scholastic speculation on the subject and the formation of the first pan-European normative sources on international commerce (above all, the Consulado de mar).
This will enable to structure this study in two parts: one, dealing with the discourse of law tout court, the other, with the coexistence of commercial practice with the practice of law. It will thence be able to enquire whether, for instance, Portuguese merchants seeking their fortune abroad found major discrepancies among the various codes of law they inevitably encountered; whether home and foreign authorities provided them with rules and suitable courts where to enforce them; whether commercial law was perceived as a whole or simply as a sum of privileges; whether regulation meant justice or masked deprivation of rights; how and why law was broken in the course of everyday life and according to wider political events (the Hundred Years War, for a start); or whether the presence of law and law enforcement could actually be expected to help the merchant planning his business and estimating costs, risks and profit.
It is well known that the twelfth and thirteenth centuries swept the Christian West with ample and varied changes, ranging from economy and social outline to politics and literate culture. As the capacity to produce rose, so too did the trading channels that moved products around; simultaneously, as society and its affairs grew more complex and as rulers, in different degrees according to place and time, sought to ennoble and broaden their authority with the care of the subjects and the common weal, the development of law, both in theory and practice, became of the essence. With the triumph of the written record, accountability pervaded every sphere of human activity. But do these general lines, necessarily incomplete, even if acceptable, tell all there is to know about the genesis of late medieval or early modern European trade?
It is desirable that a broad outline must be supplied with thick, particular description and analysis in order to be better understood. This paper will thence be focused on 1) a specific community of merchants – the Portuguese in Flanders in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; 2) the institutional framework and the judicial procedures by which that community had to abide in Flanders – through the study of select court cases from Bruges; 3) and the legal output in Portugal concerning trade (to be found fully crystallised within a systematic body of law in the fifteenth-century ordinances of Kings Duarte and Afonso V), against a background of scholastic speculation on the subject and the formation of the first pan-European normative sources on international commerce (above all, the Consulado de mar).
This will enable to structure this study in two parts: one, dealing with the discourse of law tout court, the other, with the coexistence of commercial practice with the practice of law. It will thence be able to enquire whether, for instance, Portuguese merchants seeking their fortune abroad found major discrepancies among the various codes of law they inevitably encountered; whether home and foreign authorities provided them with rules and suitable courts where to enforce them; whether commercial law was perceived as a whole or simply as a sum of privileges; whether regulation meant justice or masked deprivation of rights; how and why law was broken in the course of everyday life and according to wider political events (the Hundred Years War, for a start); or whether the presence of law and law enforcement could actually be expected to help the merchant planning his business and estimating costs, risks and profit.
International seminar Lisbon, 25-26 October 2018 Organised by the Instituto de Estudos Medievais, FCSH NOVA University of Lisbon, the University of Leiden and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. This initiative is funded by the Fundação... more
International seminar
Lisbon, 25-26 October 2018
Organised by the Instituto de Estudos Medievais, FCSH NOVA University of Lisbon, the University of Leiden and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
This initiative is funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia under the strategic project of the IEM UID/HIS/00749/2013. It integrates the international research project “Maritime Conflict Management in Atlantic Europe, 1200-1600”, funded by the Dutch NWO (ref. 236-50-006).
Lisbon, 25-26 October 2018
Organised by the Instituto de Estudos Medievais, FCSH NOVA University of Lisbon, the University of Leiden and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
This initiative is funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia under the strategic project of the IEM UID/HIS/00749/2013. It integrates the international research project “Maritime Conflict Management in Atlantic Europe, 1200-1600”, funded by the Dutch NWO (ref. 236-50-006).
