Financing and Risk in Genoese Maritime Trade During the Eighteenth Century: Strategies and Practices

During the early modern age, maritime trade and finance were the two pillars of the Genoese economy. Despite this, the existing literature tends to focus on one of the two sectors, while it does not pay attention to their mutual interconnections. However, credit was crucial also for the development of maritime trade: merchants, ship-owners and captains were often forced to borrow money to finance their activities or share risks. Over time, the flourishing of maritime trade led to the diffusion of several financial and legal instruments, such as commenda contracts, sea loans, bottomry, marine insurance and, of course, General Average, able to share risks or transfer risks on third parties. However, as regards the case of Genoa, these mechanisms, as well as connections between credit provision in maritime trade and leading financial operators, are almost neglected. This essay aims to shed light on these dynamics and to show to what extent maritime trade represented an attractive option for Genoese investors during the eighteenth century.