Grimaldi’s commercial network and its extension from Seville to Hispaniola (1489-1517)

Abstract

The beginnings of commerce in Hispaniola were frequently marked by the presence of foreign merchants serving as factors of greater families of merchants. These families traded internationally and established commercial networks which connected the main European ports to the New World. Taking notarial protocols in Seville as the main sources of research, this paper analyses the establishment of commercial business by the Grimaldi family in Santo Domingo as a case study to examine the commercial and financial networks that would determine the configuration of the Carrera de Indias.