Handelsverbindungen zwischen zentraleuropäischem Binnenmarkt, regionalem Warenaustausch und globalen Güterketten

Abstract

Trade Links between the Central European Domestic Market, Regional Trade and Global Commodity Chains. The integration of Lower Austria’s economy into global interactions intensified in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Vienna and Trieste replaced old centres of trade intermediation such as Krems an der Donau. The purchase of raw materials and luxury goods and the sale of commercial goods in the Mediterranean and Atlantic region were handled via these two metropolises. In addition to the merchants in Trieste and Vienna, trade centres further afield also played a significant role, and local intermediary nodes in Lower Austria itself were also important. Migration processes, the foundation of companies, and investments resulted in a complex process of market consolidation from the local and regional to the global level. Steam shipping, rail connections and the growth of the financial sector transformed the material structure and functioning of the networks in the second half of the 19th century, but not the commercial geography.