Abstract
On June 11, 1470, representatives of Pope Paul II and Ferdinand, King of Naples concluded a cartel agreement to restrict competition in the sale of alum. The agreement was one element of a broader plan to monopolize the sale of alum throughout Christendom. We discuss the background of the cartel agreement and analyze its terms (which include arrangements to facilitate detection of and reduce the profitability of defection) and the constraints that limited, but did not eliminate, Rome’s ability to extract economic profit from the European alum market.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
For a general discussion of the 1873 depression, see Rosenberg (1943).
Morsel (1976, p. 118) writes, “Cartels [ententes] were born in France in 1876; they spread after 1890, and from 1914 many branches of industry were involved on the national and international plane.”
See similarly Voight (1962, p. 170): “Forerunners of cartels existed in Germany in earlier centuries. The modern cartel, however, is a product of liberalism, a reaction of enterprisers to the opportunities inherent in a free market economy, but also a safeguard against the adverse effects of business cycles inherent in the process of industrial growth.”
Schröter (1996, p. 131) writes that, “The oldest French industrial agreement we know of is the Marseille cartel on soda, concluded in 1838,” and gives examples of Belgian cartels from the 1850s onward. Rénaud (1960) discusses the 1830–1857 French crystal cartel, which also involved a joint sales agency. Riesenfeld (1960) mentions an 1836 instance of collusive predation in the French stagecoach industry, but gives no details.
According to Hoover and Hoover (1912, p. 565, fn. 12), the commercial product was “the double basic potassium alum.”
Delumeau (1962, pp. 59–74) reviews several descriptions of the production of alum at Tolfa. The most useful are Agricola (1556, pp. 568–571 in the Hoover and Hoover 1912 edition) and a 1765 report of Fougeroux de Bondaroy, read before the l’Academie Royale des Sciences, from which Delumeau gives four pages of text and reproduces four plates illustrating the Tolfa alum works.
A figure on page 571 of Agricola (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38015/38015-h/images/fig571.jpg) illustrates the four stages.
There was a brief interruption in Genovese domination of the European alum trade from 1340–1346. On the Genovese role in the alum trade, see Heers (1954).
Ryder (1998, p. 580) writes, “All this warfare, however, had cost Pius great sums at the same time that he was endeavouring …to lead Europe by example into a crusade. There came providentially to his rescue the rich alum deposits discovered in 1461 north-west of Rome at Tolfa, profits from which in time boosted papal revenues by some 20 %.”
Delumeau (1962) reports the terms of contracts before 1500 in Chapter 2, and the terms of contracts from 1501 to 1796 in Chapter 3, Table I. There are gaps in the records. Those who received contracts to farm Tolfa alum often made loans on advantageous terms to the Popes who awarded the contracts; see footnote 24. Such transfers would not appear in the formal contract, but were part of the cost of doing business. Contracts specified a payment to the Church per unit sold. It happened that the price that the contractee could get was not sufficient to cover the payment, and, ex post, the Apostolic Camera agreed to accept a lower payment than that specified in the contract.
In modern antitrust parlance, such arrangements would be described as a “most favored customer” agreement. There were fruitless efforts to negotiate a similar treaty with England.
The mines at Agnano were privately owned. Alfonso II was King of Naples for 13 months from January 25, 1494, and granted a Medici group a contract to work the Agnano mines. While this contract was in effect, Medici interests controlled both the Tolfa and the Agnano mines. Alfonso’s son and successor, Ferdinand II, restored the Agnano mines to their previous owner.
Two copies of the agreement are known. Theiner (1862) reproduces the copy that is in the Vatican archives, which has the preamble and general terms in church Latin and details of the cartel in antique Italian. An English translation is in the “Appendix” to this paper. Strieder (1925, p. 172, fn. 2) notes the existence of a handwritten copy of the cartel agreement in the Archives of the State of Rome.
A Rome–Venice treaty concluded later in 1470 provided for such payments.
