Urban Professionals and the Enforcement of Dordrecht’s Rights in the Late Medieval Rhine Wine Trade

Description

In the late Middle Ages, Dordrecht emerged as the principal city in Holland for river trade, particularly in the crucial wine commerce along the Rhine. Substantial research has investigated the city's staple rights in this trade, primarily emphasizing its legal and trade-economic dimensions rather than the involvement of urban officials. How was the enforcement of the staple right practically carried out? Which institutions and officials were responsible for its enforcement, and what were their operational methods?

Given the extensive geographical scope and various waterways involved in enforcing these rights, as well as the significant stakes at hand, this enforcement was characterized by complex forms of multilevel governance. This included influence from the sovereign (for instance, through the bailiff of South Holland), the division of power within the municipal administration itself across various bodies with distinct authorities, and consideration of the interests of the guilds (represented, among others, in “The eight good men”). The divergence of interests is evident from the fact that individuals (formally) in the service of the count, notably including money changers, wine carriers (schroders), wine mensurators (wijnroeiers), and brokers, were allowed to participate in municipal governance until 1486. At the same time, brokers, for example had a vested interest in upholding the staple rights (and were very much involved in trade conflicts with other cities as they levied their commissions as taxes on merchants from competing cities) as the necessity for goods to be brought to market in Dordrecht had fostered their thriving community facilitating connections between traders.

This paper, therefore, aims to elucidate problems regarding the enforcement of Dordrecht’s staple rights by focusing on daily practices of relevant institutions and their officials. On the basis of archival sources, social historical perspectives will be combined with both economic an legal views thereby illustrating and clarifying the role urban officials have played in shaping the law and policies that were key to the economic conjuncture in the period.

Period	26 Mar 2025
Event title	European Social Science History Conference 2025
Event type	Conference
Location	Leiden, NetherlandsShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International