This fascinating study follows the fortunes of the Höchstetter family, merchant-manufacturers and financiers of Augsburg, Germany, in the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries, and sheds light on the economic and social history of failure and resilience in early modern Europe. Carefully tracing the chronology of the family’s rise, fall and transformation, it moves from the micro- to the macro-level, making comparisons with other mercantile families of the time to draw conclusions and suggest insights into such issues as social mobility, capitalist organization, business techniques, market practices and economic institutions. The result is a microhistory that offers macro-conclusions about the lived experience of early capitalism and capitalistic practices.
This book will be valuable reading for advanced students and researchers of economic, financial and business history, legal history and early modern European history.
By:
Thomas Max Safley Imprint: Routledge Country of Publication: United Kingdom Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g ISBN:9780367137106 ISBN 10: 0367137100 Series:Routledge Explorations in Economic History Pages: 288 Publication Date:27 November 2019 Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format:Hardback Publisher's Status: Active
List of Figures. List of Maps. Note on Money. Note on Translations. Acknowledgements. Introduction. 1. Family Firms Considered: “Ambrosius and Hans, the Brothers Höchstetter and Associates”. 2. Capitalistic Practices: The Höchstetter Brassworks at Pflach. 3. Crisis and Insolvency: Information Management by and about the Höchstetters. 4. Bankruptcy: Local Institutions and their Consequences 5. Bankruptcy: Financial Markets and Credit Networks. 6. Ruin and Recovery: The Question of Resilience and the Höchstetter “Family Firm”. Conclusion. Appendix 1: Rising Höchstetter Fortunes. Appendix 2: Höchstetter Creditors. Bibliography. Index.
Thomas Max Safley is Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Pennsylvania, USA.