Zippel (1907, pp. 36–37) and Delumeau alternatively suggest that the imminent threat of the invasion of the Italian peninsula by the Ottoman Empire (a threat that materialized in 1480) may be sufficient explanation for the nature of the agreement.
“Rapidity” must of course be taken in the context of the times. Singer (1948, p. 149) remarks on the speed of a letter that went from Florence to Bruges in less than 3 weeks.
Pastor (1949, p. 152) writes that “The complicated relations which existed between Naples and the Apostolic See made it possible for the King to keep the Pope in perpetual alarm, by constantly making fresh demands. The real ground of [the King’s] hostility was the jealousy with which he viewed the consolidation of the Papal power in the States of the Church, and accordingly he harassed the Pope in every way that he could.”
Troops from the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples invaded the territory of the Republic of Florence. In a whirlwind of shifting alliances, in December 1479, Lorenzo made a secret trip to Naples and secured a peace treaty with Ferdinand I.
With the death of Lorenzo de’ Medici in 1492, the central role of Medici interests in the European alum market faded.
Gilbert (1980, p. 72) writes that, “Agostino was aware that in his application for this lease he needed the support of [another group of Siennese bankers]. By giving them a share in the profits of the Tolfa mines and paying Pope Alexander VI an advance of 7000 ducats on the grazing tax and an advance of 20,000 ducats on the Tolfa revenue, he could acquire the lease to the mines.” Similarly, Pope Leo X renewed the Tolfa concession following loans of 75,000 and 12,000 gold ducats from the Chigi bank on the occasion of his assuming the Papacy (Franchini 1950, p. 160).
There were similar side-payments in 1539 and 1582 (Pipino 2009, p. 32).
As has been suggested by the editor.
References
Agricola, G. (1556 [1912]). De Re Metallica. Herbert Clark Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover, translators. London: The Mining Magazine. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38015/38015-h/38015-h.htm
Allen, G. C. (1954). Monopoly and competition in the United Kingdom. In E. H. Chamberlin (Ed.), Monopoly and competition and their regulation (pp. 88–109). London: MacMillan
Allen, G. C. (1968). Monopoly and restrictive practices. London: George Allen and Unwin.
Associazione Bancaria Italiana. (1970). Il Magnifico Agostino Chigi. Roma: Aristide Staderini.
Barbieri, G. (1940). Industria e Politica Mineraria nello Stato Pontificio dal ’400 al ’600. Roma: Cremonese Libraraio.
Carlo, M. D., et al. (1984). La Società Dell’Allume. Officina Edizione.
Croce, B. (1949). Le allumiere di Agnano nei secoli XV e XVI e la Santa Sede. In Scritti di Storia Letteraria e Politica (Vol. XXIX, pp. 35–41). Bari: Lius. Laterza and Figli.
de Roover, R. (1946). The Medici Bank financial and commercial operations. Journal of Economic History, 6(2), 153–172.
de Roover, R. (1966). The rise and decline of the Medici Bank 1397–1497. New York: W. W. Norton.
Deák, F. (1936). Contracts and combinations in restraint of trade under french law: A comparative study. Iowa Law Review, 21, 397–454.
Delumeau, J. (1962). L’Alun de Rome XVe-XIXe Siècle. S.E. V.P.N.
Franchini, V. (1950). Note sull’attivita finanziaria di Agostino Chigi nel Cinquecento (pp. 156–175). Milan: Studi in Onore di Gino Luzzatto. II.
Freedeman, C. E. (1988). Cartels and the law in France before 1914. French Historical Studies, 15, 462–478.
Gerber, D. J. (1998). Law and competition in twentieth century Europe: Protecting prometheus. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Gilbert, F. (1980). The Pope, His Banker, and Venice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Gottlob, A. (1889). Aus Der Camera Apostolica Des 15 Jahrhunderts: Ein Beitrag Zur Geschichte Des Papstlichen Finanzwesens Und Des Endenden Mittelalters. Wagner: Innsbruck.
