Page 37 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 37
Assistance to Ships and Cargo Handling in the Early Modern Port of Genoa
coast or inside a river or a lagoon and, consequently, are there any acces-
sibility problems due to a shallow draft? Finally, the quality of connec-
tions between the port in question and its hinterland should be assessed.
The economy of a port hinterland is also important: are goods manufac-
tured there exclusively for the supply of the port city, or also for export?
A hinterland with scarce resources and/or difficult to reach due to natu-
ral obstacles does not necessarily affect port traffic. Quite the contrary, it
might be a strong driver to resorting to maritime routes, looking for pro-
duce the land cannot supply, thus favouring strong trading relations with
other ports in order to obtain the goods necessary for the subsistence of
the local population.
The density of connections with other ports impacts the volume of
traffic handled within each port and positively influences its position-
ing within a hypothetical hierarchy based on this parameter. However,
using this approach, the importance of trade and long-haul connections
should not be overestimated over local traffic and shipping. The latter are
often more difficult to quantify, nevertheless they are equally important.
Further, other crucial elements for port operations must be taken into
account, such as: the political-institutional context of the country and/
or city in which a port is located; its relations with other countries; and
the level of managerial independence from the central authority, as well
as any implemented strategies to attract traffic. Cases in point could be,
for example, the granting of Free Port rights, trade agreements with oth-
er countries, policies for the supply of goods to the local population, or,
more generally, tax and customs policies. Other elements to be reckoned
with are the social fabric, the presence of a dynamic business environ-
ment and of a local merchant class, and the degree of openness to foreign-
ers. Last but not least, the local administration, and the efficiency and
degree of autonomy of the judicial system on maritime-port issues, es-
pecially in terms of speed of conflict resolution – disputes between mer-
chants, insurance issues, general average claims, etc. – are all elements
affecting port efficiency and, consequently, its competitiveness.
By applying this analysis model to the Genoese case, a series of use-
ful elements can be identified to better understand the importance and
role of Genoa’s port in the Mediterranean. As a hub of a merchant net-
work, throughout the modern age it would expand and change its struc-
ture with respect to new scenarios following the increase in traffic and
the emergence of new ports located in strategic positions. As far as its
37
coast or inside a river or a lagoon and, consequently, are there any acces-
sibility problems due to a shallow draft? Finally, the quality of connec-
tions between the port in question and its hinterland should be assessed.
The economy of a port hinterland is also important: are goods manufac-
tured there exclusively for the supply of the port city, or also for export?
A hinterland with scarce resources and/or difficult to reach due to natu-
ral obstacles does not necessarily affect port traffic. Quite the contrary, it
might be a strong driver to resorting to maritime routes, looking for pro-
duce the land cannot supply, thus favouring strong trading relations with
other ports in order to obtain the goods necessary for the subsistence of
the local population.
The density of connections with other ports impacts the volume of
traffic handled within each port and positively influences its position-
ing within a hypothetical hierarchy based on this parameter. However,
using this approach, the importance of trade and long-haul connections
should not be overestimated over local traffic and shipping. The latter are
often more difficult to quantify, nevertheless they are equally important.
Further, other crucial elements for port operations must be taken into
account, such as: the political-institutional context of the country and/
or city in which a port is located; its relations with other countries; and
the level of managerial independence from the central authority, as well
as any implemented strategies to attract traffic. Cases in point could be,
for example, the granting of Free Port rights, trade agreements with oth-
er countries, policies for the supply of goods to the local population, or,
more generally, tax and customs policies. Other elements to be reckoned
with are the social fabric, the presence of a dynamic business environ-
ment and of a local merchant class, and the degree of openness to foreign-
ers. Last but not least, the local administration, and the efficiency and
degree of autonomy of the judicial system on maritime-port issues, es-
pecially in terms of speed of conflict resolution – disputes between mer-
chants, insurance issues, general average claims, etc. – are all elements
affecting port efficiency and, consequently, its competitiveness.
By applying this analysis model to the Genoese case, a series of use-
ful elements can be identified to better understand the importance and
role of Genoa’s port in the Mediterranean. As a hub of a merchant net-
work, throughout the modern age it would expand and change its struc-
ture with respect to new scenarios following the increase in traffic and
the emergence of new ports located in strategic positions. As far as its
37
