iANALELE ŞTIIN łIFICE ALE UNIVERSIT Ăł II „ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA” DIN IA ŞI Tomul LVI Ştiin Ńe Economice 2009 ON THE MEDIEVAL URBAN ECONOMY IN WALLACHIA Lauren Ńiu R ĂDVAN * Abstract The present study focuses on the background of the medieval urban economy in Wallachia. Townspeople earned most of their income through trade. Acting as middlemen in the trade between the Levant and Central Europe, the merchants in Br ăila, Târgovi şte, Câmpulung, Bucure şti or Târg şor became involved in trading goods that were local or had been brought from beyond the Carpathians or the Black Sea. Raw materials were the goods of choice, and Wallachia had vast amounts of them: salt, cereals, livestock or animal products, skins, wax, honey; mostly imported were expensive cloth or finer goods, much sought after by the local rulers and boyars. An analysis of the documents indicates that crafts were only secondary, witness the many raw goods imported: fine cloth (brought specifically from Flanders), weapons, tools. Products gained by practicing various crafts were sold, covering the food and clothing demand for townspeople and the rural population. As was the case with Moldavia, Wallachia stood out by its vintage wine, most of it coming from vineyards neighbouring towns. The study also deals with the ethnicity of the merchants present on the Wallachia market. Tradesmen from local towns were joined by numerous Transylvanians (Bra şov, Sibiu), but also Balkans (Ragussa) or Poles (Lviv). The Transylvanian ones enjoyed some privileges, such as tax exemptions or reduced customs duties. Key words: regional history; medieval trade; charters of privilege; merchants; craftsmen; Wallachia JEL classification: N93 1. Introduction The present study will look into the development of medieval urban economy in Wallachia, taking as its timeframe the 14 th -16 th centuries. The urban centres south of the Carpathians evolved in an unstable political climate. The throne was subject to almost constant competition, with only few longer reigns (such as that of Mircea the Old) having avoided this true curse, which brought along uncertainty and instability. Also, the frequent intermissions of neighbouring powers (Hungary, the Ottoman Empire) in the affairs of Wallachia impacted negatively the urban economy. As this study will show, this economy was grounded in trade, and towns in this area had flourished into true intermediaries between the centres of Central Europe, Transylvania, and South-Danubian land. Crafts were only secondary in nature, and, where agriculture was concerned, only viticulture was its * Lauren Ńiu RĂDVAN ([email protected]) , PhD, Associate Professor , "Al. I. Cuza" University of Iasi, Faculty of History. 490 Lauren Ńiu R ĂDVAN most popular branch. Our study will look into every above-mentioned component of urban economy. 2. Trade relations with Transylvanian towns Trade was at the foundation of town development in the 14 th century and continued to be a major economic component until the dawn of modern times. Preserved sources limit our perception on town economy, since they provide information exclusively relating to ex- ternal trade. The first half of the 14 th century sees one alternate route of the road linking Hungary to the Black Sea and the Byzantium stabilize. After crossing Transylvania and reaching Bra şov, this alternate route would cross the mountains at Câmpulung, where it split: the main road ( via Braylan ) reached the Br ăila port by the Danube, crossing Târgo- vi şte, Târg şor, Gherghi Ńa, Buz ău; one secondary road crossed Arge ş, Pite şti, Slatina and Turnu, where it crossed the Danube to Bulgaria at Nikopol; from Slatina, travellers could enter Oltenia, at Vidin [ Documenta , D, I, 86]. By controlling the southern Moldavian region, the rulers of Wallachia also gained control over another road linking Bra şov to the Black Sea. This road would cross the mountains via the Oituz pass, the most significant among ar- eas east of the Carpathians and Transylvania. It would then descend on the valley of the Trotu ş towards Putna, Tecuci, probably Olteni and Gala Ńi, up to the port of Kilia. The rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia fought over this road and the area it crossed for several decades (around 1420-1473). It was ultimately Wallachia that lost the battle [Papacostea, 2007, 13- 28]. Trade with Transylvania made the urban economy peak in Wallachia between the 15 th century and the beginning of the 16 th . The waiving of Br ăila by the Ottomans (1538-1540) was the effigy of a new crisis, that compounded the effects of the religious Reform and other factors that were a negative influence on the development of towns in Wallachia. Trade relations with Transylvanian towns were established, as the ruler of Wallachia took his vassal oath to the king of Hungary, Louis of Anjou. The latter made considerable political efforts