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RESEARCH PRODUCT

¿Una feria de cambios a la valenciana? Debate financiero y energía emprendedora en el siglo XVII

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In 1619 Philip IV sent to print a Real Pragmatic [Royal Pragmatic legislation] that would regulate changes between Valencia and Medina del Campo being introduced by Valencian merchant families to enable them to receive interest on their loans without being accused of usury. Only three years later, in 1622, the Republic of Genoa inaugurated the exchange fairs of Novi Ligure, with which the Genoese consolidated their international position in the international credit market. These apparently independent circumstances constitute an important episode for international financial knowledge and the transformation of the Mediterranean credit market during the seventeenth century. Studying financial innovations in the Mediterranean can provide insight into adaptation to an increasingly global world. This article analyses the financial system in the Early Modern Mediterranean, highlighting the centrality of the fairs of Medina del Campo on the Iberian Peninsula. It continues with a comparative study of the role played by Valencia’s entrepreneurs in the fairs of Medina and the Genoese in Novi Ligure. Attention will also be given to the proposed creation of their own exchange fair. Finally, I will consider the entrepreneurial energy displayed by Valencia in the seventeenth century.