Heers, M.-L. (1954). Les Génois et le commerce de l’alun à la fin du Moyen Age. Revue d’Histoire Economique et Sociale, 32, 31–53.
Kleinwächter, F. (1883). Die Kartelle. Innsbruck: Verlag der Wagner’schen Universitets-Buchhandlung.
Mallett, M. (1998). The Northern Italian States. In C. Allmand (Ed.), The New Cambridge medieval history (pp. 547–570). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mantenovesi, O. (1937). Agostino Chigi, banchiere e appaltatore dell’allume di Tolfa. Archivio della R. Deputazione romana di storia patria (pp. 107–147).
Martines, L. (2003). April blood: Florence and the plot against the Medici. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Maschke, E. (1968). Deutsche Kartelle im späten Mittelalter und im 19. Jahrhundert vor 1870. In Friedrich Lütge, editor, Wirtschaftliche und soziale Probleme der gewerblichen Entwicklung im 15.-16. Und 19. Jahrhundert (pp. 102–114). Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag.
Mignanti, F. M. (1936). Santuari della Regione di Tolfa. Memorie Storiche, a cura di Ottorino Morra, Roma, Cremonese, 1936.
Morsel, H. (1976). Contribution à l’histoire des ententes industrielles. Revue d’Histoire Économique et Sociale, 54, 118–129.
Nef, J. U. (1941). Industrial Europe at the time of the Reformation (ca. 1515–ca. 1540). Journal of Political Economy, 49, 1–40.
Pastor, L. (1949). History of the Popes, fifth edition (translated from German) (Vol. IV). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Pipino, G. (2009). Oro e allume nella storia dell’isola d’Ischia. La Rassegna d’Ischia 18–36, June.
Pius II (Piccolomini, Enea Silvio Bartolomeo) (1962). Commentaries. Translated by Florence A. Gragg. Edited by Leona C. Gabel. New York: Capricorn Books.
Rénaud, F. (1960). Le cartel des cristaux, 1830–1857. Histoire des Entreprises, 5, 7–20.
Riesenfeld, S. A. (1960). The legal protection of competition in France. California Law Review, 48, 574–595.
Rosenberg, H. (1943). Political and social consequences of the great depression of 1873–1896 in Central Europe. Economic History Review, 13, 58–73.
Rowland, I. D. (1986). Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s: Humanism and the arts in the patronage of Agostino Chigi. Renaissance Quarterly, 39, 673–730.
Ryder, A. (1998). The Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. In C. Allmand (Ed.), The New Cambridge Medieval History (pp. 571–587). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schnerb, B. (1998). Burgundy. In C. Allmand (Ed.), The New Cambridge Medieval History (pp. 431–456). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schröter, H. G. (1996). Cartelization and decartelization in Europe, 1870–1995: Rise and decline of an economic institution. Journal of European Economic History, 25, 129–153.
Singer, C. J. (1948). The earliest chemical industry: An essay on the historical relations of economics and technology illustrated from the alum trade. London: Folio Society.
Strieder, J. (1925/1971). Studien zur Geschichte kapitalististischer Organisationsformen. Second edition, München and Leipzig, 1925, reprinted New York: Lenox Hill Pub. and Dis. Co. (Burt Franklin).
Tan, E. S. (2009). Market structure and the coal cartel in early nineteenth-century England. Economic History Review, 62, 350–365.
Theiner, A. (1862). Codex diplomaticus dominii temporalis S. Sedis. III. Rome, pp. 463–467, no. 398.
Voight, F. (1962). German experience with cartels and their control during pre-war and post-war periods. In J. P. Miller (Eds.), Competition cartels and their regulation (pp. 169–213). Amsterdam: North Holland.
von der Ropp, G. (1901). Zür geschichte des Alaunhandels im 15 Jahrhundert. Hansische Geschichtsblätter (pp. 119–136).
