Reviewed by Alvero Martinelli Appalachian State University
Until now, there has been a total lack of any historical docu¬mentation supporting the thesis that the naval battle of Meloria in 1284 caused the definitive downfall of Pisa as a maritime power. Due to a combination of unusual circumstances, Tito Antoni was able to find two account books dealing with duties paid by Pisan merchants to the king of Majorca. The author had previously reported the exceptional importance of these records in a paper published in 1970 and, more thoroughly, in a speech delivered in 1973 at the First International Congress of Mediterranean History in Palma de Majorca.
In the first volume of the King’s Letters kept in the Historical Archives of Majorca there is record of an agreement stipulated between King James II (1276-1311) with the Commune of Pisa, dated November 24, 1303, for the repayment of old damages caused by Pisan merchants to the citizens of Majorca, to solve the pending litigations and to allow Pisan citizens to travel to Majorca with full freedom and security. Among other things, the document also establishes that Pisan merchants had to pay on merchandise exported from the kingdom of Majorca a tax of one denaro for each lira of assessed value (later increased to four denari), and eight denari for merchandise imported to the kingdom. The mone¬tary unit was the lira of Majorca divided into 20 soldi and 240 denari. However it was not a minted unit, only an abstract currency. Furthermore, it was established that the imposition of the duty had to be administered by two collectors, one appointed by the king and the other by the city of Pisa. The money received was then to be distributed among the citizens of Majorca who had suffered any loss caused by the Pisans. Therefore, it was necessary to establish an efficient accounting system with detailed entries for the proper application of this duty.
The two account books found by Tito Antoni and preserved in the Historical Archives of Majorca belonged to this system. The analysis of the oldest of the two books reveals, in a convincing way, how intense and well established was the commerce of Pisa with Majorca and the countries on the western Mediterranean sea from the year 1304 until 1322. The analysis made by the author of the second ledger kept during a short period following the Black Death (1353-1355) also reveals the great vitality of Pisa as an important center of commerce, particularly for the trade of raw materials so important for the industrial activities of the city.
A great portion of merchandise subject to the payment of the duty consisted of raw hides originating from Africa, Catalonia of and Tuscany. However one may also notice a large quantity of items of relatively little value. This has prompted the author to formulate the theory that during the first half of the fourteenth century there was a sharp fall in freights so as to allow the transportation of not-so-valuable commodities in addition to spices and cloth, which re-mained the richest and most desirable items in the international commerce.
There was a detailed record of all types of merchandise loaded and unloaded on foreign ships. Each Pisan merchant had a separate account where there is record of the quality, quantity and value of all commodities carried from, to, or through Majorca, and the amount of the duty to be paid. All the accounts in the ledgers are divided into two sections on the same page. On the left hand side of the account, usually running on three fourths of the same page, there is detailed record of the cargo, together with the name of the merchant and the route to be followed or the name of the place where the voyage originated. On the right hand side of the account, the accountant recorded the amount of the duty to be paid and, eventually, the date of its payment.
According to the author, the great contribution of these records to our knowledge is that they “allow us to know not only the accounting technique used for the collection of the tax, but also the quantity, quality and value of commodities traded by Pisan merchants in Majorca.” An this trade, in volume and frequency of transactions, was much more important than anybody until now had thought.
This book raises new and interesting questions concerning the economic, social and political history of Pisa during a span of fifty years. In summary, Tito Antoni is quite successful in giving us a detailed and almost complete picture of the commercial life in Pisa during the first half of the fourteenth century.
