Trade in the Amalfi before the Crusades

We are now at the Amalfi Coast. The weather is much warmer here and sun has been shining bright. In short, my article focused on the patterns of medieval trade before the Crusades. The author found that trade in the Amalfi had a triangular pattern at three main points: Southern Italy, North Africa, and the Byzantine Empire. Trade mainly consisted of agricultural and oriental goods. Overall, documents busted the myth that Christian and Muslim societies were always clashing. In fact, there is no evidence of judicial discrimination or restrictions against non-Christians until the Crusades.

In the Treaty of 836, they discovered that the Amalfitan merchants had a commanding role in the commerce of Southern Italy. Their political and diplomatic considerations allowed the Amalfi to adapt to the strict philo-Arabic policy. This is why they were successful in trade.

Unlike Venice, we do not know exactly what goods the Amalfitan’s traded. Merchants rarely told anybody what was on their ships to avoid risks of stolen goods. They do know that lumber was a big trading good. In North Africa, there was always a shortage of timber. Also, we know some slave trade occurred. General goods such as grains, fruits, and cloth were traded as well. Iron was not traded as often because most of the production was in Tuscany and benefited Venice more. Grains were popular due to the famines from 1004 through 1022 after the Arabs conquered North Africa. The surplus of grain in Southern Italy became a political and economic weapon. But after the Norman Conquest, they seized most grain exports and made it into a royal monopoly. They saw it was a valuable source of revenue and political instrument. Merchants were forced into a subordinate role when they took their political autonomy and limited their freedom of trade.

Amalfitans had great relations with Egypt. They helped Fatimids conquer Egypt by providing timber for shipbuilding, hemp, and possibly iron. Egypt was desirable to trade with because spices and other goods were very low. Amalfi colonies were established. Amalfi had special privileges like Venice that safeguarded their goods. Their survival however depended on finding an agreement with the Arabs.

The Amalfi mainly was a distribution base. They did not have any production. The only manufacturing industry they had was shipbuilding. Also, all transactions were in gold. The gold allowed them to buy expensive goods imported in Italy from Constantinople.