Madrid’s Trade Exchanges in the Territorial and Urban Environment of the Late Middle Ages (SP)

Abstract

Commercial exchanges certainly spurred the social and economic development of late medieval Madrid. Because of its geostrategic situation in relation to Castile’s manufacturing and trade centres, Madrid was an integral piece in Castile’s trade networks, as well as a focal point of economic activity, as was displayed in its trade fairs and markets. In this way, and despite its modest role in the broader picture of the economy, it played a relevant part as a network within the broader network of traditional trade relations in Castile. Merchants from Burgos, Guadalajara, Toledo, Cuenca, Segovia and Valladolid, among others, found in Madrid an ideal setting for the buying and selling of raw materials and manufactured commodities, and therefore settled in the town and there carried out their dealings with other merchants and moreover became integrated in local institutions.