Military food supply in the Republic of Venice in the eighteenth century: Entrepreneurs, merchants, and the state

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the economic effects of the development of military logistical structures – especially food supply structures – in the state-building process in the Early Modern period, using the Republic of Venice as a case study. It will consider both technical elements (officials, structures, laws) and economic dynamics (grain purchasing and bread production contracts).The article will also profile the grain merchants who traded with Venetian officials and took on bread production contracts. It will trace the circumstances, many of them outside of the control of the state, which shaped the fundamental role played by merchants and entrepreneurs in directing the evolution of supply structures: these developments were influenced primarily by military needs and the competences required to fulfil them, but also by market forces and the rewards available to entrepreneurs.