Merchant networks

Our article explores the multifaceted cultural and artistic interactions that occurred in New Julfa since its foundation. Established during the Safavid period, New Julfa became a vibrant crossroads connecting various parts of the world, making such interactions inevitable. During this time, Safavid art absorbed European influences, embracing what was then novel and exciting. Regional dynamics and interests further shaped this cultural exchange. The process of interaction did not happen in a specific moment (we can’t say the exact day, time, or year); rather, it unfolded naturally over time, influencing New Julfa and its artists. Our aim is to present a comprehensive view of the environment in New Julfa, show- casing how European, Persian, and Armenian art seamlessly influenced one another. The echoes of these interactions are visible in Armenian churches, the luxurious mansions of the Khojas, and the richly illuminated manuscripts created in this vibrant community. That is why we choose a broad topic as the title of our article which would briefly summarize the material we have collected on this subject over the years.

Jean Chapelot, directeur de recherche au CNRS Archeologie medievale en Ile-de-France L’archeologie medievale est une discipline dont le developpement est le fait des trente dernieres annees. L’objectif de ce seminaire, cree en 2001-2002, a ete de faire en deux ans une part du bilan des recherches des quinze dernieres annees en l’Ile-de-France. Pour ce faire, la parole est donnee aux protagonistes de ces recherches, dans toute la diversite de leur statut. Il a ete fait appel cette annee a une ...

The staple right required merchants arriving from outside the town to offer their wares for sale there, giving the local merchants a head start in purchasing such goods over other merchants in the country. The first staple right for eastern routes appeared in the second half of the fourteenth century. Braşov gave a staple right in 1369 from Louis I-in respect of broadcloth. Sigismund extended the privilege in 1395: foreign merchants had to lay all kind of goods in Braşov and sell or exchange them. The kings never granted Sibiu a staple right in the classic sense, but the privileges (1378, 1384, 1413) they did grant could only be exercised if a staple right was set up and operated.

Pocas veces en la historiografía se configura un libro en el que, mediante la microhistoria, se analicen temas de importante calado como los conflictos competenciales en la Nueva España, el honor, el gobierno dual y el enfoque de género -en un contexto en el que historiográficamente ha sido invisibilizadomediante un suceso concreto que termina enfrentando a las principales autoridades religiosas y civiles del virreinato. La obra La triste historia de Ignacia Cruzat y Góngora. Género, honor y poder en el México virreinal, realizada por Alberto Baena Zapatero, profesor

"Hacer negocios en la Corona de Aragón: redes familiares y fiscalidad entre Palermo, Barcelona y Valencia a mediados del siglo XV"
"Fare affari nella Corona d'Aragona: reti familiari e fiscalità tra Palermo, Barcellona e Valencia a metà del XV secolo"

A seguito dell'apertura dei commerci, e degli ingenti investimenti voluti da Caterina di Russia, numerose città portuali affacciate sulle coste settentrionale (Odessa) e occidentale (Galatz e Braila) del Mar Nero, e nel Mar d'Azov (Berdyansk, Mariupol, Taganrog), tra la fine del XVIII e per larga parte del XIX secolo conobbero uno sviluppo economico, demografico e commerciale di assoluto rilievo. L'esteso e fertile entroterra riforniva regolarmente questi porti di cereali che, da lì, venivano poi esportati verso i paesi del Mediterraneo occidentale e del Nord Europa. Nella gestione di uno dei flussi commerciali più rilevanti del XIX secolo, furono diversi i mercanti e navigatori di origine ligure che seppero inserirvisi. Come si vedrà, dopo i primi pionieri di fine Settecento, presenti sin dalla fondazione di alcuni di questi centri, la presenza commerciale ligure si consolidò a Odessa e nei porti dell'Azov a partire dagli anni Venti del secolo successivo. Beneficiando della rappresentanza consolare del Regno di Sardegna, nei cui ranghi era vantaggioso accedere, diversi liguri (ben distribuiti tra le due riviere) si dimostrarono particolarmente abili a penetrare nei porti dell'Azov, dove installarono case commerciali e seppero ritagliarsi un ruolo come vettori di trasporto, non solo per conto di corregionali, ma anche per commercianti stranieri, soprattutto greci, inglesi e francesi. In questo saggio, si traccerà una panoramica della presenza ligure nel Mar Nero in questa fase storica, tra fine Settecento e metà Ottocento, concentrandosi sulla sola presenza mercantile, nell'intenzione di analizzare la costituzione di network commerciali e le intersezioni tra commercio e rappresentanza istituzionale, lasciando invece a future ricerche lo studio della navigazione e l'analisi dei diversi modelli di relazione tra commercio e trasporto marittimo. C o pyrig ht © Viella N.B: C o pia a d uso p ersonale e istituzionale. È vietata la ripro d uzion e (totale o p arziale) d ell'o p era con q ualsiasi m ezzo effettuata e la sua m essa a disp osizion e di terzi, sia in forma gratuita sia a p a g am e nto.

