Trade and navigation between the Atlantic and Mediterranean worlds in the mid-fifteenth century

This article examines the Italian engagement in trade and shipping during the Middle Ages. No evidence has been found to suggest that the Newport Ship sailed to Italy, or indeed to the Mediterranean. Yet the Italians remain relevant because they ran Europe’s most extensive and sophisticated commercial networks and employed the greatest ships. As such, the chapter helps to establish the broader maritime context within which the Newport Medieval Ship operated. While the ship was a large vessel by the standards of the English shipping industry, many greater vessels sailed the seas. Most of the vessels the Italians employed on voyages to northern Europe were of at least 400-500 tons burden, while the mighty Genoese carracks, which carried alum and oriental products direct from the Ottoman Empire to the Netherlands, were well over 1,000 tons. Much of this activity was organised by official companies, such as the Venetian State Galley Fleet. Employing the rich archival records that have been left behind by both the state companies and Italy’s wealthy merchant houses, Guidi Bruscoli examines the nature of the ships employed and how they were used.