to expand control over the mouths of the Danube. Although his plan was not as successful as he deemed it to be, some actions had long-term consequences. Among them, the 1368 privilege. The king had tried, ever since 1358, to ensure customs liberties for merchants in Bra şov who travelled to the Danube. We are not aware of any effect the docu- ment issued then had in Wallachia, which held control over land in which merchants had been granted liberties [ Documenta , D, I, 72]. Ten years later, negotiations set new rules for the merchants of Bra şov (1368). They were granted tax exemptions for trade undertaken in Wallachia, as well as for trade with Vidin (by eliminating the Slatina customs). However, they were forced to pay the Câmpulung customs, one of the major markets of the country. Until the reign of Mircea the Old, trade and customs relations with the inhabitants of Bra şov were changed again. Radu I or Dan I modified the privilege, introducing new customs du- ties. The document that contained these modifications has been lost to the passage of the time, but we have its later reinstatements, from 1412-1413 on [ Documenta , D, I, 191; 197]. The Câmpulung customs house was eliminated, but taxes had to be paid for certain products nearby, at the stronghold of Dâmbovi Ńa, and at Ruc ăr as well. Taxes on fish were added in Br ăila, Târg şor, Târgovi şte and the stronghold of Dâmbovi Ńa. Another provision stated that the compensation by shared responsibility for members of the community was lifted and re- placed by individual responsibility. Whoever had a debt was to find their debtor and could not get their money back off one of their fellow citizens. The ruler was to settle disputes over trade, in case of his subjects, and the rulers of Bra şov for their own [ Documenta , D, I, On the Medieval Urban Economy in Wallachia 491 217]. Along with Wallachian privileges, Bra şov had gained in 1369 from King Louis staple right, as well as monopoly for wax brought from south of the Carpathians and the freedom to take merchandise to Wien [ Documente Hurmuzaki , I/2, 146]. Staple right initially applied only to Polish and German merchants, who were joined in the former part of the 15 th century at the latest by those arriving from Wallachia. The first law that requires the last group to sell their goods in Bra şov is dated 1468 [ Documente Hurmuzaki , XV/1, 69]. These measures effected Wallachian trade, since they granted Bra şov (and Sibiu as well) control over prod- ucts taken south of the mountains, as well as over those entering Transylvania. There was a negative impact. Prices varied by their origin: they increased for exported goods and were low for those entering Transylvania. It also hindered the freedom to travel in Transylvania for merchants from Wallachian towns. The staple right was no uncommon procedure in the Middle Ages, but it sometimes sparked real trade wars. Hungarian towns faced the same issue in the former part of the 14 th century, when Wien was granted staple right. King Charles Robert retaliated by enacting limitations on trade with Austria. This measure was not supported by Louis, privileges granted to Viennese merchants being extended [Pach, 1975, 296]. In their turn, to counteract the negative effects of the staple right for Bra şov, Wallachian rulers (probably Mircea the Old) negotiated a privilege for their townspeople on this market. Dan II would confirm this privilege in 1431, that benefited merchants in the towns of Muntenia, Câmpulung, Arge ş, Târg şor, Gherghi Ńa, Br ăila, Buz ău, Floci and the local târgs in Ruc ăr, S ăcuieni and the stronghold of Dâmbovi Ńa [ Documenta , B, I, 130]. The document contained the right of these merchants to travel to Bra şov and sell “whatever they pleased, be it wax, tallow, silver, gold, pearls, whatever they saw fit, without fear of anything,” and to buy from there “cloth, silver, florins, whatever they pleased.” The mutual relations governing trade with Bra şov were not always complied with, especially by the townspeople of Transylvania or their customs offi- cers. Proof to this are the many interventions by Wallachian rulers in favour of their own merchants. Despite them, the relationship had been thrown out of balance from the start. The interests of merchants from Wallachia clashed with the staple right in Bra şov, and they often had to sell at the price of the market there. Instead, merchants from Bra şov had freedom to travel wherever they wished in the entire Wallachia [Papacostea, 1999, 178]. After around 1450, the situation begins to change. Due to an increase in Ottoman in- fluence, the international political status of Wallachia was challenged. Negotiations between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire stated that, beginning with 1451, rulers were to acknowl- edge vassal status towards both the kingdom and the empire, and both powers were committing to respect its autonomy.