Como su título indica, la primera parte de este libro se centra en torno de la geografía. Pero es una geografía muy sui generis, atenta especialmente a cuanto concierne a los factores humanos. Y no sólo eso: es también un intento de dar con una particular
especie de historia.
Aun en el caso de haber contado con datos más numerosos y perfectamente
fechados, no nos habríamos podido contentar con una investigación sobre la geografía humana, limitada estrictamente al periodo que va del año 1550 al año 1600, ni siquiera en el caso de haberla emprendido con la falaz intención de llegar a una explicación determinista. Y dado que ni mucho menos disponemos de testimonios completos, y que ni siquiera han sido recogidos sistemáticamente por los historiadores, no nos queda otra posibilidad, si queremos iluminar ese corto
instante de la vida mediterránea que va de 1550 a 1600, sino la de interpolar y analizar imágenes, paisajes y realidades de otras épocas, sean anteriores o posteriores; y algunas son tan posteriores, que las hemos sacado del tiempo que estamos viviendo. El resultado de esta acumulación será un marco en el que, a través del tiempo y del espacio, se desarrolla una historia a cámara lenta que permite descubrir rasgos permanentes. En semejante contexto la geografía deja de ser un fin en sí para convertirse en un medio; nos ayuda a recrear las más lentas de las realidades estructurales, a verlo todo en una perspectiva según el punto de fuga de la duración más larga. También la geografía puede, como la historia, dar respuesta a muchos interrogantes. Y en nuestro caso, nos ayuda a descubrir el movimiento casi imperceptible de la historia, a condición, naturalmente, de que estemos abiertos a sus lecciones y aceptemos sus divisiones y categorías.
El Mediterráneo presenta por lo menos dos rostros. Está compuesto, en primer lugar, de una serie de penínsulas compactas y montañosas, interrumpidas por llanuras esenciales: Italia, la península de los Balcanes, el Asia Menor, el África del Norte y la península ibérica. En segundo lugar, el mar insinúa, entre estos continentes en miniatura, sus vastos espacios, complicados y fragmentados, pues el Mediterráneo, más que una entidad singular, es un complejo de mares. Penínsulas y mares serán las dos especies de ambientes que consideraremos en primer lugar, para, gracias a ellos, establecer las condiciones generales de la vida de los hombres. Pero no bastará con ellos para llegar a saberlo todo.
Por su parte sur el Mediterráneo está muy poco separado del inmenso desierto que se extiende sin pausa del Sahara atlántico al desierto de Gobi, hasta las mismas puertas de Beijing. Del sur de Túnez al sur de Siria el desierto se asoma directamente al mar. Más que un vecino, es un huésped, molesto algunas veces y exigente siempre. El desierto es, pues, uno de los rostros que ofrece el Mediterráneo.
Por su parte norte el Mediterráneo se encuentra con Europa. Ésta recibe de él múltiples influencias y, recíprocamente, le afecta con otras igualmente numerosas y a veces decisivas. La Europa del Norte, ese mundo más allá de los olivares, es una
realidad con cuya presencia constante cuenta la historia del Mediterráneo. Y el auge de esa Europa, vinculada al Atlántico, será el elemento que decidirá el destino del mar interior en los años finales del siglo XVI.
Los capítulos I, II y III describen la diversidad del mar y trascienden espacialmente sus orillas materiales. ¿Se puede hablar, en estas condiciones, de una unidad física de este mar (capítulo IV, “La unidad física: el clima y la historia”) o de una unidad humana necesariamente histórica (capítulo V, “La unidad humana: rutas y ciudades, ciudades y rutas”)? Estas son las etapas que cubre la amplia sección introductoria, la cual se propone dibujar los diferentes rostros y el rostro del Mediterráneo, para así poder comprender mejor, dentro de los límites de lo posible, su destino multicolor.

Based on the content of nine notarial documents from the Archives of the Prefecture
of Lefkada we will try to reconstruct the activities of the merchant Christos
Tzangris. Even before the end of the last Venetian-Turkish war (1714-1718), Tzangris
was in Lefkada, where he practiced his commercial activities. Going to Venice
in wartime, in two consecutive trips (in 1717 and 1718), he managed to make quite
a few profits, as can be seen from his wills. The main feature of Tzangris’ wills is
the offer of liturgical objects or money to churches and monasteries, as well as the
bequeathing of sums of money to distressed people in Lefkada. In conclusion, we
can say that we are dealing with another example of a merchant-entrepreneur from
Epirus, who tried to find his fortune in the Venetian-occupied area, seeking a better
life for himself, but also helping others

The first descriptive purpose of this article is to document changes in the industrial composition of Renaissance Florence through business censuses that we have extracted from household-wealth declarations in the 1427, 1433, and 1458 Florentine catasti (tax censuses). The finances of all Florentine businesses, both export oriented and domestically oriented, were comprehensively self-reported in these tax censuses-an innovative new element in the fiscal calculation of gross and taxable household wealth. These consecutive censuses reveal a decline in the number of businesses in many but not all of the industries in Florence over this thirty-year period. The second purpose of this article is to explain this economic decline. We find, through both quantitative and qualitative evidence, that the innovative tax catasti themselves were to blame: they all too effectively extracted enormous levels of taxes from the wealthy Florentine population in order to fund mercenary wars related to the emergence of Italian Renaissance regional or "territorial" states. The economic decline was due not only to the direct effect of heavy taxes but also to the indirect effect of default contagion among highly leveraged companies doing business with each other on credit. In a previous article in this journal, 1 John Padgett and Paul McLean demonstrated that high business leverage was rooted in the social embeddedness of Florentine businessmen in dense underlying social and political networks. Hence, "credit bubbles" occurred even in early-modern economies operating through personalistic social exchange. This case study contradicts the rosy portrait in the social science literature of a positive relationship between state formation and economic growth. We show * We are deeply grateful to Katalin Prajda and Claudia Tripodi, who were comembers of the archival research team out of which this project emerged. (See Scientia.global magazine, September 5, 2018, for an article about, and pictures of, the team.) We also appreciate the useful comments and suggestions of Bill Caferro, Richard Goldthwaite, and the anonymous JMH referees.

Resumen: El linaje de Lazarraga, originario de Oñate (Gipuzkoa), protagoniza una intensa actividad cronística entre 1520-1600. La narrativa es, sobre todo, genealógica, pero incluye un cuidadoso dispositivo heráldico. El objetivo es confortar la identidad del linaje y explicar su distinción social. Onomástica, jerarquía y emblemas operan coordinadamente en este empeño. El relato de los orígenes es mitológico, y sirve para crear unas armerías parlantes que no son de linaje, sino de bando. Varias familias las adoptarán a lo largo del siglo XVI y conservamos numerosos testimonios de ello. El personaje clave para materializar esta operación es Juan López de Lazarraga (m. 1518), secretario de los Reyes Católicas y de la reina Juana, quien funda con su mujer, doña Juana de Gamboa Irarrazabal, el primer Monasterio de la Santa Trinidad de Bidaurreta (Oñate), primer monasterio femenino de fundación privada de Gipuzkoa. Bidaurreta es un monumento heráldico sofisticado y novedoso. Palabras clave: Cronística familiar; heráldica; Lazarraga; Pais Vasco; onomástica; ancestralidad ENG Heraldic uses in Gipuzkoa in the 15th-16th centuries. The armorial bearings of the Garibay-Lazarraga lineage (1400-1600

