Entrepreneurship, strategy and networks: the development of commercial and financial companies in Early Modern Castile

Abstract

In the mid 16th century, the commercial and financial companies of Castilemanaged tofirmly establish themselves as one of the most prosperous entrepreneurial networks of Europe. Their presence in the principal European cities and trade fairs (Antwerp, Bruges, Lyon, Florence, etc.) is an example of the capacity achieved by the Castilian merchants beyond their own frontiers. Similarly, commercial businesses were growing during the first half of the 16th centuryin the Iberian Peninsula, boosting economic integration and commercial networks. The objective of this work is to know the principles upon which the commercial and financial companies of Castile were built, the reasons that enabled this institution, in just over half a century, to become powerful organizations; and also to know the strategies developedby the merchants and bankersin order to be able to grow in a regional and international environment where competition was continually on the increase