In het kielzog van moderne markten : handel en verkeer op de Rijn, Waal en IJssel, c. 1360-1560

Abstract

This dissertation studies trade and transport on the rivers Rhine, Waal and IJssel during the Late Middle Ages. These rivers were the main arteries connecting Holland, Flanders and Brabant on the one hand with Guelders, Cleves, J_lich and Cologne on the other hand. The study tries to establish the nature and volume of river trade at three 'measuring' periods during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It seeks to explain both short-term fluctuations and long-term changes in the river trade during those centuries. Short-term fluctuations were often the result of warfare or meteorological conditions and did not alter river trade structurally. Long-term changes were induced by large-scale economic developments within North-Western Europe, such as the rise of Antwerp and that of Holland and Zeeland. Merchants and skippers from territories along the rivers, such as Guelders, Oversticht and Cleves, who had found a place within the Hanseatic League from the early 14th century onwards, could not compete with their Holland neighbours. Instead they focussed on a role as full time skippers or tried to find a specialisation or niche on the large markets of Holland, Zeeland and Brabant, selling Rhine wine or lumber from the German hinterland.