The historical period between the 14th and 17th centuries is an important period of the European Renaissance that is dominated by the Medici family in Florance. The discovery of the New World along with the Renaissance and various Social Reform Movements are an important milestone in recorded human history. The Medici’s of Florence were not only prolific rulers, amongst their heirs were Europe’s first bankers and some of the most important figures in Renaissance Europe’s politics. The French queens Catherine de Medici & Marie de Medici, Pope Leo X, Pope Clement VII and Pope Leo XI are the most noted amongst the Medici heirs. The Medici family's three-hundred-year-old Florence based dominance ended in 1737 after the death of the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, Gian Gastone de Medici. However, the members of the Medici family are still relevant for their role in shaping the Sociopolitical and Socioeconomic thought of the Europe as know it today. The artists, scholars and scientists that the Medici’s protected and provided patronage to, are amongst the most towering figures of the Renaissance period. The main purpose of our paper is to highlight the financial, political and social impact of the Medici family not only in Europe but their overwhelming impact on the global trends. The Medici rule of Florence also highlights the fact that the Center of European Renaissance was Florence during their rule, and it was only after the death of Lorenzo De’ Medici that the center shifted to Rome. Florence was ruled for three centuries by the Medici dynasty followed by the governance system of the Westphalia, subsequently leading to the emergence of the Nation-State in 1648. The human history testifies the use of financial power as a powerful tool used by the by Monarchs and Governments as an agent-for-change. However, Cosimo de Medici's use of Political Power as a tool, subsiding the financial power created a new governance principle in the world’ political history. The Medici legend stays alive and pertinent through the magnificent art, literature and political thought that the Medici’s nurtured during their 300 years rule of Florence that set the pace for modern Europe.

The book on Burhanpur, authored by Suresh Mishra and Nand Kishore Dewda, with the support of the Navratri Vykhyanmala Samiti of Burhanpur and other artists and conservators, is encyclopedic in scope. It provides painstaking research, based on literary references, to ancient Burhanpur, archaeological finds including inscribed pottery before the Christian era, copper plate with Brahmi inscriptions, Shunga stone disks, Gupta Srivatsa seals, early medieval Ujjaini mark beads, medieval Kalachuri and Paramara sculptures, and monuments from Sultanate and Mughal days. It has drawn on vivid contemporary accounts of British, French, Dutch and Italian travelers to bring the wars, intrigues, romances and personal mannerisms of princes and potentates of Burhanpur to life. It is a valuable addition to local history as a mirror to national and global history. The sensitive quotations from inscriptions, poets and philosophers, and the paintings from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya, Los Angeles, County Museum of Art, and the Royal Collection Trust bring the history to vibrant life. The book is sensibly completed with a chronology of important events, including visits of travelers, birth, death, marriages, a list of social and political workers of historical importance during the Freedom Movement, a map and list of places of interest, and, extensive references in Persian, English, Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu.

Back cover: "This book is an ambitious and innovative work of transnational history. Its careful scholarship is enhanced by impressive documentation in both European and Islamic languages (Italian, French, Arabic and Turkish), full of kaleidoscopic and arresting detail. Time and again, the author demonstrates how the interface between Orient and Occident surprised, fascinated and enriched both cultures." Carole Hillenbrand, University of Edinburgh. "Italy and the Islamic World distils an expansive body of scholarship and research into an engaging and accessible narrative that illustrates the centrality and the enduring impact of Italy's long and fruitful relationship with the Islamic world from Imperial Rome to Fascist Italy and beyond." Eric Dursteler, Brigham Young University. Uncovers the Italian peninsula's legacy as a bridge between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. From ancient times to the 20th century, Italy has linked Europe to the marketplaces of the Middle East and North Africa. Beginning with the fall of Ancient Rome and the rise of the Papal State, travelling through the Renaissance and the rise of the Italian Republic, Ali Humayun Akhtar tells the stories of Pisan, Genoese, Venetian, Florentine and Livornese merchants and diplomats as they navigated cultural difference in pursuit of commerce and adventure. Painting a colourful picture of the connections between the Italian peninsula and the Islamic world, Akhtar brings two millennia of Italy's trading history to lifeand sheds light on Europe's current debates over trade, society and the links between West and East.

En décadas recientes la llamada World History o Global History pretende sintetizar el pasado de todas las sociedades en una única narrativa o estudiar un tema o período histórico desde una perspectiva mundial. En este contexto historiográfico, Mariano Bonialian hace notar la notable ausencia «de una agencia propia en Hispanoamérica que no es reconocida en la historia global», y para subsanarla propone en su libro una historia de la economía política americanas desde 1580 a 1840 (16). En los siglos estudiados por Bonialian, la globalización americana se dividió en dos fases oceánicas: primero, un «Atlántico pacificado» en el cual la economía del Pacífico tenía capacidad para actuar sobre el mundo atlántico, seguido por «la atlantización del Pacifico» cuando comerciantes del Atlántico norte «controlan los circuitos del Pacífico» (25). De estas dinámicas oceánicas, participan ejes geohistóricos supraregionales terrestres y marítimos, en torno a los cuales se organizaban los intercambios económicos y culturales. El monopolio imperial implicaba una oferta de mercancías inferior a la demanda de los virreinatos, lo que permitía a comerciantes peninsulares y americanos un alto nivel de precios y beneficios. En este régimen comercial, las flotas y el galeón de Manila se complementaban: las élites adquirían las ropas y tejidos europeos de calidad llegados a Veracruz, mientras que los sectores populares compraban los tejidos más baratos de los cargamentos llegados a Acapulco. Cronológicamente, los dos primeros ejes de la América hispana fueron el peruano y el novohispano. El eje peruano que se extendió desde la segunda mitad del siglo XVI hasta 1620, o posiblemente 1640, se centraba en Panamá, cuya ruta terrestre conectaba los galeones llegados de España con la Armada del Sur. Los comerciantes de Lima que controlaban este eje a menudo enviaban agentes a Espaňa-indicando

El propósito inicial de este libro es mostrar la trayectoria y el cursus honorum del hombre de negocios portugués y banquero más destacado de Felipe IV durante la década de 1640: Jorge de Paz Silveira (ca.1580-1647), barón desde 1645. La relevancia de su figura y familia, de origen judeoconverso, se acrecienta al investigar sobre Beatriz de Silveira, esposa de Jorge de Paz, debido a que fue ella quien continuó en último término las actividades financieras de su marido tras su muerte y culminó los planes de visibilidad de su casa.
Sin embargo, la prosperidad de los Silveira no habría sido posible sin una herramienta clave: su red relacional. Una red internacional y heterogénea, mayoritariamente compuesta por portugueses pero también por otros personajes de diferente origen territorial y religioso y en la que encontramos nobles, miembros de la administración y oligarcas urbanos. No obstante, entre todos ellos sobresalen dos hermanos lusos y judeoconversos: Alfonso y Gaspar Rodríguez Pasariño, fundadores de una de las compañías mercantiles más activas en el espacio atlántico durante la primera mitad del siglo XVII, con unos vínculos todavía más interesantes que los del propio Jorge de Paz.
Analizar a los Silveira y a los Pasariño en su contexto socioeconómico junto al resto de banqueros y mercaderes del momento, ha servido para extraer conclusiones acerca de las actividades y estrategias de los hombres de negocios lusos y judeoconversos desde comienzos del Seiscientos y de los mecanismos que articularon y rigieron el funcionamiento del crédito internacional de este periodo. Asimismo, su estudio nos ayuda a comprender mejor otras cuestiones como la génesis y las características de la nueva nobleza de corte financiero, las conexiones entre personajes de diferente perfil socio-profesional, el importante papel del comercio transcontinental, la significativa presencia de las mujeres en estos ámbitos profesionales o qué se puede entender como fracaso en la trayectoria de estos individuos.
A partir de la aportación de nuevos datos e hipótesis, se espera que este trabajo contribuya a las investigaciones sobre el espacio atlántico, las finanzas hispánicas y los actores económicos de la primera mitad del siglo XVII.

