1st Edition

The Making of the Modern Corporation The Casa di San Giorgio and its Legacy (1446-1720)

By Carlo Taviani Copyright 2022
264 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

264 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

264 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book traces the origins of a financial institution, the modern corporation, in Genoa and reconstructs its diffusion in England, the Netherlands, and France. At its inception, the Casa di San Giorgio (1407–1805) was entrusted with managing the public debt in Genoa. Over time, it took on powers we now ascribe to banks and states, accruing financial characteristics and fiscal, political, and... Read more

Introduction. Debating the Origins of Business Corporations

Part I: Finance and Organization of the Casa Di San Giorgio (1407–1518)

Chapter 1. Origins and Foundation of San Giorgio

Chapter 2. Financial and Fiscal Features of San Giorgio

Chapter 3: San Giorgio’s Political Features

Part II: The Casa di San Giorgio’s Territories (1407–1518)

Chapter 4. Origins of San Giorgio’s Territorial Power

Chapter 5. On the Black Sea

Chapter 6. In Liguria and Corsica

Part III: Genoa’s Two Seats of Power: The Commune and San Giorgio (1453–66)

Chapter 7. Contra San Giorgio

Chapter 8. Machiavelli and San Giorgio

Part IV: The Casa di San Giorgio’s Model (1518–1791)

Chapter 9. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) and San Giorgio

Chapter 10. The Bank of England and San Giorgio

Chapter 11. John Law and the Mississippi Company

Conclusion

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Appendix 4

Abbreviations

Archival Sources

Bibliography

Biography

Carlo Taviani is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. He has been a research fellow at Deutsches Historisches Institut in Rom and at the Italian-German Historical Institute in Trent. He has held fellowships at the Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Storici, I Tatti (the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies) and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of Chicago and the MacMillan Center at Yale and a visiting lecturer at the University of Cape Town. He taught at the Università degli Studi di Teramo, the Università degli Studi di Trento, and the University of Cape Town. He is currently teaching at the University of Bologna.