Greek Merchants in the Romanian Principalities in the 16th Century. The Case of Nikolaos Domesticos Nevridis

Abstract

The paper aims to reconstitute the biography of one of the most important Greek middlemen in the trade between Lemberg and the East – the merchant Nikolaos Domesticos Nevridis of Chios. Involved as early as the period of his apprenticeship in the profitable trade which linked the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, through Poland and Moldavia, to the Eastern Mediterranean, Nevridis intuited correctly the place of Moldavia in the European economic trade, as well as the opportunities which this position brought. The choice of a residence in Moldavia led him further to the involvement in credit relations with the local elite and increased his chances of profit by getting key positions in the local fiscal system. In a short time, the combination of his trading abilities with the privileges granted by the Moldavian princes turned him into one of the greatest Moldavian businessmen from the end of the 16th century. Importer of expensive furs in Moldavia, exporter of wines and Moldavian oxen to Poland, Nevridis was also involved in an important transit trade with two types of high quality merchandise: the Cretan Malvasia wine, mainly destined to the Polish market, and the Western cloths, which, most probably, were sent to the Constantinopolitan market. Nevridis’ destiny reveals not only the profit opportunities determined by Moldavia’s geographical position and the privileged relations with its princes, but also the immense risks generated by such activities.