This paper uses network approaches to study early medieval North Sea trade and movement and test the validity of network methods to investigate the Viking Age trade. Networks are created from archaeological finds, historical records, and geographic and demographic constraints. The networks are analysed using various Network Analysis centrality, community and similarity measures, and gravity models. They are compared to each other to explore the importance of various Viking Age North Sea settlements and the routes by which movement occurred around the region, investigating whether they challenge or support current understandings. It was found that GIS information on archaeological sites coupled with radiocarbon proxy data and network shortest path calculations could produce a valid gravity model of Viking Age trade along the Western routes. "We should also recognise that our evidence is inadequate and that we can never hope to understand that activity or its causes fully. Recent studies, have however, cast new light on the eighth and ninth centuries and suggest that the reasons for Viking activity should not be sought only in Western Europe or Scandinavia, but in the links that joined these two areas long before the first Viking raid." (Sawyer, 1982).

According to the records in The Secret History of the Mongols (hearafterSHM), Bodončar is considered the founder of the Borǰigin clan. However, this study proposes the possibility that the true founder was not Bodončar, but actually Borǰigidai who appears in Section 3 of the SHM. In the genealogical sections of the SHM, clan titles consistently derive from their founders’ names, but there is no apparent connection between “Borǰigin” and “Bodončar”. By contrast, the name “Borǰigidai” directly means “a man from the Borǰigin clan.”
This paper hypothesizes that the author of the SHMdesignated Bodončar as the founder to resolve issues regarding his lineage. As a descendant of Chinggis Khan, Bodončar was alleged to be the illegitimate son of a Ma’alik Baya'ut man. Granting him the status of founder may have been an attempt to legitimize his lineage. Moreover, the narrative describing Borǰigidai’s marriage to a Mongolǰin Qo’a provides evidence supporting his role as the true founder; as it symbolically represents exogamy between the Borǰigin clan and the Mongol tribes.
In Section 3 and subsequent parts of the SHM, exogamy is accompanied by subtle indications of the emergence of a stratified society. Borǰigidai’s son, Torogolǰin, is described as having servants, Dayir and Boro, who are believed to represent nökörmetaphorically likened to geldings. This is connected to social stratification, as the terms for people and servants appear for the first time during Bodončar’s generation in the SHM. In other words, the progression of social stratification in Mongol society during this period is implicitly conveyed through figures such as Dayir and Boro.

Using a recently discovered private merchant archive (the Archivio Adami-Lami in Florence, Italy), this article reconstructs the Acre Consul Controversy, a diplomatic dispute over the appointment of a Tuscan merchant, Francesco Adami, as the first English vice-consul of the Ottoman port of Acre. Through a micro-spatial case study, documenting the emerging rivalry between European ‘nations’ and their consular representatives in an Ottoman port city, this article contributes to understanding the power of space in early modern Mediterranean politics. First, it analyzes the interplay between the more institutionalized and corporate political practices typical of early modern Europe (embodied in the office of the ‘national’ consulate) and the more informal and flexible political practices of the Ottoman empire. Second, it situates key elements of this diplomatic controversy within a particular, clearly delineated semi-public space: Acre's Khan al-Ifrānj, a residential warehouse exclusively used by European merchants.

Resumo O artigo procura analisar alguns casos de comerciantes envolvidos com o contrabando de escravizados no rio da Prata, extraídos de processos de apreensão efetuados pelas autoridades da Real Fazenda de Buenos Aires, no período posterior ao final da Guerra dos Sete Anos. A análise realizada possibilitou compreender quem eram os agentes mercantis envolvidos no comércio ilegal de escravizados, atividade realizada por diversos tipos de pessoas, desde o nível operacional, como os marinheiros e intérpretes, até os homens de negócio da Colônia do Sacramento que vendiam os cativos aos mercadores que os contrabandeavam para Buenos Aires. O comércio clandestino era realizado em pequenas embarcações, altamente adaptadas ao tipo de transação que realizavam, transportando algumas dezenas de escravizados, na maioria das vezes com sucesso, o que permitiu uma constante introdução de cativos na América espanhola.

Central Asia’s pivotal role as a crossroads of civilizations has historically shaped the patterns of commerce, cultural exchange, and diplomatic relations across the Asian continent. This study focuses on the development and impact of overland connectivity between Central Asia and India during the Delhi Sultanate and early Mughal period (8th-16th centuries CE), examining how these historical networks established enduring frameworks for regional interaction. Through analysis of primary sources, and contemporary accounts, the article explores the complex web of trade routes, commercial infrastructure, and merchant communities that facilitated cross-regional exchanges. It reveals how Central Asian trade routes, particularly through the strategic Khyber, Bolan, and Gomal passes, served not merely as commercial arteries but as vital channels for cultural diffusion and technological transfer. These corridors fostered sophisticated systems of commercial organization, including standardized financial instruments like the hundi system, elaborate trading networks maintained by communities such as the Khatri and Marwari merchants, and advanced infrastructure exemplified by strategically placed caravanserais and fortified trading posts. The article is devoted to examining the complex network of overland trade connectivity between India and Central Asia during the Delhi Sultanate and early Mughal period.

The concept of "colonial dualities" frames an exploration of Taiwan's dynamic transformation during the transition from Qing rule to Japanese colonial governance. The study reveals how individuals and organizations navigated complex identities, cross-border connections, and economic opportunities in a rapidly changing colonial environment. Key themes include the mobility of merchants, transboundary identities, and the political and economic strategies employed under different colonial administrations. Highlighting Taiwan's role as a historical crossroads, the research provides fresh perspectives on East Asian colonial history and the multifaceted experiences of historical actors.

