Financing Trade Through Limited Partnerships: Evidence from Silk Firms in Eighteenth-Century Trentino

Lorandini provides new evidence on the role of limited partnerships (società in accomandita) in the financing of early modern trade. By focusing on the case of silk merchants in eighteenth-century Trentino, she combines direct evidence from three partnership agreements with indirect evidence from the firms’ oblatorie, that is, circular letters filed with the Merchant Court in Bolzano which provide information on the partners involved in the business. Although the term accomandita is never mentioned, an accurate interpretation supports the contention that merchants frequently established limited partnerships, particularly with affluent patricians who benefitted as limited partners from the opportunity to constrain their risk within the limits of their stake. Hence, despite the absence of any formal regulation, the limited partnerships facilitated the mobilization of capital to finance a rapidly expanding trade.