Textile products from Florentine workshops to Ottoman Bazaars: a multifaceted Merchant network

Transcription

1 XVII th World Economic History Congress 3-7 August 2015, Kyoto, Japan Session S10060: Network Management in Late Medieval and Renaissance Europe Ingrid HOUSSAYE MICHIENZI (Villa I Tatti - The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Florence, Italy) ingridhoussaye@yahoo.fr Textile products from Florentine workshops to Ottoman Bazaars: a multifaceted Merchant network The Salviati archive, preserved in the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, in Italy, contains thousand of account books and documents written from the 14 th century until the 17 th century, from commercial companies as well as craft ones. Those documents are not the result of the activities of a unique firm, established with its subsidiaries at the knots of the main economic currents 1. Those account books are derived from personal accounting or from companies created by members of the Salviati family, an eminent family of the Florentine nobility. They allow reconstructing Merchant networks that were operating in a lot of different economic spaces in Europe and in the Mediterranean Area. By following the accounting records, this communication will emphasis the different steps and connections that were necessaries all along the road from Florentine workshops to Ottoman Bazaars in order to ship out and to sell textile products. The Salviati archive keep the only three account books hold by Florentine Merchants in Ottoman Constantinople that we know about. Giovanni di Marco Salviati wrote inside these registers from October 1491 to August It did not go any further because Giovanni Salviati felt sick and died there from plague in November Two of those registers are working together. On the first one, named Giornale e Ricordi, Giovanni Salviati wrote, in Tuscan language, the daily activities (Giornale) and the things not to forget (ricordi). The information inside the journal is written again in a second register, an analytic one named Debitori e Creditori, which contains the accounts of people or merchandizes who contacted a debt or a credit. References to pages numbers are listed in both registers, in the left margin of the 1 And thus differ from the Datini Company, which archive, one of the most important for the European economic history, is preserved in Prato, in Italy. 1

2 page in the Giornale, and within the text in the Debitori e Creditori. It allowed and still allows an easy circulation between the two books. In the example below, the information about the sale of woolens to a Turk named Samuello (Ismail) is first written in the giornale at the moment of the operation, and later, two times, inside the Debitori e Creditori, page 2 for the debtor (Samuello) and 3 for the creditor (the woolens or panni di garbo). The stripes on the registers indicate that the operations were totally concluded and that the payment had been made a dì 31 d otob(r)e. 2/3 Fa debitore Samuello, turcho, stiavo fu di Chairadin(n)o, e creditore pan(n)i di rag[i]one di Franc(esc)o di Gherardi da asp ; sono p(er) lla soma di pan(n)i 18 di gharbo bagniati e cinati ; te(m)po mesi 3, paghato i(n) 5, c[i]oè 10 tt(urchin)i, 3 v(er)deb(r)un(n)i, 2 paonazi, 3 festichin(n)i ; montano asp Sale of woolens to Samuello (Ismail), October 31 th 1491 (I.398, Giornale, fol.2g.) 1491 Samuello, turcho, stiavo fu di Chairadin(n)o, botteghaio i(n) Andrinopoli, de dare, a dì 31 d ottobre asp. ve(n)tiduemilacie(n)toquara(n)ta ; sono p(er) lla mo(n)ta di pan(ni) dic[i]otto, te(m)po mesi 3, paghati i(n) 5, di rag[i]one du Franc(esc)o Gherardi ; posto pan(ni) av(er)e i(n) q(uest)o c.3, al g[i]ornale c asp Debit operation for the sale of woolens of October 31 th 1491 (I.397, Debitori e Creditori, fol.2g.) 2

3 Pann(i) di gharbo di rag[i]one di Franc(esc)o di Gherardo Gherardi deono av(er)e a dì 31 d ott[o]b(r)e asp ; sono p(er) lla mo(n)ta di pan(ni) 18 vie(n)duti a Samuello p(er) asp peza ; posto Samuello dare i(n) q(uest)o c asp Credit operation for the sale of woolens of October 31 th 1491 (I.397, Debitori e Creditori, fol.3d.) The third account book focus on textile products received from Florence from March to August 1493, in order to be sold on the Ottoman markets. It contains an inventory of clothes (named legaggi) that had been received in Constantinople by Giovanni Salviati. I will focus on this list of 160 pieces of wool clothes as the starting point of this inquiry 2. From this list it is indeed possible to trace back to the Florentine workshops and their accounting registrations. I will show that the use of account books allow to connect the workshops where the pieces of clothes were manufactured, the commercial companies that shipped the clothes to the Ottoman Empire, the circulation of those goods, their reception in Constantinople and their sell. 1. In Florence, from the workshops to the commercial companies The list of woolens received in Pera, the district of Constantinople where lived the great majority of Latin merchants 3, concerns 160 pieces of woolens shipped out in 40 bales 4. Each bale, that contained four pieces, had a number from 1 to 40 and had a title, which referred to the quality of the product (the wool that has been used in the manufacturing process). The color, the craftsman and the measures are indicated for each cloth. On this list, it is written that the Florentine commercial Company of 2 Salviati, serie I, 399, Constantinople, Debitori e creditori, fol. 100 d. to 101d. 3 Or Galata, a district located north of the city of Constantinople, across the inlet of the Bosporus, called the Golden Horn. It was for 1267 a Genoese emporium. Few days after the Turkish Conquest, dissociating themselves from the doomed capital of the Byzantine Empire, the Genoese surrendered the keys of their city to Sultan Mehmed II and were rewarded with a peaceful integration of Galata into the new Ottoman capital as one of its four districts (with the Old city center or Stamboul, Eyyub and Ûsküdar or Scutari). See Borromeo 2005, Inalcik 1991, Mitler 1979, Pistarino Salviati, serie I, 399, Constantinople, Debitori e creditori, fol. 100 d. to 101d. 3