Previous studies have mostly focused on how immigrants settled in Taiwan, or on nationality selection and “sekimin” (subject registered in Taiwan) activities in China during the colonial period. They have seldom discussed the attempts by dual nationals to maintain the connection between Taiwan and their hometowns during the regime transition from the Qing to Japan. This article takes Xu Zangchun as an example. It uses travel documents and household registration to explain why he came to Taiwan; how he established a cross-straits dual family; and changes in the relationship with his hometown during Japanese rule. It highlights the choices and dilemmas of Taiwan’s first generation of dual nationals and argues for the importance of “nativism” as well as transnationalism in understanding this group of people.

The key question in this thesis is whether the emergence of restorative justice in Norway can be understood as a dialogical paradox, i.e. both as an instrument for state control and as a transformative field for personhood. In other words, the thesis explores how governance and personhood are mutually constituted in informal, dialogical justice processes, in context of on-going changes in the Norwegian welfare state. Social researchers, historians and philosophers have described a significant transition from modern nation-states to corporate states, from being disciplinary societies to becoming societies of control. Due to what has been described as a generalized crisis in traditional forms of state control, and its bureaucratic institutions, a new organization of state power has emerged and is being constructed through processes that decentralize, distribute and outsource state functions to civil and private actors and agencies. Such processes rely on a neoliberal ideological disco...

Neste trabalho, investigamos a circulação e a integração dos espaços ultramarinos dos impérios
ibéricos, realizadas pelos agentes comerciais, homens do mar, de governança e militares, durante
e após a União das Coroas. Uma das hipóteses defendidas é de que a guerra contra os
neerlandeses aproximou o Caribe do Nordeste do Brasil, que havia se convertido em uma ameaça
comum ao mundo católico, uma base protestante no Atlântico. As autoridades castelhanas logo se
atentaram para a potencial ameaça que isso representava às praças caribenhas e colocaram seus
presídios em alerta, aguardando pelas notícias do Brasil-holandês. Além disso, apontamos a
indissociabilidade das ocupações dos agentes que poderiam simultaneamente participar das
campanhas militares, da vida político-administrativa e também do comércio. Demonstramos
ainda como operaram as redes mercantis espalhadas pelas principais praças do século XVII. No
caso dos negreiros, era imprescindível um período de experiência nos reinos da África, onde
adquiriram conhecimento sobre o funcionamento do comércio e adentraram nas redes sefarditas.
Por fim, destacamos estes aspectos na trajetória do segundo Conde de Castelo Melhor, homem de
origem fidalga, que atuou nas empresas de Pernambuco e terminou em Cartagena das Índias,
onde protagonizou um dos principais episódios políticos na campanha da Restauração por
Portugal. Coube-nos por destacar sua presença nos negócios do açúcar, durante o período em que
governou o Estado do Brasil (1650-1654), a fim de demonstrar que estes agentes encontravam-se
inexoravelmente no emaranhado dos impérios ibéricos.

On Margareth von der Beke once again
Observations on the issue of the role of women in keeping
the memory of the family
This article is a contribution on the role of women in keeping the
memory of the family in the Middle Ages. Margareth von der Beke,
a Benedictine nun from Toruń born in Gdańsk, was the youngest of
13 children of Johann and Ursula von der Beke. Her father came
to Gdańsk from Cologne in the late 1360s. In unknown circumstances,
when his 13 children were already born, he set off on a pilgrimage
to Rome, from which he never returned. This information is reported
in a notarial instrument of 14 July 1466, issued at the request of Margareth
von der Beke. The document was a protest against the decision
of Margareth’s nephew David von der Beke to sell the rights to the
family chapel of the Eleven Thousand Virgins in St Mary’s Church
in Gdańsk to the Gdańsk burgher Philip Bischof.

The term " , has several connotations, sometimes even give contradictory
meanings. Literally, the middle class presumes a three -class model of the society. That is, there is
a top or elite class, a bottom or subaltern class, and in between them, a middle class. However, no
society has ever been a single bounded social group or one set of economic indicators that can be
conclusively, defined as middle class. A conclusive definition or boundary is much better to realize
that the middle class, as the term commonly used, is a cultural construct and therefore a contingent
one, which varies over time and context

Global trade is a topic that is well suited for conceptualizing global social history as it allows the opportunity to challenge the notion that global markets were primarily congruent with imperial territories. Businessmen were regularly able to establish economic networks that transgressed state borders and challenged imperial aims for territorial control. This may be evidence for the fact that capitalism and imperialism were two different, although sometimes converging, spatial structures, each with a distinct logic of its own. Even in the colonial period, and despite the prevalence of imperial racism, cooperation between metropolitan capitalists and businessmen from peripheries was possibleand, in fact, the rule rather than the exception. This cooperation was facilitated by similar business practices and a similar mercantile culture, which is why the two constituencies have been described as joint members of a globally connected bourgeoisie in several studies. The ability of economic elites to establish transregional business structures is highly relevant for conceiving global social history as a distinct approach. It reveals that the activities of these actors were crucial for establishing global capitalism, and allows scholars to examine the embeddedness of mercantile elites in their socioeconomic environment and in particular to study the relation between capital and labour.

La economía mercantil española Siglos xvi-xvii La economía mercantil española. Siglos XVI-XVII M. Grove-Gordillo / M. F. Fernández / R. M. Pérez (coords.) piedras angulares piedras angulares ediciones trea estudios históricos la olmeda Colección Piedras Angulares

Il saggio si sofferma sulla diffusione della ragioneria in partita doppia presso importanti enti religiosi e assistenziali fiorentini del Quattrocento. Si tratta dei maggiori tra ospedali, monasteri e conventi della città e del suburbio. Tra questi spiccano il più precoce ente italiano deputato alla cura dell’infanzia abbandonata, cioè l’Ospedale degli Innocenti; e la Badia fiorentina, il più antico e prestigioso cenobio urbano. Ma all’appello non mancano anche istituti religiosi femminili.

