Jews and converts in Barcelona’s international trade in the late Middle Ages (1349-1450)

Abstract

We still know very little about the role of Jews and converts in Barcelona’s international trade in the Late Middle Ages, despite their clear, undisputable importance in that regard. The commercial activity of Jews and converts is reflected in a significant number of maritime contracts (comandes marítimes). The documents in question are a source of valuable, important information on social relations and exchanges, not only of the Hebrew community, before and after the attacks of 1391, but also of the converts of the time. They show that there were strong ties between the two groups, as well as that the city of Barcelona had a Jewish population after 1391, giving the
lie to claims it had vanished or ceased to exist. Today, within historiography, there is an evident need to remedy the lack of
knowledge of the role of Jews and converts in Mediterranean maritime trade in the Late Middle Ages. This article is intended to help do just that.

Keywords: trade, Jews, converts, Middle Ages, maritime contracts, Barcelona, Barcelona’s Jews