Abstract
In early modern Europe, insolvency was an inherently localized procedure. Whereas merchants and investors operated as part of an internationalizing economy,financial misfortune was treated by local authorities in cities such as Amsterdam and Frankfurt am Main. Throughout the early modern period, increasing levels of communication between municipal authorities on such matters can be observed. Governments cooperated in order to support their citizens’ position as creditors of a foreign debtor. The case study of the Amsterdam insolvent Gasparo Schellekens displays how the Amsterdam Desolate Boedelskamer used tailor-made forms of communication to allow both local and foreign creditors to participate in its insolvency procedure on an equal footing. We will argue that reciprocity rather than competition formed the basis of this open access institution, much to the benefit of all parties involved.
Highlights
Introduction‘Noble, honourable, highly learned, wise, provident and most discreet lords’. In these flattering terms, the commissioners of the Desolate Boedelskamer or Chamber of Insolvencies in Amsterdam addressed the
In early modern Europe, insolvency was an inherently localized procedure
Whereas merchants and investors operated as part of an internationalizing economy, financial misfortune was treated by local authorities in cities such as Amsterdam and Frankfurt am Main
Summary
‘Noble, honourable, highly learned, wise, provident and most discreet lords’. In these flattering terms, the commissioners of the Desolate Boedelskamer or Chamber of Insolvencies in Amsterdam addressed the. TSEG local authorities in Frankfurt am Main in a letter of 8 March 1701.2 The commissioners friendly requested them to notify a number of Frankfurt citizens about an insolvent in their care, Gasparo Schellekens Because of his international trading activities, this merchant had engaged in commerce with several foreign traders. Upcoming nation states strived to improve their commercial position vis-à-vis their international competitors through a variety of political and economic strategies This phenomenon can be observed at the local level. Oscar Gelderblom describes how Amsterdam, for instance, strived to attract merchants in competition with regional rivals like Antwerp through a combination of diplomacy and favourable open access institutions.[3] In this period, the role of foreign merchants within insolvency procedures was usually complicated. In order to enforce their rights and resolve disputes, they had to depend upon a variety of legal regimes that were alien and potentially hostile to them.[4]
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Schedule a callMore From: Tijdschrift voor Sociale en Economische Geschiedenis/ The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History
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