Zippel, G. (1907). L’allume de Tolfa e il suo commercio. Archivio della R. Società Romana di Storia Patria XXX(I–II):4–51, XXX(III–IV):389–462.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
We thank the Organization and Strategy Department at Maastricht University and the Department of Economics, Purdue University for financial support, and thank anonymous referees, and the Editor for useful comments. We thank the Purdue University Interlibrary Loan department and Sonya Hymer for research assistance. Responsibility for errors is our own.
Appendix
Appendix
1.1 Preface
The first and third portions of the agreement are written in Church Latin. The first section presents primarily political but also some economic motivations for the agreement (“the price of the …alum …was being greatly diminished …because of the combined quantity and abundance, the price of …was being restricted or was dropping, and …providing very little profit). The first section also identifies diplomatic representatives involved in concluding the agreement.
The second section of the agreement is written in Medieval Italian. It outlines the mechanical details of the cartel.
The third section affirms the commitment of the signatories to honor the terms of the agreement, and outlines the payment to be made to the Apostolic Camera if the terms are breached.
1.2 Text of the Agreement
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. In the 1470th year since [our Lord’s] birth, in the third indiction [15-year cycle], on the 11th day of the month of June, in the sixth year of the Most Blessed Pontificate of our Lord Pope Paul II by divine providence. Let it be known by each and every person who shall see, or read or hear this present document, That since it is so, that our same Most Blessed Lord Paul who, not without heavy bitterness in his heart, even before he was appointed to the office of the apostleship through the favour of divine clemency, had to deplore the massacring of Christians, the ravaging of lands and fields, the plundering and burning and all the other damnations visited upon faithful followers of Christ, O Great Pain! which the most deplorable leader of the Turks had thus far brought about and has been doing so with greater fervour in [recent] days, and has also reduced kingdoms and widespread provinces to destruction and aggressively subjected the orthodox faith to his abominable power; [the Pope], lamenting over so heavy a loss to the Christian state with his fatherly affection, [seeing] these sins being committed, bore the wretched servitude of the faithful painfully, and piously felt pity for the calamities of the faithful, and frequently considered their sad misfortunes in inner meditation; being subsequently elevated to the highest pinnacle of the Pontificate by heavenly command, he wished, with consent from on high, to bring to fruition those things he had been considering in his heart, and to use every effort and means possible, whereby the most cruel attempts of the destroyer of the life-giving Cross might be repressed; and along with the other resources of the Roman [Catholic] Church itself, together with great sums of money and other property which he had willingly offered and contributed for so righteous a task (no small part of which he continuously offered in faith to those concerned with the efforts and condition of the faithful in these and other matters), he willingly devoted, set aside, granted and put to use each and every profit from alum and revenue from the old mine at Tulphis, which was established under the temporary dominion of the church, and which were to be given for the glory of [Christ] himself, and of the faith, and of the faithful, and for the work and benefit of the Holy Cross; and with ready heart he dedicated them to God Almighty; and to carry out this great endeavour in preserving and distributing that same commodity, he appointed the most Reverend fathers in [the name of] Christ and lords, the Bishops Bessarion of Sabina, William of Ostia and John of Porto, Cardinals of that same Holy Roman Church, to be considered as general commissaries; and when the same Bishop John of Porto meanwhile passed away into holy remembrance, in his place he proposed as successor the most Reverend father in [the name of] Christ and lord, Bishop Latinus of [Tuscula]: and lastly our Most Blessed Lord carefully considered that the price of the same alum being dedicated to the same holy task was being greatly diminished by the fact that alum from the Ischian mine, belonging to the most serene prince the lord Ferdinand, King of Sicily, was also being supplied to those same parts of the world to which the alum of the Cross had been supplied or, more frequently, which bordered on those places, with the result that, because of the combined quantity and abundance, the price of either [commodity] was being restricted or was dropping, and his appointed contribution for the Holy Cross was providing very little profit. The aforementioned most Serene Highness the King, realised this and approached his Holiness; then his Holiness freely gave his consent and approval, and for the common good, or more properly for the convenience and service of the Cross and states of the aforementioned [peoples], and he decreed, gave thanks and commanded that most Reverend lord Cardinals, as [named] above and undersigned, should arrange terms, agreements and accords in the fashion and form set out below. And so it is, that most Reverend lords, Cardinals Bessarion, William and Latinus, the aforementioned general