Commenda

In today's world, Commenda has become a topic of increasing interest to people of all ages and backgrounds. Whether due to its historical relevance, its impact on current society or its importance for the future, Commenda is a topic that does not leave anyone indifferent. Over the years, it has sparked debates, provoked changes and generated endless research and studies in different disciplines. In this article, we will explore the many facets of Commenda, analyzing its influence on various aspects of our daily lives and society as a whole.

The commenda was a medieval contract which developed in Italy around the 13th century, and was an early form of limited partnership. The commenda was an agreement between an investing partner and a traveling partner to conduct a commercial enterprise, usually overseas. The terms of the partnership varied, and are usually categorized by modern historians as unilateral commenda and bilateral commenda, based on the share of contributions and profits between the partners. The bilateral commenda was known in Venice as collegantia or colleganza. The commenda has been described as a foundational innovation in the history of finance and trade.

The commenda was a partnership between an investing partner (called the commendator, or socius stans) and a traveling partner (called the tractator or socius procertans). The investing partner would provide the capital and the traveling partner would execute a commercial enterprise (generally maritime transport), the initial capital would be returned to the investing partner and the remaining profits would then be split. The commenda was in essence as joint-stock company for the financing of a single expedition. Depending on the contribution of the traveling partner, historians define two types of commenda:

  • Unilateral commenda: the investing partner would contribute the capital and a traveling partner none; the profits would be split three fourth for the investing partner and one fourth for the traveling partner. The investing partner bore all liability for loss, while the traveling partner bore none. The Statutes of Marseille of 1253 state protected the traveling partner against lawsuits following shipwreck or capture of the ship. It was called commendatio in Venice.
  • Bilateral commenda, the investing partner would put up two thirds of the capital and the traveling partner one third, and the profits would be split evenly. The investing partner bore two thirds of any loss, while the traveling partner bore one third. It was called colleganza or collegantia in Venice and societas in Genoa.

Each individual contract was different, and sometimes the investment was a share in a ship.

History

The origins of the commenda are debated, and likely derived from several sources including the Babylonian tapputûm, the Greco-Roman societas consensu contracta and foenus nauticum, the Byzantine chreokoinonia, the Muslim qirad, and the Jewish 'isqa. Although it has precedent in these previous types of contracts, the commenda has peculiarities of its own. The first mention of the Venetian colleganza dates to 1073, but it had been used since the 10th century. By the 12th century, the commendatio had supplanted the colleganza in Venice.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Lopez, Robert Sabatino; Raymond, Irving Woodworth; Constable, Olivia Remie (2001). Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12356-3.
  2. ^ Luzzatto, Gino (1954). Studi di storia economica veneziana (in Italian). Padova: CEDAM. OCLC 7341360.
  3. ^ Van Doosselaere, Quentin, 1961- (2009). Commercial agreements and social dynamics in medieval Genoa. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-511-51790-7. OCLC 371197311.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e Pryor, John H. (January 1977). "The Origins of the Commenda Contract". Speculum. 52 (1): 5–37. doi:10.2307/2856894. ISSN 0038-7134. JSTOR 2856894. S2CID 162370493.
  5. ^ Setton, Kenneth M. (September 1985). A History of the Crusades: The Impact of the Crusades on the Near East. Univ of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-09144-6.
  6. ^ Nisen, Max. "How Globalization Created And Destroyed The City Of Venice". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  7. ^ a b Freeland, Chrystia (2012-10-13). "Opinion | The Self-Destruction of the 1 Percent (Published 2012)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Eta Ducale - Le risorse: MERCATURA E MONETA in "Storia di Venezia"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  9. ^ Paine, Lincoln (2013-10-29). The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-96225-6.
  10. ^ a b c Lopez, Robert Sabatino; Raymond, Irving Woodworth; Constable, Olivia Remie (2001). Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12356-3.
  11. ^ Pryor, John H. (1977-01-01). "The Origins of the Commenda Contract". Speculum. 52 (1): 5–37. doi:10.2307/2856894. ISSN 0038-7134. JSTOR 2856894. S2CID 162370493.
  12. ^ Trevisanato, Andrea <1958> (2015-02-24). "Il contratto di colleganza nella documentazione medievale veneziana. Studio storico e diplomatistico". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Lopez, Robert Sabatino; Raymond, Irving Woodworth; Constable, Olivia Remie (2001). Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents. Columbia University Press. pp. 176–177. ISBN 978-0-231-12356-3.
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