The Bankruptcy Process of a Genoan Commerce Desk in the Early Modern Spain

Documento de Trabajo #2301

Título: The Bankruptcy Process of a Genoan Commerce Desk in the Early Modern Spain

Autor/es: Mercedes Gómez Oreña

Abstract: The bankruptcy process of a seventeenth-century business company is the subject of this study that we present. Like any insolvency situation, it entailed a judicial procedure to settle the debts and reach an agreement with the creditors. The diplomatic function carried out by the owner of the company, ambassador of the Catholic Cantons, and his position as treasurer of the Apostolic Chamber reveal the repercussions of the bankruptcy, which is aggravated by the high number of people involved in it and their social category. We begin the investigation with a brief approach to the character, to later delve into the businesses he managed throughout his professional career, we will continue with the structure of the trading desk and the number of employees who worked in it. Issues that are the basis of the main issue that we expose: origin, development and conclusion of the bankruptcy of the house of Juan Bautista Cassani.