Piracy's Effect on Trade throughout the Medieval Mediterranean: In Memory of Olivia Remie Constable's Scholarship on Intercultural Contacts
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Special Session
Organizer Name
Eleanor A. Congdon
Organizer Affiliation
Youngstown State Univ.
Presider Name
William Chester Jordan
Presider Affiliation
Princeton Univ.
Paper Title 1
Piracy in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea
Presenter 1 Name
Elisaveta Todorova
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Univ. of Cincinnati
Paper Title 2
Held To Account: Medieval Scribes at Sea
Presenter 2 Name
Emily Sohmer Tai
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Queensborough Community College, CUNY
Paper Title 3
Straw-Men, Hidden Pouches, and Fake Pirate Attacks: Merchant Responses to the Threat of Piracy
Presenter 3 Name
Eleanor A. Congdon
Start Date
16-5-2015 3:30 PM
Session Location
Schneider 1325
Description
Piracy throughout the Medieval Mediterranean can be studied from two vantage points: a) the mariners who stole and their victims, b) and the merchants trying to move cargoes to the ultimate point of distribution. This session looks at examples of piracy from both approaches. It is meant to emphasize the inter-connectedness of transport, commerce, violence, political identification, religious identification, and simple lust for quick gain. It is meant to show the commonality of the maritime experience, including the calculated risks or precautions all merchants had to factor into transporting goods by sea. It is not meant to exclude warfare, but rather to show how it is related to commerce and vice versa. Wherever ships transported goods, there also were occasional predators who, seeing an opportunity, looked to seize a cargo, both for the goods and people whose sale could bring a profit. Some of these aggressors merely made good on a random opportunity. Others hunted quarry based on the owner’s religion. Still others attacked passing vessels on the basis of the crew’s or the cargo’s nationality. Some hunted alone, while others took large numbers of ships to attack ports of another faith.
This session is presented in honor of Olivia Remie Constable's life and research. Her scholarship led a new generation of scholars to approach the Mediterranean as a place of tremendous intercultural contact. This approach recognizes the different approaches to trade by different nations, and the differences caused by the differences between the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths in conducting trade. -- EACongdon
Piracy's Effect on Trade throughout the Medieval Mediterranean: In Memory of Olivia Remie Constable's Scholarship on Intercultural Contacts
Schneider 1325
Piracy throughout the Medieval Mediterranean can be studied from two vantage points: a) the mariners who stole and their victims, b) and the merchants trying to move cargoes to the ultimate point of distribution. This session looks at examples of piracy from both approaches. It is meant to emphasize the inter-connectedness of transport, commerce, violence, political identification, religious identification, and simple lust for quick gain. It is meant to show the commonality of the maritime experience, including the calculated risks or precautions all merchants had to factor into transporting goods by sea. It is not meant to exclude warfare, but rather to show how it is related to commerce and vice versa. Wherever ships transported goods, there also were occasional predators who, seeing an opportunity, looked to seize a cargo, both for the goods and people whose sale could bring a profit. Some of these aggressors merely made good on a random opportunity. Others hunted quarry based on the owner’s religion. Still others attacked passing vessels on the basis of the crew’s or the cargo’s nationality. Some hunted alone, while others took large numbers of ships to attack ports of another faith.
This session is presented in honor of Olivia Remie Constable's life and research. Her scholarship led a new generation of scholars to approach the Mediterranean as a place of tremendous intercultural contact. This approach recognizes the different approaches to trade by different nations, and the differences caused by the differences between the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths in conducting trade. -- EACongdon