La figura di Francesco Feroni (1614-1696) continua a stimolare un vivo interesse di ricerca da parte della comunità accademica internazionale. Nato in una famiglia della piccola borghesia empolese, egli trascorse gli anni giovanili lavorando nel banco del senatore Buonaccorsi, stabilendosi inizialmente a Livorno e poi, a partire dalla prima metà degli anni '40 del Seicento, ad Amsterdam, dove ampliò i suoi investimenti specializzandosi nel commercio di cereali e prodotti coloniali. L’esperienza professionale di Francesco Feroni nei commerci globali durante il suo lungo soggiorno ad Amsterdam è stata ampiamente trattata negli ultimi decenni. Tuttavia, molto poco sappiamo delle attività di Feroni una volta rientrato definitivamente in Toscana nella primavera 1673. Infatti, nell’ottica di risollevare il commercio toscano e le manifatture locali, il granduca Cosimo III de' Medici nominò il mercante empolese Depositario Generale del Granducato di Toscana, un’istituzione finanziaria che aveva bisogno di essere profondamente riformata. Il mio contributo cerca di fare luce sulle sconosciute attività di Francesco Feroni durante il suo mandato da amministratore mediceo, offrendo nuove informazioni su come egli riuscì ad ammodernare la struttura della Depositeria Generale promuovendo numerose iniziative a vantaggio dell’economia toscana nella seconda metà del Seicento.

This article documents the sudden creation of a significant entrepôt for French wine, particularly Bordeaux claret, in Boulogne-Sur-Mer starting in 1720. Scottish Jacobites who practiced a rebellious version of “fair trade” dominated this commerce, and their network had direct links to 18th-century economic thinkers such as Richard Cantillon, Charles de Montesquieu, and David Hume. The research uses social network analysis to analyze and visualize the concurrent networks, which by the 1750s included the French physiocrats. The research shows how politically inspired actions and strategies affected not only the wine entrepôt’s formation but also the circulation of ideas regarding “fair,” “free,” and balanced trade among Franco-British economic theorists. It also documents the formation of a dedicated claret commodity chain as well as the advent of wine product, packaging, and marketing specialization in the 18th century. These Jacobites formed wine trading firms that lasted long after the relevance of their political objectives had waned.

Resumen: Este artículo pretende dar a conocer la estructuración del territorio y el paisaje rural en el que tuvo lugar la actividad campesina de las villas turolenses de Alcaine y Oliete durante el siglo XV. Igualmente, trata de mostrar la producción agrícola y ganadera más extendida y los mecanismos para poner dicha producción en el mercado. El estudio presenta algunos ejemplos de explotación agropecuaria característicos de las sierras turolenses como son los mases, junto con otros modelos como los censos enfitéuticos y las medianerías de tierras y ganado. Además, intenta poner en valor el papel que jugaron estas comunidades campesinas en el desarrollo de dinámicas mercantiles de amplio espectro.

Una guida per orientarsi nella documentazione prodotta dai consolati sardi nel Levante ottomano e in Africa del Nord. La ricostruzione della rete consolare negli anni 1825-1859, le vite degli ufficiali, notizie e storie dei proconsoli e dei dragomanni
A  guide to the documentation produced by the consulates of the Kingdom of Sardinia in the Ottoman Levant and North Africa. The reconstruction of the consular network in the years 1825-1859, the life of the officers, news and histories of the proconsuls and dragomen.

Scandinavian silver hoards from the Viking Age oc-
casionally contain small bits and pieces of silver rods
with a peculiar striation. They derive from a special
type of silver rings, usually called Permian rings. The
characteristic feature of these rings is that the body
of the ring is neatly decorated with spirally striated
sections.Small variations in the Russian record make it prob-
able that rings were produced at several sites in the
area. That rings, almost identical to the Russian rings
that have been found in the Baltic region, primarily
on the islands of Öland and Gotland, show that trad-
ers from this region also took part in the activities
in the east. It is interesting that we can see eastern rings which
came to the Baltic. On the other hand, stamped dec-
orated western rings do not occur in the east, which
shows that rings spread from east to west but not the reverse.

This paper examines processes of Armenian migration to the Ukrainian lands of Poland-Lithuania over the course of more than four centuries as well as legal procedures obligatory to pass through by newcomers. The causes of migrations, migrants’ motivation, and integration into host societies, their social advance – or failure – are explored through a series of biographic sketches based, where possible, on a range of sources, broadly defined as ego-documents.

In the expansive phase of the 'long sixteenth century', the credit system developed similar structures across northern Italy, albeit varying in terms of proportions and coverage. Next to the steady growth of formal financial institutions such as public banks, Monti di Pietà, private banks, and moneychangers the informal level of the money market was also ballooning. Networks that linked religious and private bodies, urban and rural populations, specialized and non-specialized operators in a large mass of credit transactions developed an increasingly ramified and capillary geography. In Milan, Genoa, Florence, Bologna, and smaller towns,