4 Alamanno di Averardo and Iacopo di Giovanni Salviati, shipped out all those textile products. Merchandize: 160 woolens of different qualities manufactured in Florence Packaging: 40 bales, each containing four pieces of woolens fully described Sender, from Florence: the commercial company of Alamanno di Averardo and Iacopo di Giovanni Salviati Receiver, in Pera: Giovanni di Marco Salviati Starting point: a list of 160 woolens shipped out from Florence to Constantinople ( ) The account books of Alamanno and Iacopo Salviati s company are still preserved in the Salviati archive. The Giornale e ricordanze.g., covering the years 1490 to 1492, refers also to these woolens. This account register is indeed divided into five sections: 1. The journal, where the daily operations were recorded (giornale) 2. The cash payments (denari rimessi) 3. The list of the bills of exchange received or sent (lettere di cambio mandate e ricevute) 4. The copies of account statements sent to commercial partners (ricordanze di partite) 5. The list of merchandizes received or shipped out (robe mandate e ricevute). In this last section is written the exact same list of those 160 woolens 5. The transcriptions just bellow show the example of the bale numbered 11, which contained four medium quality woolens (panni sopramani). For each bale, the first line indicates the number and the quality. Then, each following line indicates the kind of product (panno), the color, the craftsman, and the measures. The two descriptions of the bale 11 are exactly the same, with the exception of the color of the second woolen which is more detailed in the Florentine register: verde chiaro (clear green) instead of verde (green). The list of Constantinople has been written in 1493 when Giovanni Salviati received the merchandizes, opened each bale and copied the content in his book. The Florentine one refers to the date of the shipment, which happened on October, 16 th Salviati, serie I, 363, Florence, Giornale e ricordanze.g., fol. 238v to 240r. 4

5 Bale 11. Legaggio of Constantinople n XI sop(r)amani I panno chapo di pichio lav(or)ò e Salviati di b p i 39 I panno v(er)de lav(or)ò Franc(esc)o Zati di b p i 36 I panno tt(urchin)o lav(or)ò el ditto di b p i 36 I panno v(er)de b(r)uno lav(or)ò e Salviati di b p i 37½ Bale 11. Legaggio of Florence n 11 panni sop(r)amani panno chapo di pichio lav(or)ò i Salviati di b. 52 n 3 p i 39 panno v(er)de chiaro lav(or)ò Fr(ancesc)o Zati di b. 19 n 6 p. 36 panno tt(urchin)o a 2 volte lav(or)ò il deto di b. 17 n 8 p. 36 panno v(er)de b(r)uno lav(or)ò i Salviati di b. 49 n 2 p. 37½ By searching the operations corresponding to the date of the shipment in the section covering the daily operations (giornale), in the same Florentine account book, we find another list of those woolens. However this time, the list is presented as an account that concerns the costs of the purchases (conto di costo e spese di panni) of the woolens between August 20 th and October 12 th The account lists the woolens (panni) by producer, because it has been written before the packaging of the woolens into 40 bales. It indicates the measures of each piece and its cost. The amount of the general fees is written at the end. Again, this exact same list is written on the register kept in Constantinople 7. Those accounts are totally identical except one or two errors 6 fol. 112v to 113v : «A dì XVI d ottob(r)e. Chopia d un chonto mandato i Levante a Alfieri Strinati [ ] tra sam(ar)tini, sop(ra)mani e gharbi [ ] p(er) via di Lecio adritti a B(er)to Davanzati». 7 fol. 99g. to 100g. 5