commissaries for the Holy Cross, in the name of the Holy Cross itself, and most Reverend father in the [name of] Christ lord Mark, elder of St Mark’s with divine compassion, Cardinal Bishop Vincentinus in the name of the apostolic Camera, in the presence of our same Most Holy lord, and in the presence of us the notaries and the undersigned witnesses, who were summoned especially for the matters mentioned below, were appointed personally for the one [reason]; and the notable lord Anelus Perocius, citizen of Naples, administrator and agent of the aforementioned most Serene Highness King Ferdinand, was in possession of a special mandate for the matters written below from his most Serene Highness King Ferdinand, written in the form of letters set out on parchment, and signed by the aforementioned most Serene Highness King Ferdinand by his own royal hand, which he then displayed as having been done; and this was seen and read by us the notaries; the contents of [the document] are included below, and it bore the appended great royal seal with silk ribbons of yellow and red; the same lord Anelus, with each of the two parties on bended knee before the feet of our same most blessed lord, also nevertheless urged greater caution concerning confirmation and ratification and [stated] that he would act and administer in such a way that the aforementioned most Serene Highness King Ferdinand will ratify, confirm and approve each and every thing to be promised by lord Anelus in his name and contained in this present document in its entirety in the following month of July in all things and for all matters, and through his authentic royal letters he will endorse our most blessed lord Pope, or the aforementioned most Reverend lords the Cardinals; certain sections containing within them agreements and accords concerning the association and the understanding which was to be carried out as set out were put forward in the presence of our aforementioned most blessed lord. Indeed the contents of this aforementioned royal mandate follow, and they are these:
FERDINAND by the grace of God King of Sicily, Jerusalem and Hungary [greets] each and every person who shall study the contents of this present [document], both now and in the future. In recent times we have had several dealings with our most holy and blessed lord Paul II, Pontifex Maximus, concerning his Holiness’ alum traders and our own, for the mutual benefit and convenience of each party; and since the said dealings have been handled sufficiently by one side and the other and almost brought to full agreement, and it remains only to come to a final conclusion, it is necessary to select a trustworthy person who is informed in this matter, who can draw the said dealings or understandings to conclusion in our name: therefore I have placed my trust in Anellus Perocius, citizen of Naples, because of his trustworthiness, industriousness, diligence and integrity. He is a man who is outstanding, faithful and respected by us, whom we have long known of from experience through his ancestors, and who we do not doubt is fully informed of our mind in this matter. We have put our faith entirely in his trustworthiness and industriousness, that this will be carried out correctly and properly by him; and in the course of this present [document] we have appointed the same Anellus Perocius, a man faithful to us, and who is fully informed of our mind in this matter, as our special administrator and agent in the said association or understanding with the aforementioned most holy Pontiff and the apostolic Camera, or with any other persons in possession of a mandate and authority granted by his aforementioned Holiness and the apostolic Camera, under whatever name they are authorised, and whose names are used in the declarations, for discussing, drawing up and confirming [the agreement] using those clauses, timings and terms, penalties, oaths, declarations, conditions, manners and forms, whereby it would be plainly intelligible to the contracting parties; and in so far as we can do so, as if we been present, we can consider and deliberate the appropriate moves to make based on certain knowledge, so much the better and more effectively, and thus we can act, determine, arrange and consider, with no error in leadership, law or deed; and in the terms and in those things dependent on, arising from and connected with the terms, we grant to the same Anellus every type of power, facility and [authority] necessary and appropriate for implementing each and every term, and promise [to honour] whatever is negotiated, carried out and concluded by the said Anellus, [or whatever is] promised, put under obligation, sworn or agreed in our name, in good faith and without deceit, under royal word and trust and under the obligations, penalties and oaths, in the manners and fashions to be confirmed, established and concluded by the same Anellus; and we will observe them and cause them to be observed, will not contravene them, and will act directly or indirectly and with any special tones, conclusions, styles and forms necessary and appropriate as used in this present mandate that are sufficient for the terms, and from certain knowledge we will make them good and be determined to make them good. In the good faith of which we have ordered that this present [document] be marked with our appended great seal and that it shall prevail in judgment and beyond. Issued in the Castle in our City State of Naples on the first day of the month of June, in the one thousand four hundred and seventieth year of our Lord.
