An Analysis of the Linkage between the Genoese “Compera” and Municipal Decision-Making in the Twelfth Century

Abstract

In recent years, domestic academics have paid more and more attention to the origins of the Western state, and the Republic of Genoa, as one of the medieval maritime overlords in North Italy, deserves to be studied in depth for its mode of statehood and expansion. In the twelfth century, the Republic of Genoa used for the first time in its financial system an instrument similar to the public debt of modern times in order to solve the problem of municipal funding in the military and financial aspects. This financial instrument, called “compera”, was closely linked to municipal taxation, and often developed along with the implementation of municipal military and financial policies, eventually forming a lasting linkage with municipal decision-making. In essence, the underlying logic of this linkage is expressed through the interaction between the expanding taxing power of municipalities and their frequent fiscal indebtedness. More importantly, the linkage mechanism also stimulates the further monopolisation of public power by the urban elite aristocracy in the process of its operation.