6 certainly made by Giovanni Salviati when he copied this account in his book. Among those woolens, 160 were for sale on the markets of destination and five were intended for the packaging of the merchandize (per involtura): that is the reason why only 160 woolens appear in the legaggi of Florence and Constantinople. The woolens in the accounts are substantially the same as those described in the inventories (legaggi) but the indications concerning colors, measures and manufacturers are more detailed in the legaggi. Information may diverge, in particular regarding colors perceived as very close as sbiadato/turchino, two shades of blue. Nevertheless, with the exception of eight of them, it is possible to put both lists together and to notice that several craftsmen disappear in the final accounting. Some less important craftsmen certainly sold their production to more important ones that had contacts with the major commercial companies and acted as intermediaries. For example, Francesco da Barberino sold to the business company of Florence, in addition to his own, 13 woolens that, in the inventories, appear to have been manufactured by Domenico del Milanese. The same thing may be established through the exam of the woolens sold by the craft company of Averardo and Giovanni Salviati, for which the account registers are preserved in the Salviati archive from 1490 to The Salviati companies involved in the production of textile products and their commercialization around 1490 were around five, organically linked. Two of them were dedicated to the manufacture of woolens: one for the San Martino quality, the other for the garbo quality. The San Martino 8 quality designated luxurious clothes, produced from expensive and refined English wools. This production contributed to the prestige of the city but knew an important crisis in the first half of the fifteenth century 9, mostly linked to supply difficulties 10. As a response to this crisis, around 1450 s, several craftsmen began to manufacture panni di garbo that were done with cheaper wools, of inferior quality, coming from the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands, Provence or from Italy. They also were engaged in the fabrication of panni sopramani, which was still the same type as panni di garbo but done with a good castellan wool and was a little more expensive. The garbizzazione of the production of woolens, which means the redirection of the production towards an inferior quality, had been directly sustained by the wool guild of Florence (Arte della Lana) 11. A whole 8 From the name of the convent of San Martino, at the heart of the city (between the Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio), where most of the workshops were settled. 9 See Ammannati 2008, Chorley 2004, Goldthwaite 2003, Goldthwaite 2009, Hoshino 2001, Munro Malanima 1982, p Hoshino 1980, pp

7 series of products of lower quality started in the city, which will characterize the industry of the 16 th century. As a consequence, the Florentine craftsmen specialized in the woolens had to diversify their production. This important change is clearly visible in the registers of the different Salviati companies. At the end of the 1480 s, a master book indicates the company of Giuliano di Francesco and Iacopo di Giovanni Salviati as specialized in the San Martino sector, and the company of Alamanno di Averardo Salviati, settled in via del Palagio, in the production of panni di garbo. Giuliano, Iacopo and Alamanno were firsts cousins. Then Giovanni, son of Iacopo, and Averardo, son of Alamanno, continued the production activities in both sectors. Beside these activities, there was another craft company, the one of Francesco Salviati, son of Giuliano, that was involved in the supply of dye products and in the textile dyeing (tintori d arte maggiore). Those three companies (San Martino, garbo, tinta) were organically linked. Indeed, in 1487, the San Martino company bought books to a paper manufacturer for its own needs, but also for the garbo company and for the dyers. The last craft company was dedicated to the production of silk clothes. It was a creation of Iacopo di Giovanni Salviati but seemed to work in an autonomous way. The silk products became the new luxury sector of the Florentine industry. Beyond the craft activities, there was also a commercial Company in Florence that was managed then by Alamanno di Averardo and Iacopo di Giovanni Salviati. So the same persons involved in the manufacture of textile products were also involved in their commercialization, and those Salviati had close family relationship as first cousins, uncles and nephews. Alamanno Francesco Giovanni Averardo Giuliano Iacopo Alamanno Francesco Giovanni Averardo Family relationships in the Salviati s craft and commercial companies The craft company of Averardo and Giovanni Salviati, who sold 111 woolens to the business Salviati company, was an important firm that had production 7

