ABSTRACT
In early modern England, inspiration for commercial organization, growth and development was drawn from the practices and experiences of the late fifteenth century. By the early modern period, the German and Italian merchants had long been part of the English business world and especially the London landscape. Merchants from Portugal, Ragusa, Brittany, Spain, France, Poland, Scandinavia and the Low Countries were also part of the English international trading scene. In all, the German and Italian merchants who populated the colonies in late medieval and early modern England were intelligent, knew their merchandise and markets, and derived strength from their home base. The Italian merchants represented and worked for their individual cities such as Venice, Milan, Florence and Genoa but they were most often referred to as 'Lombards' or 'Italians'. The operations of the German merchants differed in style from the Italians but they also carried on a complex, varied trade with the English.
