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Cities of Commerce develops a model of institutional change in European commerce based on urban rivalry. Cities continuously competed with each other by adapting commercial, legal, and financial institutions to the evolving needs of merchants. Oscar Gelderblom traces the successive rise of Bruges, Antwerp, and Amsterdam to commercial primacy between 1250 and 1650, showing how dominant cities feared being displaced by challengers while lesser cities sought to keep up by cultivating policies favorable to trade. He argues that it was this competitive urban network that promoted open-access institutions in the Low Countries, and emphasizes the central role played by the urban power holders — the magistrates — in fostering these inclusive institutional arrangements. Gelderblom describes how the city fathers resisted the predatory or reckless actions of their territorial rulers, and how their nonrestrictive approach to commercial life succeeded in attracting merchants from all over Europe.Cities of Commerce intervenes in an important debate on the growth of trade in Europe before the Industrial Revolution. Challenging influential theories that attribute this commercial expansion to the political strength of merchants, this book demonstrates how urban rivalry fostered the creation of open-access institutions in international trade.

History of the Low Countries --- anno 1600-1699 --- anno 1200-1499 --- anno 1500-1599 --- Benelux countries --- Commerce --- History --- Benelux --- Pays-Bas --- Histoire --- 338 <09> <492> --- 338 <09> <493> --- 338 <09> <493> Economische geschiedenis--België --- Economische geschiedenis--België --- 338 <09> <492> Economische geschiedenis--Nederland --- Economische geschiedenis--Nederland --- Low countries --- Benelux countries -- Commerce -- History -- 16th century. --- Benelux countries -- Commerce -- History -- 17th century. --- Benelux countries -- Commerce -- History -- To 1500. --- Business & Economics --- Local Commerce --- BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economic History. --- Benelux countries - Commerce - History - To 1500 --- Benelux countries - Commerce - History - 16th century --- Benelux countries - Commerce - History - 17th century --- Amsterdam. --- Antwerp. --- Bruges. --- Dutch Republic. --- Dutch Revolt. --- Europe. --- European commerce. --- Flemish Revolt. --- German Hanse. --- Habsburgs. --- Hans Thijs. --- Low Countries. --- amicable settlement. --- arbitration. --- boycotts. --- brokers. --- central courts. --- collective action. --- commenda. --- commerce. --- commercial cities. --- commercial infrastructure. --- commercial litigation. --- commission trade. --- compensation. --- conflict resolution. --- court proceedings. --- cross-border trade. --- double-entry bookkeeping. --- footloose merchants. --- foreign traders. --- hostellers. --- inclusive institutions. --- institutional change. --- international trade. --- losses. --- merchants. --- open access institutions. --- private order solutions. --- spot markets. --- spreading of risks. --- state formation. --- trade ports. --- urban autonomy. --- urban competition. --- urban magistrates. --- violence.