KING FERDINAND
Indeed this section has been reproduced just as it was submitted. Our most blessed lord, wishing it and its content to be made more familiar, ordered and commanded that through the Reverend Father in the [name of] Christ the lord Angellus, by the grace of God Bishop of Feltre, one of those presiding over the apostolic Camera, it be read in a loud and intelligible voice in the same place for the clear understanding of his Holiness and the aforementioned most Reverend Lord Cardinals and lord Anellus the administrator, whose names are above; however, he insists and commands that this present contract be agreed and that undoubtable good faith be applied to it, that it not be signed on the same day as a festival or ceremony of the Holy Spirit that may detract from it, and that attention be paid that this pious and most holy task be done with the invocation of the same holy spirit. The contents of these terms are included here below, word for word in the vernacular language, as follows.
[Medieval Italian follows]
In the name of His Holiness and His Majesty King Ferdinand of Sicila, the representatives agree that the society and union of all the alum works whether of His Holiness our Lord and the Apostolic Camera or His Majesty and similarly as regards alum production will be made according to pacts, means, and conventions indicated below, and that this society and union should last from the date of the present contract for the next 25 years. For the indicated period, the alum works of His Holiness our Lord and Apostolic Camera and those of his Majesty the King are to be understood as being a single body and soul.
During the indicated period, half of all the alum that will be consumed or transported by ship to diverse parts of the world for consumption or use shall come from the alum works of His Holiness our Lord and Apostolic Camera and the other half from the alum works of his Majesty the King. In addition when alum must be transported to any part of the world, half shall come from Civitavecchia from the works of Apostolic Camera and the other half from the alum works of the King.
This alum will be transported in every place in which it is ordered and shall be sold by two representatives, one of his Holiness our Lord and Apostolic Camera and the other of his Majesty the King and shall not be sold by others, and if sold by only one it is understood that half of the sale shall be for the account of our Lord and Apostolic Camera even if sold by the representative of his Majesty the King and vice versa and the other half for his Majesty the King, and this alum shall not be sold for more or less than what is estimated to be the price by the Apostolic Camera and his Majesty the King and if it happens that it is sold for a lower price he who made such a sale shall reimburse with his goods the missing profit. For all those who are charged with maintaining and selling said alum, the Apostolic Camera for its part and his Majesty the King for his part promise to compensate the other party without harm and similarly as regards other fraud or misdeeds committed by each of the deputies, and precisely each for his own part.
The proceeds from the sale of the alum is to be divided in half, one for His Holiness and the other for his Majesty the King. For his half, each of the parties must separately pay the expense of working his own alum, transporting it and every other necessary expense and in the same way must keep separate accounts of receipts and expenses.
All the sales that are made must be made in cash by those charged with sales and not by barter, nor can one sell [on credit] for longer than about a year even if with suitable guarantees and not otherwise, and given the interim agreement between His Holiness Our Lord and the Apostolic Camera and the illustrious Lord Duke of Burgundy to maintain his provinces well furnished and the control of the alum, this cannot be sold at a price above 4 and a half pounds a shipment.
