ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the evolution of trade routes connecting Western Europe to the Ottoman Empire in the late medieval and early modern periods. The analysis emphasises the connection between international and regional trade, the dynamics of the main trade routes and their response to challenges of political and economic changes. Major events, such as the Ottoman conquest of the Black Sea and the shifting of international trade routes to the Atlantic affected the configuration of trade connections in South-Eastern Europe as well, where land routes gained in importance but their course moved more to the West. Based on my recent research on merchant networks, I also address the network of “Greek” merchants, spanning from the Balkans to Central Europe. The case study focuses on the networks created by Greek merchants who were also members of the Greek associations in Transylvania: relying on their blood and spiritual kinship and extended family, they created business networks with a wide range of activities: wholesale and retail trade, currency exchange, and provision of loans and credit. The archival material is based on a batch of such business documents that were left behind by Kozma Boczi (Kis), shedding light on his activity in the 1670s and 1680s. The study emphasises the role of the commercial hubs of the main trading centres in Transylvania, Sibiu, and Braşov, which retained their significance in regional and international trade after the fifteenth century.
