From the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean: The Global Trade Networks of Armenian Merchants from New Julfa (Volume 17) (California World History Library)

Drawing on a rich trove of documents, including correspondence not seen for 300 years, this study explores the emergence and growth of a remarkable global trade network operated by Armenian silk merchants from a small outpost in the Persian Empire. Based in New Julfa, Isfahan, in what is now Iran, these merchants operated a network of commercial settlements that stretched from London and Amsterdam to Manila and Acapulco. The New Julfan Armenians were the only Eurasian community that was able to operate simultaneously and successfully in all the major empires of the early modern world—both land-based Asian empires and the emerging sea-borne empires—astonishingly without the benefits of an imperial network and state that accompanied and facilitated European mercantile expansion during the same period. This book brings to light for the first time the trans-imperial cosmopolitan world of the New Julfans. Among other topics, it explores the effects of long distance trade on the organization of community life, the ethos of trust and cooperation that existed among merchants, and the importance of information networks and communication in the operation of early modern mercantile communities. Winner of the 2011 PEN Center USA Literary Award for Exceptional First Book "Drawing on a rich trove of documents, including correspondence not seen for 300 years, this study explores the emergence and growth of a remarkable global trade network operated by Armenian silk merchants from a small outpost in the Persian Empire. Based in New Julfa, Isfahan, in what is now Iran, these merchants operated a network of commercial settlements that stretched from London and Amsterdam to Manila and Acapulco. The New Julfan Armenians were the only Eurasian community that was able to operate simultaneously and successfully in all the major empires of the early modern world{u2014}both land-based Asian empires and the emerging sea-borne empires{u2014}astonishingly without the benefits of an imperial network and state that accompanied and facilitated European mercantile expansion during the same period. This book brings to light for the first time the trans-imperial cosmopolitan world of the New Julfans. Among other topics, it explores the effects of long distance trade on the organization of community life, the ethos of trust and cooperation that existed among merchants, and the importance of information networks and communication in the operation of early modern mercantile communities."--Publisher Drawing on a rich trove of documents, including correspondence not seen for 300 years, this study explores the emergence and growth of a remarkable global trade network operated by Armenian silk merchants from a small outpost in the Persian Empire. Based in New Julfa, Isfahan, in what is now Iran, these merchants operated a network of commercial settlements that stretched from London and Amsterdam to Manila and Acapulco. The New Julfan Armenians were the only Eurasian community that was able to operate simultaneously and successfully in all the major empires of the early modern world--both land-based Asian empires and the emerging seaborne empires--astonishingly without the benefits of an imperial network and state that accompanied and facilitated European mercantile expansion during the same period. This book brings to light for the first time the transimperial cosmopolitan world of the New Julfans. Among other topics, it explores the effects of long-distance trade on the organization of community life, the ethos of trust and cooperation that existed among merchants, and the importance of information networks and communication in the operation of early modern mercantile communities. --Book Jacket Frontmatter List of Illustrations (page ix) Acknowledgments (page xi) Preface (page xv) Note on Transliteration (page xix) 1. From Trade Diasporas to Circulation Societies (page 1) 2. Old Julfa, the Great Deportations, and the Founding of New Julfa (page 23) 3. The Julfan Trade Network I: The World of the Indian Ocean (page 44) 4. The Julfan Trade Network II: The Mediterranean, Northwestern European, and Russian Networks (page 66) 5. "The salt in a merchant's letter": Business Correspondence and the Courier System (page 86) 6. The Circulation of Men and Credit: The Commenda and the Family Firm (page 121) 7. Trust, Social Capital, and Networks: Informal and Semiformal Institutions at Work (page 166) 8. The Center Cannot Hold: The Decline and Collapse of the Julfan Trade Network (page 202) Conclusion: Comparative Thoughts on Julfan Armenians, Multani Indians, and Sephardic Jews (page 215) Notes (page 235) Bibliography (page 307) Index (page 345) From trade diasporas to circulation society Old Julfa, the great deportations, and the founding of New Julfa, 1604/1620 The new Julfan trade network I: the world of the Indian Ocean The New Julfan trade network II: the Mediterranean, Western European, and Russian Networks "The salt in a merchant's letter": the art of writing business correspondence, the courier system, and their role in Julfan economy and society Social capital, "trust" and the role of networks in Julfan trade: informal and semi-formal institutions at work The circulation of men and credit: the role of the commenda, the family firm and of non-circulating women in Julfan society From coalition to nation: the collapse and transformation of the Julfan trade network. Presents a study that explores the emergence and growth of a remarkable global trade network operated by Armenian silk merchants from a small outpost in the Persian Empire. This book discusses the trans-imperial cosmopolitan world of the New Julfans. It also explores the effects of long distance trade on the organization of community life.