leggi. 1.1 Le imposizioni esterne: «les carrières» e il cappello giallo zafferano. Nelle città del Comtat Venaissin e di Avignone sorsero i primi «ghetti». La nascita di questi spazi separati ebbe, da un lato, una formazione spontanea, dall'altro, di costrizione. Per quel che concerne il primo aspetto, fin dal XIII secolo, gli ebrei mostrarono una tendenza propria a raccogliersi attorno al luogo in cui sorgeva la sinagoga. Simbolo della vita religiosa, quest'ultima costituiva anche il raccordo di quella sociale. Inoltre, nelle sue immediate vicinanze si trovavano gli altri due luoghi fondamentali del culto ebraico: il bagno rituale ed il forno per le azime. Così, come fossero anelli di una catena, attorno a questi spazi pubblicoreligiosi, si andavano determinando gli spazi dei mestieri e quelli della vita privata, in maniera del tutto naturale. Il secondo aspetto, quello della costrizione, fu determinato da esplosioni di violenza popolare. Queste si manifestavano, con una certa frequenza, soprattutto durante la Settimana Santa perché gli ebrei erano considerati colpevoli della morte di Cristo. La loro vita era messa a repentaglio dall'affiorare nel popolo di un bisogno di vendetta. Da qui l'esigenza, da parte delle autorità cittadine, di proteggerli rinchiudendoli in uno spazio delimitato. In realtà, questa separazione nasceva anche dalla manifesta volontà della Chiesa di operare una segregazione degli ebrei dai cristiani, visto il crearsi di rapporti troppo intimi che la condivisione di spazi comuni e della quotidianità comportava. A riguardo, nella diciannovesima sessione del Concilio ecumenico di Basilea (1434) era stato decretato che gli ebrei dovessero abitare tutti in uno stesso quartiere, separati dai cristiani. Con la bolla Ad nostram audientiam, dell'8 agosto 1442, papa Eugenio IV aveva dato disposizioni in tal senso, benché non producessero nessun effetto. Fu nel corso del XV secolo, a seguito dei tumulti contro gli ebrei, che questi ultimi scelsero la segregazione come forma di protezione, dando vita alle carrières, i cammini, così chiamati perché costituiti da una sola strada, generalmente cieca da un lato e chiusa da un cancello dall'altro. È interessante notare che furono gli stessi ebrei ad occuparsi dell'apertura e della chiusura dei cancelli dei loro cammini, che avveniva, quindi solo dall'interno, diversamente da quelli di Roma che venivano chiusi nel Ghetto. Questa pratica ebbe termine solo con l'editto del 1781, che li obbligò all'impiego di un portiere cristiano affinché fossero segregati dall'esterno. I primi ad adottare la soluzione del cammino furono gli ebrei di Cavaillon, nel 1453, seguiti da quelli di Avignone nel 1458, quindi da Carpentras nel 1460. Per L'Isle non si hanno documenti che consentano di stabilire una data certa per la creazione del cammino. Furono, dunque, gli ebrei del papa che, nel XV secolo, inaugurarono la vita nel ghetto. Ma non furono i precursori solo nella segregazione, bensì anche nell'obbligo di essere immediatamente riconoscibili nella quotidianità. Ad essi, infatti, per primi, fu imposto di sostituire il segno, costituito da un pezzo di stoffa gialla da applicare su un mantello, con un cappello giallo zafferano. Naturalmente, questa imposizione non fu accettata passivamente, continue furono le forme di protesta e di inobbedienza a quest'obbligo, e continuarono ininterrotte fino all'emanazione della bolla di Paolo IV, nel 1555, Cum nimis absurdum, che imponeva l'obbligo del cappello a tutti gli ebrei dello Stato della Chiesa, fardello pesante sulla loro testa. 1.2 L'ordinamento interno dei «cammini» ed il prelievo fiscale I cammini, con i loro cancelli che li chiudevano verso l'esterno, venivano a costituire per gli ebrei dei piccoli mondi a parte, con una loro organizzazione interna che gli consentiva un'ampia autonomia, garanzia per la salvaguardia della propria identità. Il cammino era, dunque, un'organizzazione complessa, con strutture amministrative e finanziarie elaborate. Era, insomma, il «corpo e comunità» degli ebrei. Come «corpo», inteso quale insieme di tutti gli individui, trattava con le autorità cristiane, sia dello Stato che delle città, attraverso la mediazione dei dirigenti della comunità chiamati con il nome provenzale di bailons, balivi. Al «corpo» si apparteneva fin dalla nascita e se ne usciva solo con la morte. Anche se si emigrava, infatti, rimaneva sempre un legame con la comunità d'origine e si era tenuti a rispettarne gli obblighi, soprattutto finanziari. Benché gli ebrei fossero cittadini dello Stato della Chiesa, il cammino veniva a costituire una sorta di «nazione» nelle città cristiane, un luogo altro. Essi non avevano rappresentanza nei consigli comunali e quando le amministrazioni dovevano trattare con le comunità, si dovevano rivolgere al consiglio dei cammini, da pari a pari. Tuttavia, diversamente dagli ashkenaziti, la legislazione pontificia vietava agli ebrei di disporre di propri tribunali. Per la risoluzione di una controversia erano obbligati a ricorrere a quelli cristiani. Solo le cause di matrimoni e divorzi potevano essere evase all'interno delle comunità, ma non senza il controllo di un funzionario cristiano. In realtà, piccole cause di affari, che non raggiungessero cifre elevate, potevano essere discusse direttamente nei cammini, dove vi erano persone deputate a tale scopo. Una simile concessione la ottennero gli ebrei di Ferrara, nei primissimi anni del Settecento, durante la legazione di Astalli, per poi, però, essere subito revocata con l'arrivo del nuovo legato, monsignor Casoni nel 1708. Per Roma non risulta che fosse permessa una simile pratica. Nonostante questa possibilità, dai registri di procedura del XVII e XVIII secolo, come sottolineato da Moulinas, risulta che gli ebrei preferissero rivolgersi alla giustizia ordinaria. Anche nei casi di membri della comunità restii a pagare l'imposta dovuta, i balivi presentavano istanza presso i tribunali secolari. Si registrano anche casi in cui il singolo individuo fece ricorso alla giustizia cristiana per far causa contro i dirigenti della comunità. Si tratta, tuttavia, di episodi molto rari, per lo più, i panni sporchi si preferiva lavarli in casa. In effetti, per riportare all'ordine i renitenti, la comunità disponeva di una terribile arma: lo cherem. Si trattava di un anatema pronunciato dal rabbino contro il colpevole, ma sempre ed esclusivamente su ingiunzione dei balivi. Questi ultimi erano, infatti, gli unici a poter utilizzare questa terribile sanzione religiosa che, al pari della scomunica cristiana, aveva degli effetti sulla vita civile. Comunque, prima di poter far lanciare un cherem contro qualcuno era necessaria l'autorizzazione delle locali autorità cristiane. I cammini erano retti da costituzioni interne dette escamot, il cui testo veniva periodicamente rivisto e ripubblicato, di norma ogni 10 anni. La loro compilazione era affidata a «redattori», scelti dal consiglio della comunità, in virtù della loro saggezza. Prima di entrare in vigore, questi statuti dovevano essere sottoposti al puntiglioso controllo del funzionario incaricato dal potere pontificale della tutela degli ebrei in materia civile: il viguier ad Avignone, il rettore nel Comtat. L'organizzazione che traspare dagli escamot era tutt'altro che egalitaria. I più poveri erano esclusi da qualsiasi carica, quindi non avevano potere decisionale. Per ricoprire una carica bisognava possedere una consistente fortuna, ricalcolata col passar del tempo. Coloro che possedevano una ricchezza considerata sufficiente per le cariche erano divisi in tre classi dette mains (mani), grazes, o grases, suddivise a loro volta in prima, seconda e terza, o piccola, media e grande. Ad Avignone, il Consiglio, autorità suprema della Comunità, era formato da 12 membri, quattro per ogni «mano»: un balivo dell'inverno, uno dell'estate, uno dei «manifesti» e un consigliere, estratti a sorte. Negli escamot del 1772 e del 1779, scomparve il balivo dei «manifesti» sostituito dal «tesoriere della taglia» e i 12 membri non furono più estratti a sorte, ma scelti dagli appartenenti alla propria «mano». Il Consiglio doveva prendere tutte le decisioni più importanti; i balivi avevano solo la funzione di esecutori, benché quello della prima graze, svolgesse un ruolo predominante. Durante le sedute, infatti, prendeva la parola per primo ed esponeva i problemi all'ordine del giorno. In casi particolarmente difficili, si convocava un «parlamento generale», composto da tutti i capi famiglia. Tale uso sembra quasi del tutto scomparso nel XVIII secolo. L'organizzazione interna del Comtat era leggermente diversa. A Carpentras, come ad Avignone, erano presenti all'interno del cammino, tre grazes, ognuna delle quali estraeva a sorte quattro membri che andavano, poi, a formare il Consiglio, composto da 12 individui. Dopo il 1723, si aggiunse un tesoriere e, nel 1752, un assistente del primo balivo. Il nuovo sistema di scelta dei balivi si fondava sulla cooptazione: quelli uscenti redigevano una lista di nomi dei possibili successori, da cui si sceglievano i nuovi balivi. L'Isle e Cavaillon amministrativamente costituivano un unico cammino. Avevano un Consiglio ed alcuni balivi comuni. Anche qui vi era una suddivisione in tre grazes, basata sul censo, ma i balivi erano due, così come i contabili. Il Consiglio era formato da 11 membri, i 4 suddetti, più sette consiglieri, ma sembra che anche dei privati potessero partecipare alle sedute. Gli ebrei di Cavaillon disponevano di un'amministrazione autonoma per la gestione della sinagoga: due di loro venivano eletti annualmente con il nome di «balivo della luminaria». Avevano il compito di occuparsi della scuola e del buon funzionamento del culto, ma spesso sconfinavano dalle loro mansioni. A loro spettava anche il calcolo della parte da pagare delle spese comuni con il cammino de L'Isle. Nel 1686 si stabilì una quota fissa del 25% a carico della comunità di Cavaillon, da ripartire a...

