Authors:
Cinzia Lorandini | University of Trento | Italy
Francesca Odella | University of Trento | Italy
This paper uses historical network analysis to investigate the social dimension of credit in the early modern period. Drawing on insights from recent literature (Muldrew, 1998; Hoffman et al., 2000; Clemens and Reupke, 2009; Fontaine, 2014), we attempt to observe more deeply the role of reputation and trust in pre-modern credit markets, as well as the peculiar function of notaries in matching demand and supply of credit. The analysis was performed on an original dataset, reconstructed from the archives of a family business - the Salvadori firm of Trento - that was active in the eighteenth century. Specifically, we analyzed the local financial network of the family (2-mode matrix with credit positions by persons) extracted from loans granted between the 1720s and the 1760s, and on the basis of cross-information in business ledgers we were able to establish different types of links among the lenders (Salvadori family), the borrowers, and the other subjects involved (a sample of the civil society of the time). We then applied Social Network Analysis (Erickson, 1997; Brandes at al., 2012; Morrisey, 2015) not merely to visualize the Salvadoris’ credit network, but rather to make an attempt to test some hypotheses concerning the social dimension of credit, and the role of notaries. As for the social dimension of credit, we explored to which extent the credit transactions differed according to the borrower’s social position in the local milieu, and relationship with the Salvadori family. Secondly, we explored the intermediary role of notaries by analyzing their position within the family’s credit network. We aim to understand the reasons behind the recourse to different types of credit tools, namely notarial deeds vis-à-vis privately written obligations, particularly whether this choice was affected by the nature of the relationship with the borrower. Accordingly, we tested the hypothesis that reputational aspects were mostly relevant in the formation of the moneylending circuit (White, 1992) with selection mechanisms mainly based on the social class of the borrowers. Results confirm that the credit networks created by notarized and non-notarized loans is different in terms of composition and structure, an observation that supports the contention that notaries played a bridging role between actors of different social status, facilitating access to and circulation of credit.