ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the contexts and networks of the coral trade, casting light on how the Medici promoted the circulation of the British trade of luxury commodity through manufactures based in Livorno and the activities of its port, but also through the contacts with other coral centers like Genoa and Marseilles. In their foreign political strategy and system of alliances in the European context and in the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Medici were concerned to promote political and trading relations with England. In an effort to gain outposts overseas and break Iberian monopoly in the Indies, British merchants gained much experience in the Mediterranean seaports, becoming acquainted with merchandises marketable in India and the rest of maritime Asia, including red coral. In conclusion, if the opening of the free port of Livorno guaranteed the arrival of foreigners and ships in Tuscany, coral trade was a supplementary opportunity for the Medici to promote local manufactures and to develop an international commercial network in the Mediterranean Sea.
