In the seminar presentation we will analyze the interrelation of two sectors, international trade and state finance in the creation of a global economy in the early modern era and the role of the Mediterranean in it. We will do so through the case studies of two globalizing cities, Genoa and Izmir, of different scale and magnitude during two different time periods, –1500s and 1700s respectively– on the basis that what is global need not be identical. Furthermore, there is much to be gained in offering insights in different forms of globalizing cities at different historical periods. Genoa, being European and primarily Christian and Izmir being Ottoman and primarily Muslim will allow us to explore whether eastern Mediterranean was as capable of agency, innovation and active participation in the world economy as western Mediterranean. Such an approach questions the notion of decline for the Middle East still current in the historiography.

More specifically, we will explore the role that banking operations across different economies played in the financing, long-term viability and growth of each sector. Within this context, we will look at the role of Genoa in handling international banking operations related to state finance and the impact the city had in the creation of the equities markets of the time. Further, we will examine the role that Genoa played in the organization, financing and functioning of long-distance international trade at the 1500s, at a time when a truly global commercial market was emerging. Equally we will look at international trade and currency markets as these functioned in Izmir in the 1700s, a period of on-going economic growth for the Mediterranean at the tail end of the pre-industrial early modern economy. Further we will examine the business networks that emanated from the city and their role in the organization of these sectors, in order to explore the process of regional globalization as led by Izmir in the eastern Mediterranean at the time and its relationship to the global economy.

 

March 5 –  4:30 – 6:30

Room 5318

ARC Seminar Presentation with

Elena Frangakis-Syrett

Professor of History

Queens College and The Graduate Center