8 activities as well as commercial ones. Indeed, they produced woolens that they sold, but they also bought woolens in order to sell them on different markets. In their account books, there were two sections dedicated to the commercialization of woolens: one for their own production, the other for the sale of woolens they bought. On the production side, this company was involved at the same time in the production of high quality clothes realized with English wools and of lower quality through their workshop in via del Palagio. The Ottoman markets were the main commercial outlet for the Florentine woolens. The manufacture of a new kind of woolens knew in fact a great success that conducted, together with the Florentine affirmation on the Ottoman market, to a partial takeover of the Florentine woolen industry. Hidetoshi Hoshino estimated that to pieces of cloth were exported to the Levant and the Ottoman Empire each year, when around were produced in the city. More than 40% of the production was thus sold directly into the Ottoman markets 12. The main exchange was to import Persian raw silk for the Florentine industry 13. If we take a look at the woolens bought by the Florentine business company of Alamanno and Iacopo Salviati in order to ship them out on the Ottoman markets, there is a large domination of the medium quality clothes. The company realized its purchases of wool clothes from various craftsmen registered at the Arte della Lana, (the wool guild of Florence) or the Arte della Tinta (the dyeing guild). The employees of the company of Alamanno and Iacopo Salviati who held the commercial accounts had also in charge to list on an alphabetical index all the craftsmen and merchants who had an account into the books. Thanks to those indexes and to the cross- references contained in the various accounts, it is possible to go back up to the operations, which preceded the shipment of those woolens to Constantinople occurred on October 16 th They first bought 42 woolens of medium quality (panni di garbo) to Francesco d Antonio da Barberino and C ie., lanaioli nella via del Palagio, on August 20 th, for an amount of 874 fiorini larghi 14. Then, on September 14 th and 15 th, they bought two woolens for packaging (per involtura): one to Giovanni di Battista da Genova, purgatore 15, for 13 fiorini larghi payed by cash, and the other to Lorenzo di Stefano Masolini and C ie., dyers, for l2 and a half fiorini larghi, also by cash. On October 11 th, they acquired eight woolens of turchini color (shade of blue) to the heir of Matteo di Michele for 124 fiorini larghi, and the day after, two rough woolens (corsivi) also turchini to Ristori d Alexandro and C ie., lanaioli, for See Hoshino 1980, Hoshino- Mazzaoui , Hoshino See Chorley of them were turchini, 6 colombini and 3 cilestrini. 15 whose function was to clean the wools. 8

9 and a half fiorini larghi. The most important quantity of woolens (111) had been bought from the company of Averardo and Giovanni Salviati, lanaioli and firsts cousins of the buyers, for the important amount of almost and a half fiorini larghi: 24 panni san martini (high quality) for and a half fiorini larghi 16, 59 sopramani (medium quality) for and a half fiorini larghi 17 and 28 corsivi (rough) for 528 and a half fiorini larghi 18. Date of the purchase Craft company Quality of woolens Quantity Amount (fiorini larghi) (1492) August 20 th Francesco d Antonio da Panni di garbo Barberino, lanaioli nella via del Palagio September 12 th Giovanni di Battista da Panno per 1 13 (by cash) Genova, purgatore 20 involtura (for packaging) September 12 th Lorenzo di Stefano Panno per 1 12½ (by cash) Masolini and Cie, dyers involtura (for packaging) October 11 th the heir of Matteo di Panni turchini Michele October 12 th Ristori d Alexandro Panni corsivi 2 31½ and C ie., lanaioli turchini October 12 th Averardo and Giovanni Salviati, lanaioli (cousins of the buyers) Panni san martini Panni sopramani Panni corsivi TOTAL ½ 1 537½ 528½ 3 143½ The purchase of woolens by Alamanno and Iacopo Salviati, for the shipment to Constantinople of October 16 th 1492 Regarding the colors, the Ottoman market was asking mostly woolens with different shades of blue and green. Among those 160 woolens, there is a color information for 151 of them. Almost 73% of the woolens had a shade of blue (46,4%) 16 2 turchini, 2 verde chiari, 2 limoni, 8 verde bruni, 6 paonazzo di grana, 1 sbiadato, 2 tane, 1 rossellino turchini, 13 verde chiari, 2 limoni, 1 verde porro, 6 verde bruni, 8 colombini, 4 capo di picchio, 5 bruschini, 3 rossellini, 2 trinca braccio, 1 tane, 1 schizzo d oca turchini, 7 sbiadato, 2 paonazzi, 4 verde bruno, 1 verde pieno, 1 bianco, 2 giallo of them were turchini, 6 colombini and 3 cilestrini. 20 whose function was to clean the wools. 21 Turchino is a shade of blue. 9

10 or a shade of green (26,5%). This situation presented an important change with the color requested in Constantinople under the Byzantine Emperor, which was mostly a shade of red. Indeed, in Giacomo Badoer s account book, kept in , we find 561 cloth pieces whose colour is mentioned. Almost 51% were reds and reddish purples, around 33,2% had gradations of vat blues and 12,7% had gradations of greens 22. Color Color translation Shade of Quantity Ratio turchino Turkish blue blue 59 39,1% verde bruno Very dark green green 18 11,9% verde chiaro Light green green 15 9,9% colombino Dove color grey 14 9,3% sbiadato blue 8 5,3% paonazzo di grana Peony purple red 8 5,3% bruschino Carded beige beige 5 3,3% rossellino Madder red green 4 2,6% capo di picchio Woodpecker green red 4 2,6% limone Lemon yellow yellow 4 2,6% cilestrino Celestial blue blue 3 2% trinca braccio? 2 1,3% giallo yellow yellow 2 1,3% tane Fustic orange orange 1 0,7% verde pieno Mid green green 1 0,7% schizzo d oca green goose poop green 1 0,7% bianco white white 1 0,7% verde porro Leek green green 1 0,7% % 2. From Florence to Constantinople Alamanno and Iacopo Salviati bought those 160 woolens from August, 20 th to October 10 th, and shipped them out on October, 16 th The different accounts also contain the amount of the fees for a total expense of around 285 fiorini larghi: - one fiorino to wash the woolens (lavatura di panni) - 27, 5 fiorini to dye some of them (tintura di panni) 22 A communication presented at the international conference «Dyes in History and Archaeology 33», in Octobre 2014 in Glasgow by Ingrid Houssaye Michienzi and Dominique Cardon, was focusing on this subject. It was untitled : «Colour fashions in Constantinople in the light of some unpublished archives of a Florentine company (end of XV th century)». 10

