Marine Insurance: Origins and Institutions, 1300-1850 (Palgrave Studies in the History of Finance)

Since its invention in Italy in the fourteenth century, marine insurance has provided merchants with capital protection in times of crisis, thus oiling the gears of trade and commerce. With a focus on customs, laws, and organisational structures, this book reveals the Italian origins of marine insurance, and tracks the spread of underwriting practices and institutions in Europe and America through the early modern era. With contributions from eleven leading researchers from seven countries, the book examines key institutional developments in the history of marine insurance. The authors discuss its invention in Italy, and its evolution from private to corporate structures, assessing the causes and impacts of various state interventions. Amsterdam and Antwerp are analysed as one-time key centres of underwriting, as is the emergence and maturity of marine insurance in London. The book evaluates an experiment in corporate underwriting in Cadiz, and the development of insurance institutions in the United States, before applying the metrics of underwriting to discuss commerce raiding in the Atlantic up to the nineteenth century. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction: the Nature and Study of Marine Insurance....Pages 2-22 Genoa, 1340–1620: Early Development of Marine Insurance....Pages 24-45 Italy 1500–1800: Cooperation and Competition....Pages 46-77 Antwerp 1490–1590: Insurance and Speculation....Pages 78-105 Amsterdam 1585–1790: Emergence, Dominance, and Decline....Pages 106-129 England 1523–1601: The Beginnings of Marine Insurance....Pages 130-148 London 1426–1601: Marine Insurance and the Law Merchant....Pages 150-176 England 1660–1720: Corporate or Private?....Pages 178-203 America 1720–1820: War and Organisation....Pages 204-226 Cadiz 1780–1808: A Corporate Experiment....Pages 228-247 Britain and America 1650–1850: Harmonising Government and Commerce....Pages 248-268 From Genoa to London: the Places of Insurance in Europe....Pages 270-297 Back Matter....Pages 298-325 Cover 1 Contents 6 List of Figures and Tables 8 Notes on the Contributors 9 List of Abbreviations 13 1 Introduction: the Nature and Study of Marine Insurance 16 2 Genoa, 1340–1620: Early Development of Marine Insurance 37 3 Italy 1500–1800: Cooperation and Competition 59 4 Antwerp 1490–1590: Insurance and Speculation 91 5 Amsterdam 1585–1790: Emergence, Dominance, and Decline 119 6 England 1523–1601: The Beginnings of Marine Insurance 143 7 London 1426–1601: Marine Insurance and the Law Merchant 162 8 England 1660–1720: Corporate or Private? 189 9 America 1720–1820: War and Organisation 215 10 Cadiz 1780–1808: A Corporate Experiment 238 11 Britain and America 1650–1850: Harmonising Government and Commerce 258 12 From Genoa to London: the Places of Insurance in Europe 279 Bibliography of Insurance History 306 Index 317