Commenda

The commenda was a medieval contract which developed in Italy around the 13th century, and was an early form of limited partnership.[1][2] The commenda was an agreement between an investing partner and a traveling partner to conduct a commercial enterprise, usually overseas.[3] The terms of the partnership varied, and are usually categorized by modern historians as unilateral commenda and bilateral commenda, based on the share of contributions and profits between the partners.[4] The bilateral commenda was known in Venice as collegantia or colleganza.[5] The commenda has been described as a foundational innovation in the history of finance and trade.[4][6][7] The commenda was a partnership between an investing partner (called the commendator, or socius stans) and a traveling partner (called the tractator or socius procertans).[8] The investing partner would provide the capital and the traveling partner would execute a commercial enterprise (generally maritime transport), the initial capital would be returned to the investing partner and the remaining profits would then be split.[9] The commenda was in essence as joint-stock company for the financing of a single expedition.[7] Depending on the contribution of the traveling partner, historians define two types of commenda:

* Unilateral commenda: the investing partner would contribute the capital and a traveling partner none; the profits would be split three fourth for the investing partner and one fourth for the traveling partner.[10] The investing partner bore all liability for loss, while the traveling partner bore none.[4] The Statutes of Marseille of 1253 state protected the traveling partner against lawsuits following shipwreck or capture of the ship.[4] It was called commendatio in Venice.[8]
* Bilateral commenda, the investing partner would put up two thirds of the capital and the traveling partner one third, and the profits would be split evenly.[10] The investing partner bore two thirds of any loss, while the traveling partner bore one third.[4] It was called colleganza or collegantia in Venice and societas in Genoa.[8][1]

Each individual contract was different, and sometimes the investment was a share in a ship.[10]

## History

The origins of the commenda are debated, and likely derived from several sources including the Babylonian tapputûm, the Greco-Roman societas consensu contracta and foenus nauticum, the Byzantine chreokoinonia, the Muslim qirad, and the Jewish 'isqa.[11][12][1] Although it has precedent in these previous types of contracts, the commenda has peculiarities of its own.[1] The first mention of the Venetian colleganza dates to 1073, but it had been used since the 10th century.[13][8] By the 12th century, the commendatio had supplanted the colleganza in Venice.[8]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lopez, Robert Sabatino; Raymond, Irving Woodworth; Constable, Olivia Remie (2001) (in en). Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12356-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=y2Qo6A_wW7YC.
2. ↑ Luzzatto, Gino (1954) (in Italian). Studi di storia economica veneziana.. Padova: CEDAM. OCLC 7341360. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7341360.
3. ↑ Van Doosselaere, Quentin, 1961- (2009). Commercial agreements and social dynamics in medieval Genoa. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-511-51790-7. OCLC 371197311. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/371197311.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Pryor, John H. (January 1977). "The Origins of the Commenda Contract" (in en). Speculum 52 (1): 5–37. doi:10.2307/2856894. ISSN 0038-7134. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/2856894.
5. ↑ Setton, Kenneth M. (September 1985) (in en). A History of the Crusades: The Impact of the Crusades on the Near East. Univ of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-09144-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=tgfMNfBIgSwC&q=colleganza+bilateral+commenda&pg=PA404.
6. ↑ Nisen, Max. "How Globalization Created And Destroyed The City Of Venice". https://www.businessinsider.com/the-economic-history-of-venice-2012-8.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Freeland, Chrystia (2012-10-13). "Opinion | The Self-Destruction of the 1 Percent (Published 2012)" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/opinion/sunday/the-self-destruction-of-the-1-percent.html.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "Eta Ducale - Le risorse: MERCATURA E MONETA in "Storia di Venezia"" (in it-IT). http://www.treccani.it//enciclopedia/eta-ducale-le-risorse-mercatura-e-moneta_(Storia-di-Venezia).
9. ↑ Paine, Lincoln (2013-10-29) (in en). The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-96225-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=djsi3nve26MC&q=statute+of+marseille+commenda&pg=PA226.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lopez, Robert Sabatino; Raymond, Irving Woodworth; Constable, Olivia Remie (2001) (in en). Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12356-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=y2Qo6A_wW7YC&q=commenda+collegantia&pg=PA175.
11. ↑ Pryor, John H. (1977-01-01). "The Origins of the Commenda Contract". Speculum 52 (1): 5–37. doi:10.2307/2856894. ISSN 0038-7134. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/2856894.
12. ↑ Trevisanato, Andrea <1958> (2015-02-24). Il contratto di colleganza nella documentazione medievale veneziana. Studio storico e diplomatistico.. http://dspace.unive.it/handle/10579/6051.
13. ↑ Lopez, Robert Sabatino; Raymond, Irving Woodworth; Constable, Olivia Remie (2001) (in en). Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents. Columbia University Press. pp. 176–177. ISBN 978-0-231-12356-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=y2Qo6A_wW7YC&q=commenda+collegantia&pg=PA175.

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