A memorandum presented by the merchants living in Vienna regarding east-west trade (1615)
A memorandum presented by the merchants living in Vienna regarding east-west trade (1615)

Summary/Abstract: The peace treaty concluded between the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires at Zsitvatorok in 1606 was renewed by the pact made in Vienna on July 1, 1615. The 9th and 10th articles of the agreement laid down general guidelines for direct trade between the two empires. The Court Chamber in Prague required the Viennese and the German merchants living in Vienna to set forth their views about the possibilities of implementing the pact’s provisions. Headed by Lazarus Henckel, a most renown Viennese merchant, altogether 78 merchants from Nürnberg, Augsburg, Frankfurt, Sankt-Gallen, Prague, Breslau (Wrocław) defined their position. In their memorials, they laid special emphasis on the necessity of re-establishing the export-import trade between Vienna and the Ottoman territories by relying on the mediating activity of Hungarian traders. They did not deem it necessary to set up direct contacts with territories under Ottoman rule and they took a stand against Turkish merchants to be allowed to establish a market in Hainburg (Lower Austria).

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