Imperial Ambition in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Genoese Merchants and the Spanish Crown

314 Pages·2014·1.96 MB·English

by  Céline Dauverd

imperial ambition in the early modern
mediterranean
Genoese Merchants and the Spanish Crown
This book examines the alliance between the Spanish Crown and
Genoese merchant bankers in southern Italy throughout the early
modern era, when Spain and Genoa developed a symbiotic eco-
nomic relationship undergirded by a cultural and spiritual alliance.
Analyzingearlymodernimperialism,migration,andtrade,thisbook
showsthatthespiritualententebetweenthetwonationswasmainly
informed by the religious division of the Mediterranean Sea. The
TurkishthreatintheMediterraneanreinforcedthecommitmentof
boththeSpanishCrownandtheGenoesemerchantstoChristianity.
Spain’s imperial strategy was reinforced by its willingness to accul-
turateto southernItaly through organized beneficence, representa-
tion at civic ceremonies, and spiritual guidance during religious
holidays.
ce´line dauverd is Assistant Professor of History and a board
member of the Mediterranean Studies Group at the University of
Colorado, Boulder. Her research focuses on sociocultural relations
between Spain and Italy during the early modern era (1450–1650).
ShehaspublishedarticlesandreviewsintheSixteenthCenturyJournal,
theJournalofWorldHistory,H-net,TheMediterraneanStudiesJournal,
Speculum, I. B. Tauris Press, and the Società Ligure di Storia Patria.


Imperial Ambition in
the Early Modern
Mediterranean
Genoese Merchants
and
the Spanish Crown

ce´line dauverd
University of Colorado, Boulder
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,ny10013-2473,usa
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
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©CélineDauverd2015
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Firstpublished2015
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isbn978-1-107-06236-8Hardback
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Contents
ListofFigures pagevii
ListofTables viii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 EmpiresoftheRenaissance,1453–1650:The
GenoeseResponsetoShiftingAlliancesinthe
Mediterranean 23
2 GenoeseEmporiumandSpanishImperiuminthe
KingdomofNaples 55
3 CommercialAscensionthroughSilk:Genoese
Artisans,Merchants,Bankers 81
4 AchievingFavoriteNationStatus:TheEconomic
JourneyoftheGenoese 110
5 TheGenoeseMerchants:BetweentheViceroys’Buon
GovernoandHabsburgExpansion 134
6 HolyWeek:TheGenoeseintheCeremonial
Triptych 160
7 TheGenoeseEyeoftheStorm:SpiritualCompetition
inChurch,Sea,andGrave 188
v
vi * Contents
8 TheGenoeseParticipationinCharitableInstitutions 217
Conclusion 248
Bibliography 263
Index 295
Figures
i.1. LopoHomem,TheMediterraneanSea,alsocalled
“AtlasMiller,”1519 page2
1.1. FrançoisOllivet,CarteparticulièredelaMéditerranée,1664 28
1.2. DiogoHomem,TheItalianPeninsula,1559 48
2.1. GenoesefiefsintheKingdomofNaples 78
3.1. MovementofsilkfromtheKingdomofNaples
from1580on 107
7.1. SebastianMunster,NaplesfromCosmographie
universelle,1556 192
vii
Tables
2.1. BankersandtheirgrowthintheKingdomofNaples
from1509to1636 page69
3.1. ForeignmerchantsandtheirtradeinNaplesinthe
mid-fifteenthcentury 87
3.2. ForeignmerchantpopulationintheKingdom
ofNaplesc.1470 92
3.3. FinancialinvestmentofforeignmerchantsintheKingdom
ofNaplesc.1470 93
3.4. OccupationofthenationsintheNeapolitanSilkGuild
from1515to1600 99
3.5. PopulationoftheNeapolitanSilkGuildfrom1515
to1600 101
viii