11 - 50 fiorini to cut and give to the clothes an uniform appearance (governatura e cimatura di panni) - 1,5 fiorino to mark 136 of them (marchiatura di panni 136) - 22 fiorini to buy 160 strips (bandinelle 160) - 4,5 fiorini to package the woolens into 40 bales (legatura di balle 40) - 38,5 fiorini for taxes (gabella di panni) fiorini to ship out the products until Lecce, in South Italy (vettura di qui a Leccio) The different fees of the textile products, from Florence to Lecce, in Apulia (South Italy) In the register of Constantinople dedicated to the textile products shipped out from Florence, there is another account that gives a lot of details about the mode of transport used and the journey made. A copy of an account sent to the Florentine merchants (Alamanno and Iacopo Salviati), dated March, 26 th 1493 and copied in the register, establish the expenses of Dimitri, presented as nostro garzone in Pera, that means the young boy that was working with Giovanni Salviati in Constantinople 23. He travelled from Pera until Lecce to bring back the merchandizes and did the return route, from Lecce to Pera, making several steps: maritime carriage from San 23 Salviati, I, 399, Constantinople, fol. 98d. : «Copia d uno chonto dateci dateci Dimittri n(ost)ro gharzone in Pera di spese fatt(e) a balle XLII di panni sam(ar)ttini e gharbi, e chasse IIII di drappi chon oro e sa(n)za oro di ragione di [ ] Alaman(n)o e Iac(op)o Salviati e c(ompagnia) di Fire(n)ze e P(r)iore Strinati e a Strinato Strinati, da Lleccio insino in Pera, e p(r)ima chondotti p(er) Dimittri n(ost)ro gharzone, e lui à fatto le sottoscritte spese e a cciaschuno de sudetti se n è dato la p(ar)t(i)t(a)». 11

12 Cataldo (near Lecce) to Valona (Vlorë, Albania) 24, then a terrestrial route with a convoy of 24 horses via Kastoria (Macedonia) 25 and Adrianople (present- day Edirne) 26 until Constantinople 27. Itinerary of the merchandizes, from Florence to Constantinople He spent around akçe (aspri), a silver coin used in the Ottoman Empire. Giovanni Salviati kept his three account books in this currency, with just some exceptions. He gave the equivalence with the gold Venetian ducat. On July 1492 he wrote that one ducat corresponded to 52 akçe 28. De facto, Dimitri spent around 165 ducats. Giovanni Salviati received then the goods in Pera on behalf of Alfieri Strinati, a Florentine merchant established in Constantinople who was a commercial partner of Alamanno and Iacopo Salviati and had invested in this operation. Giovanni Salviati was indeed indicated in the Florentine inventory as one of the potential recipient of the woolens, with Bartolomeo Davanzati and Giramonte Ridolfi. 24 Ibid. : «p(er) nolo da San Chataldo alla Valona duc. XI d(enar)o in o(ro) viniziani v(alutat)o asp. 51 p(er) duc(ato)». 25 Ibid. : «P(er) aghugl[i]o dalla Velona in Chastoria di chavalli XXIIII». 26 Ibid. : «P(er) aghugl[i]o di Chastoria in A(n)drinop(o)li di chavelli [sic] XXIIII, asp. 115, soma in t(ut)to asp. 2760». 27 Ibid. : «P(er) aghugl[i]o d Andrinop(o)li in Pera e portta di Ghonstanop(o)li in t(ut)to asp. 1400». 28 Salviati, I, 398, Constantinople, Giornale, fol. 9 : «Fa debitore Alfieri e creditore chassa di d.351 d oro [...] vagliono asp. 52 p(er) d.». 12

