Page 71 - 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. 71
4
The Rijeka Trading Company
Ervin Dubrović
City Museum of Rijeka
Rijeka Port: Great Expectations and a bad Start
Until the early eighteenth century, the House of Habsburg had not devel-
oped maritime affairs. So, it was a great novelty when, after the War of
the Spanish Succession and the Turkish War, Emperor Charles VI focused
on economic affairs, primarily encouraging trade and navigation on the
Adriatic Sea. After the peace treaties in Utrecht and Rastatt (1713 and
1714), the former Spanish Netherlands, as well as Naples and Sardinia
(later replaced by Sicily) belonged to Charles VI, who thus acquired im-
portant maritime countries that significantly influenced changes in the
Austrian economy and state finances (Faber 1995; Faber 2001).
With a patent dated 18 March 1719, the Emperor especially encour-
aged trade and convinced merchants of the new business opportunities.
In the first point of the imperial patent, the rights to settle and work un-
hindered were confirmed to all foreign traders, shipowners, and crafts-
men; in the second point the repairs and widening of the main roads
and the freedom of traffic and use of all sea and river harbours were an-
nounced. The third point declared ‘free ports of two Adriatic Sea cities,
Rijeka and Trieste, where from now onwards all merchants – who other-
wise buy goods that come from our Hereditary Lands from second, third,
fourth, or even from fifth parties – will in the future be able to do it for
the great part first hand and thus have a good opportunity for an even
greater profit.’1
Further provisions in the Austrian Hereditary Lands guaranteed lo-
cal and foreign merchants special freedoms and promised various bene-
fits, especially in ports and maritime traffic, whilst with the twelfth point
1 The charter of King Charles VI. About the declaration of Rijeka and Trieste as free
ports from 18th March 1719 (Dubrović 2001, 320–1).
Mellinato, Giulio, Aleksander Panjek, eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime
Port Cities: The Northern Adriatic in a Comparative Perspective.
Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem. https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-191-9.71-88
71
The Rijeka Trading Company
Ervin Dubrović
City Museum of Rijeka
Rijeka Port: Great Expectations and a bad Start
Until the early eighteenth century, the House of Habsburg had not devel-
oped maritime affairs. So, it was a great novelty when, after the War of
the Spanish Succession and the Turkish War, Emperor Charles VI focused
on economic affairs, primarily encouraging trade and navigation on the
Adriatic Sea. After the peace treaties in Utrecht and Rastatt (1713 and
1714), the former Spanish Netherlands, as well as Naples and Sardinia
(later replaced by Sicily) belonged to Charles VI, who thus acquired im-
portant maritime countries that significantly influenced changes in the
Austrian economy and state finances (Faber 1995; Faber 2001).
With a patent dated 18 March 1719, the Emperor especially encour-
aged trade and convinced merchants of the new business opportunities.
In the first point of the imperial patent, the rights to settle and work un-
hindered were confirmed to all foreign traders, shipowners, and crafts-
men; in the second point the repairs and widening of the main roads
and the freedom of traffic and use of all sea and river harbours were an-
nounced. The third point declared ‘free ports of two Adriatic Sea cities,
Rijeka and Trieste, where from now onwards all merchants – who other-
wise buy goods that come from our Hereditary Lands from second, third,
fourth, or even from fifth parties – will in the future be able to do it for
the great part first hand and thus have a good opportunity for an even
greater profit.’1
Further provisions in the Austrian Hereditary Lands guaranteed lo-
cal and foreign merchants special freedoms and promised various bene-
fits, especially in ports and maritime traffic, whilst with the twelfth point
1 The charter of King Charles VI. About the declaration of Rijeka and Trieste as free
ports from 18th March 1719 (Dubrović 2001, 320–1).
Mellinato, Giulio, Aleksander Panjek, eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime
Port Cities: The Northern Adriatic in a Comparative Perspective.
Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem. https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-191-9.71-88
71
