Northern grain and the Flemish nation in Genoa: the structural consequences of a famine (1585–1616)

Abstract

This article is a case study in the formation and function of commercial networks in the early Modern Period. Analysing the network structures and strategies of foreign businessmen in urban contexts, the inquiry focuses on the Republic of Genoa’s role in the grain trade during the 16th and the 17th centuries. To do so, it examines the contributions of ‘Northern’ merchants in the creation of new commercial networks on a European scale during a major famine. The crisis forced the Republic to open new supply channels, towards Northern Europe and the Baltic region. Through their correspondents abroad, Northern European traders were urged to send grains and agents to Genoa. They did, and the numbers and the prestige of the German and the Flemish nations in the city increased. Their presence changed the commercial networks of the Genoese victualling institution, the Magistrato dell’Abbondanza, and they gained considerable influence after the famine.