Milanese and Florentine Merchants in a Global World: Shipping, Commodities, and Financial Strategies in the Reconfiguration of the Mediterranean (16th-17th Centuries)

In the 16th century, the oceanic routes pioneered by the Portuguese and Spanish in the previous century became the primary trade ways linking Europe and the New World. Within this global paradigm shift, the main commercial hubs of the Mediterranean underwent a reassessment of their strategic significance. In the revitalized historical and geographical context that emerged in the early modern era, the traditional national perspective through which commercial dynamics were perceived began to diminish in importance. The agency of economic actors capable of reshaping their global identity facilitated the interactions within the European space, intertwining with the commercial itineraries of the Atlantic routes, which served as the arenas of imperial power. This paper investigates the experiences of two distinct Italian merchant communities that, through their investments in oceanic trade, forged international networks enabling them to engage both with political authorities and the cosmopolitan economic communities of commercial empires.