A history of commerce

by Clive Day

102. Extent of Venetian commerce.—Thanks to the colonial empire which they established the Venetians controlled the trade of the eastern Mediterranean more efficiently than Great Britain has controlled the world commerce of the nineteenth century; the field of operations was narrower, and “trade followed the flag” in those early times as it has never done since. Foreigners might trade if they would pay sufficiently for the privilege; without this recognition of their inferiority they were public enemies to be given short shrift.

Venice established her colonies or trading factories not only along the shore of the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea; Venetian merchants penetrated deep into Russia, and into Central Asia through the Crimea. So bold were their enterprises that the home government, fearful for its interests, passed a law to limit their extent. “Dalmatia, Albania, Romania, Greece, Trebizond, Syria, Armenia, Egypt, Cyprus, Candia, Apulia, Sicily and other countries, kingdoms and islands were the fruitful gardens, the proud castles of our people, where they found again profit, pleasure, security.” The old chronicler names but one side of the equation of trade; the products from all these countries and from the far East behind them were brought to Venice to be exchanged for the products of the West. Martino da Canale says of an earlier period what must at any rate have been true of his own (thirteenth century): “The Venetians went about the sea here and there, and across the sea and in all places, and bought merchandise and brought it to Venice from every side. Then there came to Venice Germans and Bavarians, French and Lombards, Tuscans and Hungarians, and every people that lives by merchandise, and they took it to their countries.”

103. Development of the institutions of commerce in Venice.—Reference has been made in an earlier chapter to the Venetian regulations on the building, rigging, and manning of ships, which anticipated by many centuries similar legislation in the countries of northern Europe. The extent of her commercial relations led Venice to a development of book-keeping and banking which made her in these important branches the instructor of Europe, to whom the sons of wealthy merchants in other countries were sent to school. The reader will appreciate how great is the debt of other countries to Italy when he reflects on the number of Italian words having to do with commerce and banking which have become current in general commercial use; among them are conto, conto corrente, porto, risico, disconto, brutto, netto, deposito, folio, bilanza, etc.

104. Venetian commercial policy.—The Venetian commercial policy may be described briefly as the maintenance of as strict a monopoly as possible in the trade east of Italy, and the regulation of trade between Venice and the North or West which would give the Venetians the greatest advantage when they sold their Oriental wares to other Europeans. This policy, as well as the material character of the commerce, can be studied in connection with the two great branches of Venetian trade in Europe, the overland commerce with Germany, and the sea commerce with northwestern Europe.

TRADE ROUTES BETWEEN GERMANY AND ITALY

The different routes varied in importance at different periods, and some routes were used besides those indicated on the map. The Brenner Pass was always of great importance to Venetian trade; the St. Gothard Pass was not opened until the thirteenth century.

105. Overland trade with Germany.—As the Venetians were essentially a sea-faring people, and as it was easier to reach the large cities of central and southern Germany by land than by sea, they took the passive part in their German trade, staying at home and allowing the Germans to come to them for wares. The trip overland from central Germany took roughly two weeks or a little less; trade letters of the fifteenth century were a month or more on the way between Venice and Bruges. Different routes were chosen according to the starting-point of the journey. The chief route was that leading over the Brenner, one of the lowest of the great Alpine passes, lying between Augsburg in Germany and Verona in Italy; but very often the merchant struck off to the East before reaching Verona into the valley of the Drave or the Brenta. Coming from the East, from Vienna, for instance, the Semmering pass was commonly chosen.

106. Strict control over German merchants in Venice.—On reaching Venice the merchant was put at once under strict supervision. He could not choose his own lodgings, but must stay at the “Fondaco dei Tedeschi” (German factory, using that word in its earlier sense of a trading post). This was a building (in its later form a handsome palace now used as a government office) which belonged to the city, and which served at once as a hotel, a warehouse, and an office for controlling the trade. When a merchant arrived he was disarmed and given a room; a careful list was made of all his wares, which served as a basis for the government dues; and an inspector was assigned to him. This inspector acted as an interpreter and as a broker, helping the merchant make his bargains, but it would be a great mistake to suppose that he was appointed mainly to serve the merchant’s convenience; his main business was to “shadow” the merchant constantly, to see that he broke none of the numerous regulations designed to assure to the government its dues and to the Venetian people their profits. Germans could bring to Venice only the wares of their own country and of northeastern Europe, because the Venetians wanted to carry on themselves the trade with Flanders; Germans could trade with no other foreigners in Venice, and could not trade even among themselves, in order that the Venetians might have the sole market; they must sell out their whole stock in Venice, without the option of withdrawing part of it and carrying it further. One is tempted to ask why the Germans came to Venice at all, to submit to such severe restrictions. The answer is easy; they had no other place to go to, for the wares they wanted. Thanks to her position and to her skill in trade and war Venice had a monopoly of Oriental wares which enabled her for some time to make what regulations she pleased without fear of losing her customers.

107. Importance of the trade between Venice and Germany.—The German trade in Venice amounted, according to an estimate of the fifteenth century, to a million ducats a year, and the ducat of this period was worth considerably more than the modern dollar. It supplied Germany with the coveted eastern wares which we have already enumerated, and, moreover, with some of the products of Venetian manufactures, which were then highly developed and which were stimulated by protective tariffs. These manufactures included glass, which is even now a specialty of the city, fine textiles, weapons, paper, etc. The Venetian trade, on the other hand, furnished to Germany a market for her metals (gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, tin), furs, twine, rosaries, and manufactures of leather and horn, and the coarser textiles.