Pieter Emmer

During our last Workshop in December, 1976, Professor Bley of Hamburg University gave an interesting talk about German historiography since 1945. The contributions of this conference are to be printed soon, and I would not want to anticipate upon them. But in any case, one of the striking features of German historiography is the small number of works dealing with the history of Expansion. Small in comparison with French and English productions in that field, and small also as a part of the total German output. Still, in the last few years, this kind of historical research has received stimuli from several angles. Apart from theories about underdevelopment, modernization and dependence, whether or not they stem from a marxist viewpoint, there is also an interest in the causes of the first World War which has drawn attention in Germany to the time of imperialism.

states that though the company's links with the Southern Netherlands fit Israel's model, namely that the merchant elite traded in luxury goods, the contacts with the Northern Netherlands show that important merchants such as Jonas Witsen and Elias Trip were often involved in bulk trade as much as they were involved in trade in luxury goods. Engels' study is of major importance. On the one hand, it is the first to study the activities of the Flemish community in Livorno and Genoa. On the other hand, it provides good insight into the general circumstances surrounding the Dutch presence in the Mediterranean as an economic space. Nevertheless, and despite the fact that Engels seems to fulfil her aims, three comments should be made. First, while the large number of figures and tables she presents reflect the relative importance of the Dutch in the Mediterranean, this valuable material is under-analysed. Figures and tables often appear only to embellish the text rather than serve as the centre of the analysis. This weakens the significance of the information quantified in that material. Second, the methodological choice of sources and time period is not explained. Thus, the chronological limits of the book are neither explained nor justified. Even less attractive is the fact that the sampling in some parts of the book, using the five-year periods of 1620, 1625 and 1630, are not obvious choices. Engels should have explained her choices better as well as the implications to her analysis. Thirdly, the study lacks an international background. The author became caught up by the idea of contextualizing her study primarily in the Mediterranean, and on a few occasions, in European terms. In fact, there is hardly any mention of the relative importance of this economic relationship on the extra-European commerce, except in the "Conclusion." [219] Some comments about the significance of this intra-European network in the world economy as a whole might have brought this study to a much higher level of discussion. Still, the book offers an enlightening view of what seventeenth-century sources may give us and how interesting bilateral case studies in economic history may stimulate others to pursue an increasing knowledge of how economic and social groups behaved in the early modern period. The book can be recommended not only to those with a general interest in the subjects examined by Engels but also to specialists in early modern economic history, maritime history, social history and urban history.