The aforementioned agreement must be observed in all its parts and in the same way the agreement made with certain merchants to wait to sell the alum transported up to today, in an amount of at most about 60,000 cantares to Bruges and about 30,000 cantares to Venice; in the places in which His Majesty the Lord King does not have alum, His Holiness above named Our Lord and the Apostolic Camera are pleased that in these places in which the sale of alum is established, His Majesty the Lord King shall share in one-sixth of the profit after subtracting the expenses that this alum costs the Apostolic Camera, and after the sale of this alum is finished, is obliged to transport half of the alum to these places and similarly sell half of it, as above, in the other places to which he will sail and from that time to sell half of it and the principles of this agreement are in force from the date the contract is entered into.
From this day forth neither of the parties can sell or have sold any quantity of alum from that made or to be made in the mines of the Apostolic Camera or of His Majesty the Lord King to specific individuals; but all the alum made and to be made during the above-named period must be stored and transported and sold on behalf of the company and by statement of each of the parties; in the realm near the alum mines of His Majesty the Lord King there will be a Commissioner in the name of the Apostolic Camera and at Civitavecchia by the alum mines of our Lord another in the name of His Majesty the Lord King and each of them is to hold keys to each of the storerooms and keep track of the alum that is produced and shipped. For these Commissioners and similarly for all the other Commissioners who may be sent to various parts of the world each shall supply provisions for his appointees as he thinks best and if one party wishes to insure himself for his half, he is authorized to do so and the expenses are those of the party who insures himself.
Every year there shall be a general prohibition of infidel alum and this alum and the ships in which it is transported are to be given as booty to those who have taken them and these cannot be obliged to pardon or have any mercy on their prisoners. And if they wish to give good saleable alum to the company for less than half what it would sell for in the places to which it was transported, the company must accept; if they do not wish to give it, it may be stored but not sold in the place where it comes into the possession of the appointees of the company until the end of the company itself; at the end of this time it can be sold.
And because it has been said above that each of the parties shall supply half the alum, in case one of the parties lacks alum or cannot make up to one half from the alum produced in his alum mines for whatever accident might occur, the other party can make up [the difference] and for this extra amount he supplies can take so much more [profit]. In the same way if in the transport or processing of alum or for whatever other reason the alum suffers damage or is not good or saleable so that there is a difference in the sales price, the resulting loss will be for the party of whom it is the alum.
[Latin resumes]
Indeed these terms, accords and agreements, were read by the aforementioned Reverend lord Father Angelus Bishop of Feltre, as said before, and immediately placed into the hands of us the aforementioned notaries on the orders of our same most blessed lord, also on the wishes of the aforementioned most Reverend Lord Cardinals and Lord Anellus. The aforementioned most Reverend Lord Cardinals, their respective names given above, and the aforementioned Lord Anellus, royal administrator and agent in turn (and) in the name of the aforementioned most Serene Highness King Ferdinand and on his behalf, as set out, in the presence of the most Holy Lord our Pope as above, heard these same terms, understood them and clearly thought them over, then accepted those same terms in their entirety, in so far as it concerned each of them, after they had been read out as set out. And they entered into and contracted the association between them, as described and named, on that occasion and with the agreements and terms expressed and included in the sections above, and they accepted and wished to be bound by those things entered into and contracted. And they and anyone among them, that is, the aforementioned most Reverend Lord Cardinals, in turn and in the name of the apostolic Camera and the Holy Cross respectively, and the aforementioned lord Anellus, royal administrator and agent in turn and in the name of the aforementioned most Serene Highness King Ferdinand and on his behalf, being the aforementioned parties, made their promises henceforth, that is, each party to the other; and with us the aforementioned notaries present as members of the public, they pledged and promised in turn and in the name of each and every person who is, shall be or may in some manner be involved in the future. And they—being the aforementioned most Reverend Lord Cardinals, their