13 Copia d uno chonto dateci Dimittri n(ost)ro gharzone in Pera di spese fatt(e) a balle XLII di panni sam(ar)ttini e gharbi, e chasse IIII di drappi chon oro e sa(n)za oro di ragione di più p(er)sone e p(r)ima. Ap(r)eso vi dien chontto di spese fatte a balle XLII di panni e chasse IIII di drappi di più sortte atenentte Alaman(n)o e Iac(op)o Salviati e c(ompagnia) di Fire(n)ze e P(r)iore Strinati e a Strinato Strinati, da Lleccio insino in Pera, e p(r)ima chondotti p(er) Dimittri n(ost)ro gharzone, e lui à fatto le sottoscritte spese e a cciaschuno de sudetti se n è dato la p(ar)t(i)t(a) : P(er) tantti a Barttolomeo Davanzati p(er) istallagio consolagio come p(er) uno conto di detto B(ar)tt(olome)o appare duc. nove cioè duc. VIIII ne** asp. VI v(alutat)o asp. 51 p(er) duchato, in t(ut)to asp. 453 P(er) nolo da San Chataldo alla Valona duc. XI d(enar)o in o(ro) viniziani v(alutat)o asp. 51 p(er) duc(ato) asp. 561 P(er) istallag[i]o a Francc(esc)o Schino e alttre spese ochorse nella Velona apare p(er) suo contto asp. 398 P(er) aghugl[i]o dalla Velona in Chastoria di chavalli XXIIII che se n è p(r)ese più I p(er) rispetto asp. 70 soma asp P(er) aghugl[i]o di Chastoria in A(n)drinop(o)li di chavelli [sic] XXIIII asp. 115 soma in t(ut)to asp P(er) tantti d**rmi dalla Velona che venne in suo conp asp. 410 P(er) beveraggi e manggiare della Velone in t(ut)to asp. 100 P(er) beveraggi e vino dalla Velona in Chastoria e vitto in t(ut)to asp. 100 P(er) vitto e beveraggi in Chastoria in t(ut)to asp. 100 P(er) vitto e beveraggi di Chastoria a Brissi asp. 200 P(er) lo stiavo d argientto di B(r)issi in t(ut)to asp. 50 P(er) vitto e beveraggi e vino dato a Glaghuglatti da B(r)issi a Chomizzina in t(ut)to - asp. 150 P(er) vitto e vino e beveraggi da Chomizzina in Andrinopoli in t(ut)to asp. 100 P(er) enttrata e uscita d Andrinop(o)li in t(ut)to asp. 25 P(er) i spese fatte detto Dimittri quando andò p(er) detti panni e drappi di P. insino a Lleccio asp. 225 P(er) aghugl[i]o d Andrinop(o)li in Pera e portta di Ghonstanop(o)li in t(ut)to asp asp Som(m)a le sop(r)adette spese fatte p(er) ditto Dimittri come parttitamente si vede asp. ottomila cinq(u)ecientto novantta due, cioè asp. VIII m. DLXXXX II, e de tanti siate debit(ori), rivedete il chontto, e stando come noi l achoncciate, esendovi de noia p(er) nes(s)uno ditelo e chontiggierasi. Che Idio v** asp V(ostr)o gharzone Dimitri in Pera A dì di XXVI di m(ar)zo Account of the expenses of Dimitri, March, 26th

14 3. In the Ottoman City If the account concerning the expenses of Dimitri was copied in Giovanni Salviati'ʹs book on March 26 th, the woolens could not have arrived in Pera before this date. The register where Giovanni copied the fees is described as a book held by himself, where had to be kept the account of merchandizes shipped out from Florence on behalf of Alfieri Strinati (Questo libro è di Giovanni di Marcho Salviati in sul quale si terrà conto di robe mandate di Firenze per Alfieri Strinati). The first half of the register concerns the account of persons who bought wool and silk clothes coming from Florence between March 29 th and June 29 th The second half preserved the inventories and diverse accounts about those sales. This register is thus totally dedicated to one single shipment from Florence, which contained the 40 bales of woolens already described, accompanied by four boxes of silk clothes. The register lists the sale of 156 woolens, with their colors, for an amount of aspri, or ducats: 87 panni sopramani, 33 panni bastardi, 24 panni corsivi, 5 panni garbi without any detail, 7 panni sanmartini. The totality of these clothes refers to the inventories previously described. The table below summarizes the sales, the buyers and the prices of the woolens. What strikes in the first place in the business the Florentines did in the Ottoman Empire are the poor relations they wove with the Turks. The Florentine traders had some direct contacts with them, mainly with powerful and rich ones, as the Ottoman Door (la Porta del Signore) meaning the central government of the Empire, the court of the sultan himself, which had an account into Giovanni Salviati s registers. The table indicates that Giovanni Salviati sold 50 woolens to the Sublime Porte on June 29 th It seems rather that the Florentine merchants, in order to penetrate directly the local market, collaborated with Jewish ones to support their business. DATE (1493) BUYER MERCHANDIZES PRICE (aspri/ducat) total and unit March 29 th Baba and Iacupe di Iusefe Jews 20 panni sopramani / / 30 April 2 nd Sofi Mecomedi Shopkeeper in Gallipoli 11 panni corsivi 1 panno bastardo / / 25 April 19 th Baba di Davit 7 panni sanmartini / 353 Jew, shopkeeper in Constantinople Bedesten May 10 th Iusteffino and Muse Calamiti 16 panni bastardi /

