ABSTRACT
Throughout the whole of the nineteenth century, trade, with the products of metallurgy and agriculture, was one of the most important pillars of the Greek economy. The crisis revealed the great need for reform in the organisation of the currant trade. Any attempts at reform had to involve finding purchasers for the annual surplus of about 60 million Venetian pounds and stabilising the prices. The two British businessmen were not deterred by the fact that the idea of a monopoly company was diametrically opposed to the idea of free trade as propagated worldwide by Great Britain. The lobby groups argued that a monopoly would cause a considerable increase in the price of currants, a product that was well-loved by the British labour force. The trust that had made the cooperation possible without an element of control could obviously not be sustained after the death of the charming broker Pesmazoglou.
