Managing risk in fifteenth-century Barcelona: The insurance practices of the merchant Joan de Torralba
- María Dolores López Pérez
- Sari Yehuda Nassar
- © 2026 Author(s) |
- CC BY 4.0
- DOI: 10.36253/979-12-215-0963-2.24
This paper examines risk management strategies in 15th-century Barcelona through a quantitative and institutional analysis of Joan de Torralba’s maritime insurance operations. Drawing from 195 insurance cases recorded between 1434 and 1446, we reconstruct patterns of coverage, premium pricing, and Torralba’s dual role as both policyholder and underwriter. Combining systematic accounting analysis with econometric modelling, we show that insurance rates were shaped not only by cargo value but also by destination-specific perceptions of risk. The results highlight the emergence of rational pricing mechanisms, growing local control over insurance markets, and Barcelona’s integration into broader Mediterranean financial circuits. The study contributes to our understanding of early insurance as both protection and investment.
- Keywords:
- marine insurance,
- risk management,
- Joan de Torralba,
- late medieval Mediterranean trad,
University of Barcelona, Spain - ORCID: 0000-0002-6184-5352
University of Barcelona, Spain - ORCID: 0000-0001-5372-7594
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Chapter Information
Chapter Title
Managing risk in fifteenth-century Barcelona: The insurance practices of the merchant Joan de Torralba
Authors
María Dolores López Pérez, Sari Yehuda Nassar
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0963-2.24
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Bibliographic Information
Book Title
Gestione del rischio, insolvenza e bancarotta nel mondo premoderno (secc. XIII-XVIII) / Risk management, insolvency, and bankruptcy in the pre-modern world (13th-18th centuries)
Editors
Angela Orlandi
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
568
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0963-2
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0962-5
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0963-2
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0964-9
Series Title
Datini Studies in Economic History
Series ISSN
2975-1241
Series E-ISSN
2975-1195