15 Jews, shopkeepers in / 25 Constantinople Bedesten May 13 th Muse and Elia Calamiti Jews, shopkeepers in 8 panni bastardi / / 25 Constantinople Bedesten May 13 th Begliamino Jew 8 panni bastardi / / 25 June 3 rd Sengerage Ugoli 1 panno garbo / 21 June 3 rd C ie Mordecai and Abram Jews 8 panni corsivi / / 22 June 3 rd Maomet Turk, shopkeeper in 5 panni corsivi / / 22 Constantinople Bedesten June 5 th Baba di Davit Jew, shopkeeper in 12 panni sopramani / / 30 Constantinople Bedesten June 5 th Iacuda Luco Jew, shopkeeper in 4 panni garbi / / 20 Constantinople Bedesten June 5 th Sabatino Luco Jew, shopkeeper in 5 panni sopramani / / 30 Constantinople Bedesten June 29 th Sublime Porte 50 panni sopramani / / panni / The buyers of the Florentine woolens, from March 29 th to June 29 th In the table of Giovanni Salviati s sales of 1493, almost everything was made through Jewish brokers, who seemed to have a common strategy of buying their goods to the Florentines in order to sell them certainly at a local level. The Jews were defined in the documentation as giudeo or ebreo. The table gives the name of 15 buyers with a determinate origin, for 13 different sales. Eleven of them were Jews and mainly shopkeepers in the Bedesten of Constantinople (bottegaio in Bisestano). The oldest part of the actual Grand Bazaar s, a covered one, was the economic heart of the city, built under the reign of Mehmed II in The word bedesten is adapted from the Persian word bezestan, derived from bez ("ʺcloth"ʺ), and means bazaar of the cloth sellers"ʺ. It was thus devoted to the trading of textiles products. After the 29 See Inalcik 1980, Gulersoy

16 Conquest, the Ottoman sultans tried to develop a local trade composed by Turks, Greeks and Jews. In the account books, it is possible to find some references to Greeks, but the Jews were clearly more present. In the Ottoman Empire they occupied a key place at a commercial level, notably in the finances and the customs. They were offering facilities to the Europeans for the administrative routines and formalities 30. So they logically became the privileged intermediaries between Latins and Moslem Ottomans. 4. Conclusion : a multifaceted Merchant network This reconstruction of a network used by Florentine craftsmen in order to sell their production in Constantinople rests exclusively on accounting registrations. The business documentation, and in particular the account books, allow indeed to identify and to characterize important business networks that were operating in European and Mediterranean areas. The modus operandi appears very clearly in the registers, granting the reconstruction of the interactions between Florentine business and craft companies. It also highlights the intermediaries in the commercial places where the Florentine traders were implanted, and the offloading places. The network that has been deeply described articulates several types of people who had a determinate function. First, there were the important craftsmen connected to the commercial companies that sold also the woolens of smaller craft companies, and were thus also brokers. Then, the commercial firms in Florence played an important role by gathering the products, paying a driver until the Apulia and having a connection with Florentine merchants established in the Ottoman Empire. In Constantinople, the network was relying on a Florentine agent who got back the merchandizes by sending one of his men in South Italy, and by selling the products through the connections he had with Jewish merchants. This article emphasizes also the role of local communities of merchants in the international economy and shows the articulation between a regional trade and another that was operating on a large scale. The Florentines shipped out clothes from Florence to a Florentine agent who sold them mostly to Jewish merchants. Those merchants were selling the textile products on a local level, in the Bazaars, and collecting goods for the Florentines in different places of the Empire. Then, the goods 30 Mantran 1994, p. 58 : «les Juifs, qui se révèlent de plus en plus comme intermédiaires entre Francs et Ottomans, se font une spécialité de faciliter aux Occidentaux les démarches indispensables, les formalités nécessaires pour l obtention des permis de navigation, de déchargement ou de chargement des marchandises, etc.». About the Jews in the Ottoman Empire, see Arbel 1995, Braude- Lewis 1982, Epstein 1980, Inalcik 1989, Levy 2002, Rozen 2002, Shmuelevitz 1984, Yerasimos