D. Carlos de Simón Pontero planteó un proyecto de navegación de los ríos Tajo, Guadiela, Manzanares y Jarama entre 1753 y 1757. Para llevar a cabo la navegación fluvial que había de abastecer a la Corte, eligió la figura de la Compañía Privilegiada por acciones. Este tipo de empresa, que no era nueva en Europa, contaba tanto con detractores como con defensores entre las élites intelectuales y políticas españolas del siglo XVIII. A lo largo de este siglo se pasa de una defensa, propia del mercantilismo, de estas compañías a su repudio, dentro del avance del liberalismo económico.
Los errores e incoherencias del promotor llevaron a que la administración borbónica pusiera numerosas trabas a la naciente Compañía de Navegación. Finalmente, la muerte de D. Carlos puso punto y final a la empresa, cuando aún no había empezado a andar. Este trabajo permite conocer los accionistas que se plantearon invertir en ella y su contexto social y económico. Se analizan los distintos sectores que quisieron participar en la empresa y se ofrece un retrato de la variada sociedad acomodada del siglo XVIII español.
Tras una introducción donde se sitúa cronológicamente el proyecto de Simón Pontero, se repasa someramente la figura de la Compañía Privilegiada en el pensamiento económico de la época en España y, a continuación, las diferentes opciones que nuestro promotor fue adoptando hasta llegar a la elección de este tipo de empresa para la suya. Tras detallar la nómina de accionistas, ofreciendo una sucinta información sobre sus personas, las conclusiones analizan los distintos grupos sociales, laborales y económicos que se pueden deducir de la lista de accionistas, y el apoyo que dispensaron a la empresa. En suma, se trata de mostrar el dinamismo que existía dentro de la sociedad acomodada de la España del siglo XVIII y los distintos grupos que la conformaban.
D. Carlos de Simón Pontero proposed a project for the navigation of the rivers Tajo, Guadiela, Manzanares and Jarama between 1753 and 1757. To carry out the river navigation that was to supply the Court, he chose the figure of the Privileged Company by shares. This type of company, which was not new in Europe, had both detractors and defenders among the Spanish intellectual and political elites of the 18th century. Throughout this century, the defense of these companies, typical of mercantilism, shifted to their repudiation, as part of the advance of economic liberalism.
The errors and inconsistencies of the promoter led the Bourbon administration to place numerous obstacles in the way of the nascent Navigation Company. Finally, the death of D. Carlos put an end to the company, when it had not yet begun to operate. This work allows us to learn about the shareholders who considered investing in the company and its social and economic context. The different sectors that wanted to participate in the company are analyzed and a portrait of the varied affluent society of the Spanish 18th century is offered.
After an introduction where Simón Pontero's project is chronologically situated, the figure of the Privileged Company in the economic thought of the time in Spain is briefly reviewed, followed by the different options that our promoter adopted until he chose this type of company for his own. After detailing the list of shareholders, offering succinct information about their persons, the conclusions analyze the different social, labor and economic groups that can be deduced from the list of shareholders, and the support they gave to the company. In short, the aim is to show the dynamism that existed within the affluent society of eighteenth-century Spain and the different groups that made it up.

Martim Velho Barreto foi um mercador-banqueiro cuja família, original de Viana, se espalhou pelo império português ao longo do século XVII exercendo tanto a mercancia quanto funções na administração e finanças régias. Este artigo aborda um livro de contas desse homem de negócios, elaborado entre 1633 e 1642, que sobreviveu nos arquivos da Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Viana. Este proporciona não só um instantâneo de parte de sua trajetória como negociante, mas também elucida sobre as redes de relações e obrigações nas quais estava inserido, assegurando deste modo a constituição de uma cartografia de saberes e informações ligando diversas regiões do Atlântico português

By the beginning of the fifteenth century, European commercial centers had already been filled with trading colonies founded by Florentine merchants. A few of them settled down for life in their host country, developing economic and social ties with local families. During Sigismund of Luxemburg's reign (r. 1387-1437) as King of Hungary only a handful of these merchants achieved political positions. Undoubtedly the most fortunate among these Florentine citizens was Filippo di Stefano Scolari, known as Pippo Spano (c. 1369-1426), who was granted the significant honor of becoming a member of a small inner circle in the royal court. This article argues that the special status attained by Florentines in Hungarian politics and economy during the first three decades of the fifteenth century can be attributed largely to Pippo Spano's influence. As cultural mediators, Pippo Spano and his family helped to facilitate relations between their native Florence and their adopted home. This case study focuses on the Scolari family's migration to the Hungarian Kingdom in order to explore on a small scale the possible push-pull factors of migration flow and its impact on the relationship between the Florentine Republic and the Hungarian Kingdom.