Shaping Medieval Markets

by Dijkman, Jessica

• ISBN13: 9789004201484
• ISBN10: 9004201483
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-01
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub

Summary

The late Middle Ages witnessed the transformation of the county of Holland from a peripheral agrarian region to a highly commercialised and urbanised one. This book examines how the organisation of commodity markets contributed to this remarkable development. Comparing Holland to England and Flanders, the book shows that Holland's specific history of reclamation and settlement had given rise to a favourable balance of powers between state, nobility, towns and rural communities that reduced opportunities for rent-seeking and favoured the rise of efficient markets. This allowed burghers, peasants and fishermen to take full advantage of new opportunities presented by changing economic and ecological circumstances in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries.

Excerpts

PREFACEThis book is the revised version of a PhD thesis, which I defended at Utrecht University on June 18, 2010. The research on which the thesis was based was carried out as part of the project ;Markets, power and institutional development. The rise, organisation and institutional development of markets in Holland, 11th-16th centuries', funded by the Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research (NWO).Without the help and support of many people this book would not have been written. Nine years ago, when I combined a job in public administration with a study of history, Oscar Gelderblom hired me as a student-assistant. It was then that I discovered how much I enjoyed doing historical research. Oscar also stimulated me to apply for a position as PhD student. My two supervisors, Bas van Bavel and Jan Luiten van Zanden, not only had the courage to employ me, with my unusual background, but over the years they have also provided many valuable critical comments and challenging suggestions that helped me sharpen my thoughts. I am grateful for their support, encouragement, and trust. With Jaco Zuijderduijn and Erika Kuijpers I have had many helpful discussions about commodity markets and factor markets in Holland. In the initial phase of my research I profited from the suggestions and comments of the organisers and participants of the Posthumus PhD training programme. Ronald van der Spiegel kept me informed of all references to markets that he came upon in the accounts of the counts of Holland and also allowed me to use his transcription of the Inquisitie of 1369. Christiaan van Bochove shared his knowledge of measuring market integration with me. Christopher Dyer allowed me to use the library of the Centre for English Local History at Leicester University and readily answered my questions about medieval markets in England. Jeroen Benders, Bruce Campbell and Anne DeWindt each commented on draft versions of one or more chapters of the book. Many others also contributed in a variety of ways. I hope they will forgive me for not mentioning all of them separately; I thank them all. Doing research and writing a dissertation can sometimes by a lonely job, but for me it was not. My colleagues at the Social and Economic History group at Utrecht University provided the stimulating and sociable environment that made writing this book not only an intellectually rewarding, but also a truly enjoyable experience. Finally, I want to thank Renk, who, besides everything else, many years ago stimulated me to enrol as a history student. I am not sure he would have done this if he had realised how much of my time was going to be spent on writing this book; but I am grateful all the same.