The Ocean Bill of Lading

Abstract

As A device of commerce, the ocean bill of lading is of comparatively recent origin. During medieval times, the merchant accompanied his goods and selected his buyers on the spot, exchanging his property for gold or other considerations of value. In these simple circumstances, there was no need for documents that set forth the terms under which the merchandise was transported or would permit transfer of title from one person to another. Methods of dealing through agents, who took the place of the traveling merchant, developed during the heyday of the Hanseatic League (fourteenth and fifteenth centuries), and ways of making loans to finance the movement of goods were formulated by the banking families and cities.