Oscar Gelderblom, Cities of Commerce: The Institutional Foundations of International Trade in the Low Countries, 1250-1650

Abstract

In this fascinating book Oscar Gelderblom offers a new explanation for Europe’s commercial development during the late medieval and early modern eras. Focusing on the development of Bruges, Antwerp, and Amsterdam during their periods of primacy, Gelderblom argues that Europe’s political fragmentation gave individual cities the incentive to establish institutions and policies favorable to trade. It has long been suggested that Europe’s political fragmentation was somehow linked to its early ec...