By specifying the specie on which returns were to be repaid respondentia was an efficient instrument to carry trade in which silver was «essential» for the continuation of commerce. As silver was imported as specie, where a multiplicity of means of payments existed and silver was the preferred money, it performed as foreign currency. Without common standards for foreign coins created issues for trade, the pricing of specie, and exchange rates. Eighteenth century Europeans alternatively used respondentia or bills depending on the monetary context, casting a doubt on the inherent efficiency of a cashless means of payment. Bills of exchange did not circulate outside Europe where cash had a premium. As the intermediary Europe developed means to regulate the price of foreign coins and exchange rates. Elsewhere respondentia had an advantage over bills; it allowed to hedge against uncertainty and propitiated arbitrage profits.
LSE, London School of Economics, United Kingdom - ORCID: 0000-0001-5395-1537
Chapter Title
Respondentia: The alternative contract for global trade finance in the Early Modern period
Authors
Alejandra Irigoin
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0347-0.30
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Mezzi di scambio non monetari. Merci e servizi come monete alternative nelle economie dei secoli XIII-XVIII / Alternative currencies. Commodities and services as exchange currencies in the monetarized economies of the 13th to 18th centuries
Editors
Angela Orlandi
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
592
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0347-0
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0346-3
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0347-0
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0348-7
Series Title
Datini Studies in Economic History
Series ISSN
2975-1241
Series E-ISSN
2975-1195