Introduction: political economies of empire; 1. The medieval background; 2. The reversal of the balance; 3. The Ottoman Levant; 4. Genoa, Venice and Livorno (a tale of three cities); 5. Trade, violence and diplomacy; 6. Diplomacy, trade and religion; 7. The Venetian peculiarities; 8. The English mercantile community in Venice; 9. The English and other mercantile communities; 10. The goods of the trade; 11. Empires and governance in the Mediterranean; 12. Coda and conclusions; Bibliography; Index.
Early modern European economic development seen through the interaction of two major players in the Mediterranean economy: Venice and England.
Maria Fusaro is Associate Professor (Reader) in Early Modern European History and directs the Centre for Maritime Historical Studies at the University of Exeter. She is the author of Reti commerciali e traffici globali in eta' moderna (2008) and L'uva passa. Una guerra commerciale tra Venezia e l'Inghilterra, 1540–1640 (1997), and co-editor of Trade and Cultural Exchange in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Braudel's Maritime Legacy (2010) and Maritime History as Global History (2011). Her articles include 'Cooperating Mercantile Networks in the Early Modern Mediterranean', The Economic History Review 65 (2012) and 'Representation in Practice: The Myth of Venice and the British Protectorate in the Ionian Islands (1801–64)' in Exploring Cultural History (2010).
'Two empires, Venice already old and past its peak, England
adolescent and ambitious, met in mingled rivalry and co-operation
in the early modern Eastern Mediterranean. English-speaking
historians have long regarded the Venetian Empire as a maritime
empire prefiguring the British Empire, but their view of Venice and
its transactions with England has generally been based on English
sources. For the first time Maria Fusaro gives us the English among
the creeks and islands of the Venetian empire, as seen by the
Venetians themselves. Using archives hitherto little-known or
wholly unknown, she paints a lively picture of Anglo-Venetian
commerce, diplomacy and war.' Nicholas Rodger, University of
Oxford
'This is an innovative work of comparative history that makes a
significant contribution to our understanding of the early modern
world. By considering the rise of England and the decline of Venice
in tandem, Fusaro is able to cast fascinating new light onto these
familiar historical questions, and to show their importance to
broader issues, such as the rise of capitalism, globalization and
empire.' Eric Dursteler, Brigham Young University, Utah
'Fusaro is determined to remind her readers, contrary to mainstream
historiography, that Venice was indeed an empire and one whose
imperial glories, preoccupations and costs acted as a model to
those capitalist successors which have lasted into the twentieth
century and beyond.' Richard Bosworth, History Today
'Every scholar interested in imperial history and the English
mercantile community should read Political Economies of Empire in
the Early Modern Mediterranean as Maria Fusaro proposes a
stimulating re-interpretation of the role of Venice and the English
within the early modern Mediterranean. This book is an excellent
response to the quantitative-econometric approach now unfortunately
too common among economic historians that, by overlooking the
social aspect of commerce, fail to grasp fully the early modern
maritime world. Instead, Fusaro's work enriches recent literature
on social history of trade … Fusaro presents a novel view on
imperialism and a different narrative on trade that I hope economic
historians will develop in future scholarship.' Giada Pizzoni,
Global Intellectual History
'Fusaro explores this complex of issues through a dense,
source-rich analysis of the commercial, diplomatic, and social
links between Venice and England from the late Middle Ages through
the seventeenth century.' Dennis Romano, The Journal of Modern
History
'Political Economies offers much to a broad range of readers. Those
interested only in Venice will garner a new understanding of her
political and economic history, especially for those to whom
Italian historiography has been inaccessible. Scholars interested
in the rise of England will also find much that is new in this book
(although its primary research into English sources is much less
rich than the evidence of Italian archives). For economic and
political historians, Fusaro has revealed a concrete example of the
interplay between politics, trade, economics and warfare. Of course
readers in any of those camps may well be maritime historians, all
of whom will find this book a valuable contribution to our
expanding range of interest. As its title implies, Political
economies of empire in the early modern Mediterranean is very much
a maritime history, too.' Adrian Leonard, The International Journal
of Maritime History
'The volume of research initiated for the production of this book
is impressive, and has enabled Fusaro to create an imposing study
that will prove vital for the early modern maritime historian. …
The book is a valuable and authoritative contribution to the fields
of early modern state formation, maritime studies, and economic
history.' Benjamin W. D. Redding, The Mariner's Mirror
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