names being above, touching their hearts with their own hands in the manner of those in the stand, and the aforementioned lord Anellus the administrator—swore on God’s Holy Gospels and in [God’s] name, holding the sacred scriptures in their own hands, that for all time they would attend to and observe each and every thing contained in the Sections both jointly and singly, and not say or do for themselves or for any other person or persons anything to contravene them by reason, exception, title, manner or cause, by right or by deed, under the pledge and obligation of each and every blessing of the Holy Cross and of the apostolic Camera and of the aforementioned most Serene Highness King Ferdinand and of the summary power (sic) of the same most Serene Highness the King, for and under the penalty of fifty thousand gold florins or ducats, to be incurred and paid to the Camera without possibility of refund by the contravening party for each and every occasion where he may have contravened, and observance of each and every one of those things legally pledged and promised among those parties is to be applied to [each] aforementioned party. And whether such a penalty is incurred, enforced and paid or not, each and every thing promised is nevertheless fixed and retains steadfastness of great strength. Furthermore, [this applies] if the said parties, with the names given above, declare an exception to the said terms, [saying that they were] not accepted, not approved, and the association was not entered into in this way, in an act of wilful deceit, violence, intimidation, fraud; [or if they declare] an action or undue condition without reason and [that there is] an unjust(?) or shameful reason for the contract being observed in not this but some other way, or [if they use] the aid of either law, whereby it may be possible for those causing such division to help themselves or be protected in any way; then the general declaration shall not apply to [the party] administering special justice, unless there is a special [declaration] preceding it. All of these things were done and completed in the presence of our aforementioned most blessed lord, as set out, and our same most blessed lord gave his consent and assent in equal measure, and similarly gave it the authority of his sanctity and his resolve; yet he commanded that each and every one of the aforementioned things contained and described in the above Sections be observed by those parties without violation. Regarding and concerning each and every one of these things promised, the said parties, with the names given above, henceforth declared through us the undersigned notaries that these things be done one and all and that any document or documents be handed over.
These things were done in Rome in the apostolic palace at St Peter’s in the Camera of the aforementioned most blessed lord the Pope in the year, indiction, day, month and Pontificate stated above, in the presence there of the most Reverend father in [the name of] Christ lord Oliverius, by divine pity of the title of Saints Peter and Marcellinus, elder of the Holy Roman Church and Cardinal of Naples, and in the presence of the Reverend fathers in [the name of] Christ lords Nicolas Archbishop of Siponto, and Ludovicus Bishop of Anglona, and the Magnificent soldier lord Laurencio de Iustinis of Citta di Castello, learned in both types of law, Senator of our good City, on bended knees, specially summoned and called upon for those things set out.
And I too, Johannes Geronnes, cleric of the diocese of Gerona, publisher by apostolic and Imperial authorisation and notary of the Apostolic Camera, was present when the said presentations, displays, contractual agreements, promises, obligations and authorisations, and each and every other thing contained in this present document, were done, said and made to happen, as set out, in the presence of our aforementioned most blessed lord the Pope. Also [present was] my colleague the undersigned honourable Hieronimus of Sassoferrato. And along with the aforenamed witnesses, and I saw and heard these things being done, and I took them down on paper, from which this present public document was written in good faith by the hand of my said colleague, which I then completed and turned into this format for publication, and signed it with my customary and usual signature and name and appended the seal of the said most Reverend lords the Commissaries of the Holy Cross and of the apostolic Camera, and having been summoned and called upon I underwrote it in the good faith and testimony of each and every one of those stated above.
And so too I, HIERONIMUS, formerly Johannis de Andisiis of Sassoferrato, cleric of Rimini, publisher by apostolic and Imperial authorisation etc.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Günster, A., Martin, S. A Holy Alliance: Collusion in the Renaissance Europe Alum Market. Rev Ind Organ 47, 1–23 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11151-015-9465-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11151-015-9465-0