TY  - BOOK
AU  - Gelderblom,Oscar
TI  - Cities of Commerce: The Institutional Foundations of International Trade in the Low Countries, 1250-1650 
T2  - The Princeton Economic History of the Western World
SN  - 9780691142883
AV  - HF3595 .G45 2017
U1  - 382.09492 23
PY  - 2013///]
CY  - Princeton, NJ : 
PB  - Princeton University Press, 
KW  - BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economic History
KW  - bisacsh
KW  - Amsterdam
KW  - Antwerp
KW  - Bruges
KW  - Dutch Republic
KW  - Dutch Revolt
KW  - Europe
KW  - European commerce
KW  - Flemish Revolt
KW  - German Hanse
KW  - Habsburgs
KW  - Hans Thijs
KW  - Low Countries
KW  - amicable settlement
KW  - arbitration
KW  - boycotts
KW  - brokers
KW  - central courts
KW  - collective action
KW  - commenda
KW  - commerce
KW  - commercial cities
KW  - commercial infrastructure
KW  - commercial litigation
KW  - commission trade
KW  - compensation
KW  - conflict resolution
KW  - court proceedings
KW  - cross-border trade
KW  - double-entry bookkeeping
KW  - footloose merchants
KW  - foreign traders
KW  - hostellers
KW  - inclusive institutions
KW  - institutional change
KW  - international trade
KW  - losses
KW  - merchants
KW  - open access institutions
KW  - private order solutions
KW  - spot markets
KW  - spreading of risks
KW  - state formation
KW  - trade ports
KW  - urban autonomy
KW  - urban competition
KW  - urban magistrates
KW  - violence
N1  - Frontmatter --; Contents --; Illustrations --; Acknowledgments --; Chapter 1 Introduction --; Chapter 2. Commercial Cities --; Chapter 3. The Organization of Exchange --; Chapter 4. Crossing Borders --; Chapter 5. Conflict Resolution --; Chapter 6. The Protection of Trade --; Chapter 7. Dealing with Losses --; Chapter 8. Conclusion --; Appendix A. The Incidence of Violence against Foreign Merchants in the Low Countries, 1250-1650 --; Appendix B. The Motivation, Organization, and Outcome of Collective Action by Merchants of the German Hanse in Bruges, 1250-1500 --; List of Abbreviations --; Bibliography --; Index; restricted access; Issued also in print
N2  - Cities of Commerce develops a model of institutional change in European commerce based on urban rivalry. Cities continuously competed with each other by adapting commercial, legal, and financial institutions to the evolving needs of merchants. Oscar Gelderblom traces the successive rise of Bruges, Antwerp, and Amsterdam to commercial primacy between 1250 and 1650, showing how dominant cities feared being displaced by challengers while lesser cities sought to keep up by cultivating policies favorable to trade. He argues that it was this competitive urban network that promoted open-access institutions in the Low Countries, and emphasizes the central role played by the urban power holders--the magistrates--in fostering these inclusive institutional arrangements. Gelderblom describes how the city fathers resisted the predatory or reckless actions of their territorial rulers, and how their nonrestrictive approach to commercial life succeeded in attracting merchants from all over Europe. Cities of Commerce intervenes in an important debate on the growth of trade in Europe before the Industrial Revolution. Challenging influential theories that attribute this commercial expansion to the political strength of merchants, this book demonstrates how urban rivalry fostered the creation of open-access institutions in international trade
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400848591?locatt=mode:legacy
UR  - https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9781400848591
UR  - https://www.degruyter.com/cover/covers/9781400848591.jpg
ER  -