ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the development of international trade and commerce from the sixteenth century forward as Europe’s merchant capitalism grew into a significant economic force, and Europe introduced state-sponsored trading companies which became known as “proto-multinationals” ( Jones 2007). 1 The period of merchant capitalism, which usually refers to the earliest phase in the development of capitalism with a particular economic and social system, was based on a growing influence of traders and merchants intensifying international contacts. During the last period of medieval Europe, merchant houses that were often backed by financiers began to act as intermediaries between simple commodity producers. The intensification of large-scale, long-distance, multilateral trade relations stimulated the appearance of a large merchant class, which required a new financing structure and stimulated new forms of labor relations ( Jones 1981, 2003).
