CAPÍTULO 4: IMPLEMENTACIÓN Y PRUEBA
4.3. Pruebas
There are striking similarities between the commercial careers of Biagio and Lorenzo Dolfin.
Lorenzo, like his uncle, undertook his first steps in commerce under the supervision of close relatives. Biagio Dolfin first travelled to Alexandria on the muda of 1398, accompanied by his elder brother Antonio. The galley convoy was commanded by Benedetto Dolfin, the fa-ther of Nicolò, who became one of Biagio’s most trusted partners. As Biagio’s associates, Nicolò and Lorenzo Dolfin cooperated closely and remained in close personal terms even be-yond their commercial partnership.84
Biagio Dolfin further developed his business skills as fattore to Venetian merchants in Da-mascus. As noted above, we know of transactions he undertook on behalf of Marco and Al-ban Morosini in association with his brother-in-law Andrea Bragadin in 1404.85 Biagio’s jewel business in London, which he initiated after his first consulship in Alexandria, was per-formed through an intricate network of (consanguineous and affinal) relatives and non-kin partners. He partnered with members of the Canal family and a certain Giovanni Dolfin,
83 In addition to the 1 November 1418 letter, these are (taken from the MMDD): Dolfin, Nicolò qd. Benedetto to Dolfin, Biagio qd. Lorenzo, 27.10.1418, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco, Commissarie miste, b. 181, fasc. 15, int. d, f. [5]; Dolfin, Nicolò qd. Benedetto to Dolfin, Biagio qd. Lorenzo, 30.01.1419, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 181), Commissarie miste, b. 181, fasc. 15, int. d, f. [7]; Dolfin, Biagio qd. Lorenzo to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 24.02.1419, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [2];
Dolfin, Biagio qd. Lorenzo to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 18.04.1419, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (Psm 181), Commissarie miste, b. 181, fasc. 15, int. e, f. [13 a]; Dolfin, Biagio qd. Lorenzo to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd.
Antonio, 24.04.1419, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [5]; Dolfin, Nicolò qd. Benedetto to Dolfin, Biagio qd. Lorenzo, 29.05.1419, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco, Commissarie miste, b. 181, fasc. 15, int. d, f. [38]; Dolfin, Biagio qd. Lorenzo to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 04.08.1419, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [4]; Dolfin, Biagio qd. Lorenzo to Dolfin, Nicolò qd. Benedetto, 11.11.1419, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco, Commissarie miste, b. 181, fasc. 15, int. e, f. [5].
84 There is no preserved correspondance between Lorenzo and Nicolò regarding Lorenzo’s Romania and Flanders activities. The aforementioned 1426 letter is the only documentation of their (seemingly very cordial) personal relationship.
85 Christ: Trading Conflicts, p. 96.
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whose precise relation to Biagio remains uncertain.86 The brothers Andrea and Nicolò da Molin represented their joint gemstone business in London until the partnership was dis-solved amidst a judicial row.87 Biagio’s brother-in-law Polo Pasqualigo was eventually sent to London to take care of the Canal-Dolfin interests. Biagio’s negative experiences regarding the reliability of non-kin and distant-kin associates (such as the Molin and the Malipiero) made him rely primarily on the services of Lorenzo Dolfin and his cousin Nicolò Dolfin qd.
Benedetto for managing his trade-related affairs during his second consulship in Alexandria.
Lorenzo Dolfin, who in all likelihood never knew his father, benefited greatly from his expe-rience as his uncle’s understudy. While wrapping up uncle’s Alexandria business after Biagio’s death, Lorenzo worked with the Alexandria resident Nicolò Bernardo qd. Francesco who had been a galley commander during the 1418 muda.88 He also corresponded further with Giacomo Barbarigo qd. Filipo, Gregorio Orso, Giacomo Zorzi qd. Giorgio and Matteo di Sori, all of whom had previously been correspondents of Biagio Dolfin.89
In addition to the business links that he inherited from his uncle, Lorenzo relied heavily on the support of his mother’s Gabriel family after Biagio’s death. His maternal uncles Bene-detto, Andrea, and Michele Gabriel qd. Nicolò all corresponded with him in commercial
86 Letter Molin, Nicolò da qd. Michael to Dolfin, Biagio qd. Lorenzo, 08.01.1414, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (Psm 181), Commissarie miste, b. 181, fasc. 15, int. a, f. [2].
