Armenian Merchants of the Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries

As an organic whole, the present collection of documents-gathered together from a variety of original sources-tells a fascinating story about the trade relationship between the English East India Company & the powerful Armenian merchant community of New Julfa that lasted over one hundred years (17th & early 18th centuries). Multifarious & complex, this relationship revolved around the Company's continual efforts to break into the Armenian held silk & cloth markets. Perhaps more than any other single event, this trade relationship epitomizes the economic climate of the period, an age of competitive partnership. With the publication of this volume, Professor Baladouni & Mrs. Makepeace place for the first time at the disposal of historians a substantive body of documents that tell how this intricate Anglo-Armenian trade relationship started & evolved. Beyond that, these documents also reveal to the astute historian the human experiences that lie behind the participants' actions. The extensive topical indexes provided in the volume will be of great assistance to researchers. Finally, in the Introduction, Professor Baladouni addresses the question "What was the key to the Armenian merchants' success during the pre-modern period?" & submits a hypothesis for consideration. He proposes that their "fabulous success" may be attributed to the rare atmosphere of trust that prevailed among the Armenian merchant community which, in turn, led to two significant benefits: (1) organizational cost savings; & (2) organizational innovations. A glossary of terms & several indexes complete the study.