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** UPDATE ** Confirmed keynote speakers: * Michel Bochaca (La Rochelle) * David Igual (La Mancha) * Bart Lambert (York) * Pierre Prétou (La Rochelle) * Louis Sicking (U. Leiden) * Final call: applications must be sent by 15... more
** UPDATE **
Confirmed keynote speakers:
* Michel Bochaca (La Rochelle)
* David Igual (La Mancha)
* Bart Lambert (York)
* Pierre Prétou (La Rochelle)
* Louis Sicking (U. Leiden)
* Final call: applications must be sent by 15 June *
In the Middle Ages, maritime conflict has developed hand in hand with international trade. Over time, specific institutions were established to address disputes arising from violence or mishap at sea and in coastal areas. Recent historiography emphasises that late-medieval merchants, together with consuetudinary law and common legal practices, relied on the legal autonomy of municipal governments to resolve maritime and commercial conflicts. For highly urbanised areas like the Low Countries, it has been argued that urban legal autonomy played a decisive role in inter-urban competition to attract foreign merchants, thus stimulating economic growth in the most successful cities. However, in other regions of Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula and in England for instance, the situation was different. Certain cities – like Lisbon and London – rose to dominance without facing competition from other cities. Some of these cities were highly dependent, from a judicial standpoint, from the crown's intricate bureaucracy. So, how were maritime conflicts resolved in port cities under the authority and control of central governments or the crown? And how to explain that places not involved in urban competition, which sometimes lacked autonomy in judicial matters, could economically expand? In addition, the role of central governments in highly urbanised regions, including the Italian city states and the Low Countries, will also be discussed from the perspective of maritime conflict management. This seminar on Central Governments and the Resolution of Maritime Conflicts, 1200–1600 aims at exploring these questions in a broad, comparative perspective, by looking at how disputes were managed and settled both in Atlantic Europe, more specifically in the Iberian Peninsula, and around the Mediterranean in the later Middle Ages. The seminar will include invited keynote presentations by European scholars. The full programme will soon be published online. Paper proposals We welcome paper proposals for a twenty-minute presentation on topics related to the call. We encourage papers related to merchant conflicts and their resolution in central courts, legal strategies, merchants and governments' diplomatic exchanges, among other approaches.
Confirmed keynote speakers:
* Michel Bochaca (La Rochelle)
* David Igual (La Mancha)
* Bart Lambert (York)
* Pierre Prétou (La Rochelle)
* Louis Sicking (U. Leiden)
* Final call: applications must be sent by 15 June *
In the Middle Ages, maritime conflict has developed hand in hand with international trade. Over time, specific institutions were established to address disputes arising from violence or mishap at sea and in coastal areas. Recent historiography emphasises that late-medieval merchants, together with consuetudinary law and common legal practices, relied on the legal autonomy of municipal governments to resolve maritime and commercial conflicts. For highly urbanised areas like the Low Countries, it has been argued that urban legal autonomy played a decisive role in inter-urban competition to attract foreign merchants, thus stimulating economic growth in the most successful cities. However, in other regions of Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula and in England for instance, the situation was different. Certain cities – like Lisbon and London – rose to dominance without facing competition from other cities. Some of these cities were highly dependent, from a judicial standpoint, from the crown's intricate bureaucracy. So, how were maritime conflicts resolved in port cities under the authority and control of central governments or the crown? And how to explain that places not involved in urban competition, which sometimes lacked autonomy in judicial matters, could economically expand? In addition, the role of central governments in highly urbanised regions, including the Italian city states and the Low Countries, will also be discussed from the perspective of maritime conflict management. This seminar on Central Governments and the Resolution of Maritime Conflicts, 1200–1600 aims at exploring these questions in a broad, comparative perspective, by looking at how disputes were managed and settled both in Atlantic Europe, more specifically in the Iberian Peninsula, and around the Mediterranean in the later Middle Ages. The seminar will include invited keynote presentations by European scholars. The full programme will soon be published online. Paper proposals We welcome paper proposals for a twenty-minute presentation on topics related to the call. We encourage papers related to merchant conflicts and their resolution in central courts, legal strategies, merchants and governments' diplomatic exchanges, among other approaches.