17 were exported through a Florentine company in the European markets. In this business, every actor of this multifaceted and intercultural network had his own task and it was the articulation between those different actors that allowed the Florentine craftsmen to be able to sale their woolens in Constantinople. It is not possible to go further because of the death of Giovanni Salviati in November But in the Salviati archive, particularly in the documentation of business companies that were operating from Florence on diverse markets, there is a lot of similar lists that allow to characterize the trade they did with the Ottoman commercial places. They show how those markets were important for the Florentine economy to the point that the provveditori of the wool guild (provveditori dell Arte della Lana) qualify the Levant, in 1487, as the stomach of their medium quality clothes (lo stomaco de nostri panni garbi) 31. Indicative bibliography : Ammannati 2008 = F. Ammannati, Note sulla decadenza dell'ʹarte della Lana a Firenze nel Cinquecento, in F. Amatori, A. Colli (ed.), Imprenditorialità e sviluppo economico. Il caso italiano (secc. XIII- XX), Milan, 2008, p Arbel 1995 = B. Arbel, Trading Nations. Jews and Venetians in the Early Modern Eastern Mediterranean, Leiden- New York- Cologne, Borromeo 2005 = E. Borromeo, Les Catholiques à Constantinople. Galata et les églises de rite latin au XVIIe siècle, in Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, , 2005, p Braude- Lewis 1982 = B. Braude, B. Lewis (ed.), Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: the Functioning of a Plural Society. Volume I: the Central Lands, New York - London, Chorley 2003 = P. Chorley, Rascie and the Florentine Cloth Industry during the Sixteenth Century, in The Journal of European Economic History, 32/3, 2003, p Hoshino 1980, p

18 Chorley 2004 = P. Chorley, The Volume of Cloth Production in Florence, : An Assessment of the Evidence, in G. L. Fontana, G. Gayot (ed.), Wool : Products and Markets (13th to 20 th Century), Padua, 2004, p Epstein 1980 = M.A. Epstein, The Ottoman Jewish Communities and Their Role in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, Fribourg, Goldthwaite 2003 = R.A. Goldthwaite, The Florentine Wool Industry in the Late Sixteenth Century : A Case Study, in Journal of European Economic History, 32, 2003, p Goldthwaite 2009 = R.A. Goldthwaite, The Economy of Renaissance Florence, Baltimore, Gulersoy 1990 = Celik Gulersoy, The Story of the Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Hoshino 1980 = H. Hoshino, L'ʹarte della lana in Firenze nel Basso Medioevo: il commercio della lana e il mercato dei panni fiorentini nei secoli XIII- XV, Florence, Hoshino 2001 = H. Hoshino, Industria tessile e commercio internazionale nella Firenze del tardo Medioevo, F. Franceschi, S. Tognetti (ed.), Florence, Olschki, Hoshino- Mazzaoui = H. Hoshino, M. Mazzaoui, Ottoman Markets for Florentine Woolen Cloth in Late Fifteenth Century, in International Journal of Turkish Studies, 3, , p Inalcik 1980 = H. Inalcik, The Hub of the City : the Bedestan of Istanbul, in International Journal of Turkish Studies, 1, 1980, p Inalcik 1989 = H. Inalcik, Jews in the Ottoman Economy , in C.E. Bosworth, C. Issawi (ed.), Essays in Honor of Bernard Lewis. The Islamic World, Princeton, 1989, p Inalcik 1991 = H. Inalcik, Ottoman Galata, , in E. Eldem (ed.), Première rencontre internationale sur l Empire ottoman et la Turquie moderne, Institut Français d Études Anatoliennes, Istanbul- Paris, 1991, p

19 Levy 2002 = A. Levy (ed.), Jews, Turks, Ottomans: A Shared History, Fifteenth Through the Twentieth Century, Syracuse (NY), Malanima 1982 = P. Malanima, La décadenza di un economia cittadina, Bologne, Mantran 1994 = R. Mantran, Istanbul au siècle de Soliman le Magnifique, Paris, Mitler 1979 = L. Mitler, The Genoese in Galata: , in International Journal of Middle East Studies, 10, 1979, p Munro 2007 = J.H. Munro, I panni di lana, in F. Franceschi, R.A. Goldthwaite, R.C. Mueller (ed.), Il Rinascimento italiano e l'ʹeuropa, IV, Commercio e cultura mercantile, Treviso- Costabissara (Vicenza), 2007, p Pistarino 1984 = G. Pistarino, La caduta di Costantinopoli : da Pera genovese a Galata turca, in La storia dei Genovesi, 5, 1984, p Rozen 2002 = M. Rozen, History of the Jewish Community in Istanbul: The Formative Years, , Leiden, Shmuelevitz 1984 = A. Shmuelevitz, The Jews of the Ottoman Empire in the Late Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries : Administrative, Economic, Legal and Social Relations as Reflected in the Responsa, Leiden, Yerasimos 1995 = S. Yerasimos, La communauté juive d Istanbul à la fin du XVI e siècle, in Turcica, 27, 1995, p