Handelsbeziehungen der Stadt Poznan bis Ende des XVII. Jahrhunderts [Trade Relations of the City of Poznan until the End of the 17th Century]

Abstract

Research on Poznan's trade in the early modern period has a certain tradition, but a synthetic study comprehensively analyzing both the geographic reach and the commodity structure of trade over the entire period from the late Middle Ages to the mid-17th century has been lacking, as has a thorough examination of the relationship between the development of Greater Poland and the city's commercial prosperity.
This study examines the commercial development of the city of Poznan from the late Middle Ages until the Swedish Wars (1655). It analyzes the city's role as a key intermediary in European transit trade, the geographic reach of its commercial relations, the commodity structure of trade, and the factors that determined the rise and decline of Poznan's foreign trade.
The study draws on earlier research into Poznan's trade up to the mid-16th century (Koczy 1930) and from 1550 to 1655 (Grycz 1964), supplemented by sources on trading privileges, market structures, and regional economic data.
The findings show that between the late 15th and mid-17th centuries, Poznan was one of the most significant economic centers in Poland. The city benefited from its advantageous location along European transit trade routes connecting Western Europe with Russia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Foreign trade was dominated by the western direction (approximately 50% of all extra-regional contacts), especially with Silesia, Germany, and northern European ports. The commodity structure of trade encompassed leather and furs, textile products, wool and feathers, as well as colonial goods and foodstuffs. Numerous trading privileges granted to Poznan merchants formed an essential foundation for the city's commercial prosperity. At the same time, an extensive Poznan regional market developed across Greater Poland. The Swedish Wars (from 1655) led to the definitive decline of Poznan as a supra-regional trading center.