Barcelona i el gran comerç amb Orient : un segle de relacions comercials de Barcelona amb Egipte i Síria (c. 1330-c. 1430)

Abstract

In this review of the doctoral thesis, Barcelone et le grand commerce dOrient: Un siècle de relations avec lÉgypte et la Syrie-Palestine (1330-1430), published in 2004, author Damien Coulon examines the role played for about a century (1330-1430) by the port of Barcelona in the general Mediterranean trade, with particular scrutiny on the spice trade transiting through the Mamluk empire (Egypt and Syria). He demonstrates that there is no reason to speak of economic decline during that period, because the levels of investment and number of ships used in that trade clearly grew from 1360-1370 on. In fact, throughout the period considered, Barcelona was undoubtedly a major economic hub and a dominant cohesive force in key parts of the Mediterranean region similarly to Venice and Genoa, frequently cited as having founded modern mercantile capitalism and a «world-system», as defined by Fernand Braudel. But this commercial success also caused internal social tensions that were largely responsible for the outbreak of the 1462-1472 civil war.