87 Christ: Trading Conflicts, pp. 97-99.
88 Bernardo, Nicolò qd. Francesco: Galley cargo list, 11 November 1418. 11.11.1418, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 181), Commissarie miste, b. 181, fasc. 13, int. carichi, f. [4].
89 Giacomo Barbarigo qd. Filipo: Letter Barbarigo, Giacomo qd. Filippo to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 23.09.1420, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [15]; Gregorio Orso: Letter Orso, Gregorio to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 27.03.1424, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [26], Letter Orso, Gregorio to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 31.07.1425, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco, Citra, b. 282, fasc. 1, int. 2, f. [26], Letter Orso, Gregorio to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 20.11.1425, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [34]; Giacomo Zorzi qd, Giorgio: LetterZorzi, Giacomo di qd. Giorgio to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 20.11.1424, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [29], LetterZorzi, Giacomo di qd. Giorgio to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd.
Antonio, 19.11.1425, ASVe, Documenti Commerciali Riservati (1985), b. 1, 211; Matteo di Sori: Letter Sori, Matteo de to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 12.12.1421, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b.
282, fasc. 3, f. [16]; Letter Sori, Matteo de to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio: 28 October 1422. 28.10.1422, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [20]; Sori, Matteo de an Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio: Declaration, 08 May 1430. 08.05.1430, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [58].
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terms.90 Michele Gabriel91 was Lorenzo’s agent in Damascus while Lorenzo closed his Alex-andria accounts.92 Benedetto Gabriel’s son Alvise acted as Lorenzo’s agent on the Beirut gal-ley route, writing to Lorenzo from Acre among other places in the 1440s.93
The dominance of family relations in commercial organisation was thus as pronounced in the case of Lorenzo Dolfin as in the case of his uncle Biagio, while the differences merely relate to different degrees of significance assigned to specific family branches. The nuclear family remained central to Biagio’s commerce (through his brother Antonio and eventually his nephew Lorenzo), while Lorenzo was more heavily involved with his maternal and affinal families.
Cross-generation similarities between the careers of Biagio and Lorenzo Dolfin thus relate to both career development and mercantile strategies. In both cases, mercantile education was provided by the immediate family environment and supported by state institutions. Young pa-tricians were gradually given more commercial responsibility within family coalitions, while facilitated access to merchant galleys created opportunities for the practical application of ac-quired business skills and for gaining additional commercial experience in distant locations.
Their introduction to existing trade coalitions operating within wider commercial networks led them to strengthen their commercial links within their own families while simultaneously developing relationships with their families’ external associates. Lorenzo Dolfin’s continuous exchange with members of his uncle’s network indicates that commercial partnerships, alt-hough often built for specific purposes and limited in scale and scope, were generally intend-ed as long-term alliances that could be put on hold and reactivatintend-ed at will.
Biagio and Lorenzo Dolfin thus shared a commercial strategy that connected them to a key circle of relatives and selected individuals from outside their family. Their personal
90 According to Morosini, Giovanni qd. Marino to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 22.11.1437, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco, Citra, b. 282, fasc. 1, int. 2, f. [32], Benedetto died in 1437.
91 Michele Gabriel may have been the “merchant from Damascus” with whom Biagio Dolfin corresponded in 1419, see Christ: Trading Conflicts, pp. 232, 299.
92 Letter Gabriel, Michele qd. Nicolò to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 22.10.1421, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [18]. The “compagnia Michiel Gabriel” is also mentioned in the two CLD accounts signed by Nicolò Bernardo qd. Francesco: Bernardo, Nicolò qd. Francesco to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd.
Antonio: Account, Alexandria 1423. 001423, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc.
3, f. [135]; Bernardo, Nicolò qd. Francesco to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio: Account, 1425. 001425, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [104].
93 Letter Gabriel, Alvise to Dolfin, Lorenzo qd. Antonio, 06.11.1445, ASVe, Procuratori di San Marco (PSM 282), Citra, b. 282, fasc. 3, f. [75].
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commercial environments overlapped to some extent, yet Lorenzo also created a distinct sphere of personal and commercial interaction tailored to his specific circumstances. Both core and periphery of Lorenzo’s own commercial environment emerged clearly only after the death of his mentor Biagio. However, the choices he later made in terms of investments and geographical focus were influenced by his uncle’s experiences, to which he was a close wit-ness as Biagio’s agent.
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