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The IEM and the CITCEM are organising a conference on the economy of medieval Portugal and Europe in order to discuss recent research on this broad topic, but also to celebrate the influential work of Professor Peter Spufford in the new... more
The IEM and the CITCEM are organising a conference on the economy of medieval Portugal and Europe in order to discuss recent research on this broad topic, but also to celebrate the influential work of Professor Peter Spufford in the new generation of economic historians in Portugal and elsewhere. This conference will present current research by more than a dozen scholars working on a range of themes connected with the medieval economy of Portugal and Europe, including keynote lectures by Peter Spufford (Queens’ College, Cambridge) and Hilario Casado Alonso (Valladolid). Young PhD students and post-doctoral researchers from Portugal and abroad are invited to submit their proposal to present and discuss their studies
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Central Governments and the Resolution of Maritime Confl icts, 1200–1600. Lisbon, 25-26 October 2018 In the Middle Ages, maritime con ict has developed hand in hand with international trade. Over time, speci c institutions were... more
Central Governments and the Resolution of Maritime Confl icts,
1200–1600. Lisbon, 25-26 October 2018
In the Middle Ages, maritime con ict has developed hand in hand with international trade. Over time, speci c institutions were established to address disputes arising from violence or mishap at sea and in coastal areas. Recent historiography emphasises that late-medieval merchants, together with consuetudinary law and common legal practices, relied on the legal autonomy of municipal governments to resolve maritime and commercial con icts. For highly urbanised areas like the Low Countries, it has been argued that urban legal autonomy played a decisive role in inter-urban competition to attract foreign merchants, thus stimulating economic growth in the most successful cities.
However, in other regions of Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula and in England for instance, the situation was di erent. Certain cities – like Lisbon and London – rose to dominance without facing competition from other cities. Some of these cities were highly dependent, from a judicial standpoint, from the crown’s intricate bureaucracy. So, how were maritime con icts resolved in port cities under the authority and control of central governments or the crown? And how to explain that places not involved in urban competition, which sometimes lacked autonomy in judicial matters, could economically expand? In addition, the role of central governments in highly urbanised regions, including the Italian city states and the Low Countries, will also be discussed from the perspective of maritime con ict management. is seminar on Central Governments and the Resolution of Maritime Confl icts, 1200–1600 aims at exploring these questions in a broad, comparative perspective, by looking at how disputes were managed and settled both in Atlantic Europe, more speci cally in the Iberian Peninsula, and around the Mediterranean in the later Middle Ages.
1200–1600. Lisbon, 25-26 October 2018
In the Middle Ages, maritime con ict has developed hand in hand with international trade. Over time, speci c institutions were established to address disputes arising from violence or mishap at sea and in coastal areas. Recent historiography emphasises that late-medieval merchants, together with consuetudinary law and common legal practices, relied on the legal autonomy of municipal governments to resolve maritime and commercial con icts. For highly urbanised areas like the Low Countries, it has been argued that urban legal autonomy played a decisive role in inter-urban competition to attract foreign merchants, thus stimulating economic growth in the most successful cities.
However, in other regions of Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula and in England for instance, the situation was di erent. Certain cities – like Lisbon and London – rose to dominance without facing competition from other cities. Some of these cities were highly dependent, from a judicial standpoint, from the crown’s intricate bureaucracy. So, how were maritime con icts resolved in port cities under the authority and control of central governments or the crown? And how to explain that places not involved in urban competition, which sometimes lacked autonomy in judicial matters, could economically expand? In addition, the role of central governments in highly urbanised regions, including the Italian city states and the Low Countries, will also be discussed from the perspective of maritime con ict management. is seminar on Central Governments and the Resolution of Maritime Confl icts, 1200–1600 aims at exploring these questions in a broad, comparative perspective, by looking at how disputes were managed and settled both in Atlantic Europe, more speci cally in the Iberian Peninsula, and around the Mediterranean in the later Middle Ages.