A Mediterranean Emporium
The Catalan Kingdom of Majorca

The first account of the trade and commercial life of the medieval Spanish kingdom of Majorca.

David Abulafia (Author)

9780521322447, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 March 1994

320 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 2.8 cm, 0.575 kg

' … immensely useful … adds considerable depth to our appreciation of how the trade of the western Mediterranean actually worked.' Economic History Review

Situated astride the trade routes of the western Mediterranean, the Catalan kingdom of Majorca has long deserved attention. It was established under the will of King James I of Aragon, who conquered Majorca in 1229, but was ruled from 1276 to 1343 by a cadet dynasty. In addition to the Balearic Islands the kingdom included the key business centres of Montpellier and Perpignan, and other lands in what is now southern France. It was also home to important Jewish and Muslim communities, and was the focus of immigration from Catalonia, Provence and Italy. This book emphasises 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. Links between the island and mainland territories, and as far afield as England and the Canaries, are analysed in depth.

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.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]