A Mediterranean Emporium
A Mediterranean Emporium
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The Catalan kingdom of Majorca was established under the will of King James I of Aragon, who conquered Majorca in 1229, but it was ruled from 1276 to 1343 by a cadet dynasty. The kingdom included the key business centers of Montpellier and Perpignan, and other lands in what is now southern France. It was home to important Jewish and Muslim communities, and was the focus of immigration from Catalonia, Provence and Italy. This book emphasizes the major transformations in the trade of the Balearic Islands from the eve of the Catalan conquest to the Black Death, and the effect of the kingdom's creation and demise on the economy of the region.
- Treats the history of the Balearics and southern France in a wider Mediterranean context and not just as part of Spanish history
- Emphasises economic (especially commercial) developments, and the significance of the Jewish and Muslim communities
- Written by an internationally renowned historian of the Mediterranean
Reviews & endorsements
"...a much-needed discussion of the commercial and political history of the Balearic Islands in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries....[Abulafia] does an impressive job of untangling the complex political situation..." Bryn Mawr Medieval Review
"David Abulafia uses his mastery of Mediterranean economic and political history to sketch an engaging potrait of the Balearic islands in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries." American Historical Review
"In a series of books and articles David Abulafia has established himself as a leading scholar of the Mediterranean world during the high and late Medieval period. Abulafia's latest book lives up to his reputation..." Reviews of Books
"With the help of this most cautious and reliable British historian we now have a much better understanding of the importance of navigation and of maritime exchange on the eve of the Black Death." Speculum
"...splendid and fascinating study....Not only does this book represent the definitive study of an important medieval economic center, it also affords an opportunity to reflect on the varied and adaptable structure of medieval commerce." Paul Freedman, Business History Review
"With the help of this most cautious and reliable British historian we now have a much better understanding of the importance of navigation and of maritime exchange on the eve of the Black Death." Speculum
"A Mediterranean Emporium constitutes an insightful and innovative resource that allows us to better understand not only the history of the Majorcan kingdom, but also, on a larger scale, the making of the medieval Western Europe." Yeon-Soo Kim, Al-Masaq
"...so readable and well updated a work of reference." International History Review
Product details
- Published: May 1994
- Format: Hardback
- ISBN: 9780521322447
- Length: 320 pages
- Dimensions: 235 × 156 × 28 mm
- Weight: 0.575kg
- Availability: Available
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Note on nomenclature
- List of the kings of Majorca 1229–1343
- Note on the coinage of the kingdom of Majorca
- Part I. Unity and Diversity:
- 1. The Balearic setting
- 2. The kingdom and its historians
- 3. The constitutional problem
- 4. One kingdom, three religions: the Muslims
- 5. One kingdom, three religions: the Jews
- Part II. The Crossroads of the Mediterranean:
- 6. The rise of the trade of Mallorca City
- 7. Commerce in the age of the vespers
- 8. Towards economic integration: the early fourteenth century
- 9. The trade of the autonomous kingdom in its last two decades
- 10. From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic
- 11. The reshaping of Mallorca's economy, 1343–1500
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Bibliography.
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