Kapitalista vállalkozói társaságok a késő középkorban és a kora újkor első felében
Capitalist Enterprising Companies in the Late Middle Ages and the First Half of the Early Modern Era

Summary/Abstract: An important component of the expansionist processes of Europe in the 15th to 17th centuries was the emergence of a global economic system centered on Western Europe. In the background of this spectacular geographical, power-political and economic expansion it is possible to follow constantly the development of early capitalist structures. In order to understand these complex transformational tendencies, it is necessary to deal in detail with the practical questions of trade and credit in the late middle ages and the early modern era. The predominant form of commercial activity was the enterprising company, which had developed from trading companies based on family relations. The present study examines the personnel and leadership structure of these enterprising companies, as well as the decision making mechanisms on the high and middle levels. It pays considerable attention to the network of factors. This latter phenomenon raises important questions from several aspects. The factorial system, which covered the whole of Europe, can be interpreted – adopting partly the methods and conceptual vocabulary of economic network research – either as an intra-company functional network, or as an early medieval model of inter-company financial network. The study thus aims at putting the analysis of classical themes of economic history on a new methodological footing, putting to use that part of historical network research which is relevant from its particular point of view.

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