Commenda

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The commenda was a medieval contract which developed in Italy around the 13th century, and was an early form of limited partnership.[1][2] The commenda was an agreement between an investing partner and a traveling partner to conduct a commercial enterprise, usually overseas.[3] The terms of the partnership varied, and are usually categorized by modern historians as unilateral commenda and bilateral commenda, based on the share of contributions and profits between the partners.[4] The bilateral commenda was known in Venice as collegantia or colleganza.[5] The commenda has been described as a foundational innovation in the history of finance and trade.[4][6][7]

The commenda was a partnership between an investing partner (called the commendator, or socius stans) and a traveling partner (called the tractator or socius procertans).[8] The investing partner would provide the capital and the traveling partner would execute a commercial enterprise (generally maritime transport), the initial capital would be returned to the investing partner and the remaining profits would then be split.[9] The commenda was in essence as joint-stock company for the financing of a single expedition.[7] Depending on the contribution of the traveling partner, historians define two types of commenda:

  • Unilateral commenda: the investing partner would contribute the capital and a traveling partner none; the profits would be split three fourth for the investing partner and one fourth for the traveling partner.[10] The investing partner bore all liability for loss, while the traveling partner bore none.[4] The Statutes of Marseille of 1253 state protected the traveling partner against lawsuits following shipwreck or capture of the ship.[4] It was called commendatio in Venice.[8]
  • Bilateral commenda, the investing partner would put up two-thirds of the capital and the traveling partner one third, and the profits would be split evenly.[10] The investing partner bore two-thirds of any loss, while the traveling partner bore one third.[4] It was called colleganza or collegantia in Venice and societas in Genoa.[8][1]

Each individual contract was different, and sometimes the investment was a share in a ship.[10]

History

The origins of the commenda are debated, and likely derived from several sources including the Babylonian tapputûm, the Greco-Roman societas consensu contracta and foenus nauticum, the Byzantine chreokoinonia, the Muslim qirad, and the Jewish 'isqa.[11][12][1] Although it has precedent in these previous types of contracts, the commenda has peculiarities of its own.[1] The first mention of the Venetian colleganza dates to 1073, but it had been used since the 10th century.[13][8] By the 12th century, the commendatio had supplanted the colleganza in Venice.[8]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-231-12356-3
    .
  2. OCLC 7341360
    .
  3. OCLC 371197311.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  4. ^
    S2CID 162370493
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-299-09144-6
    .
  6. ^ Nisen, Max. "How Globalization Created And Destroyed The City Of Venice". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  7. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Eta Ducale – Le risorse: MERCATURA E MONETA in "Storia di Venezia"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  9. ISBN 978-0-307-96225-6
    .
  10. ^
    ISBN 978-0-231-12356-3
    .
  11. S2CID 162370493
    .
  12. ^ Trevisanato, Andrea <1958> (2015-02-24). "Il contratto di colleganza nella documentazione medievale veneziana. Studio storico e diplomatistico". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ISBN 978-0-231-12356-3
    .
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