ABSTRACT
Thirteenth-century Genoa offers an excellent opportunity for looking at the different demands for labour that shaped life in a Mediterranean port town. The city was one of the half dozen or so most important entrepots in that period, and figured prominently in the crusades and long-distance trade. Genoa attempted to establish a hegemony in the western Mediterranean, and in the east her merchants were active in Constantinople, Acre, and other ports where they offered a stiff challenge to Venetian competitors. At home, this medium-sized city, by thirteenth-century standards, mustered its resources, principally men and ships, and played a larger role on the international stage than its size might at first glance seem to justify. Its thirteenth-century notarial records are among the most important sources for medieval social and economic history, and this body of detailed information in turn can answer questions that in other cities might only be addressed through narrative evidence or conjecture. 1
