This 1994 book presents a detailed description and history of one of the most famous companies of the early fourteenth century. This analysis of the Peruzzi Company produces a radical reassessment of what made the Florentine 'super-companies' so exceptional: commodity trading, especially in grain, which required heavy capital, sophisticated organisation, and an international network. But the book also exposes the limitations of their financial power, and explodes the myth that the collapse of the Peruzzi and its joint-venture partner, the Bardi, was caused by bad loans to Edward III made to finance his invasions of France.
List of tables; Map of the Peruzzi network, 1335; Introduction; Part I. Anatomy of the Super-Company: 1. The company and the family; 2. The nature of the business; 3. The structure of the Peruzzi Company; 4. The accounting of the Peruzzi Company; Part II. History of the Peruzzi Company from its Reorganization in 1300: 5. The prosperous years 1300–24; 6. The decline begins 1325–35; 7. The critical years 1335–40; 8. The collapse 1340–43; 9. The aftermath; Conclusions; Bibliography; Appendices.
"A fascinating and eminently readable history of a Florentine company of European scope...this book will stand as a major contribution and a godsend to history teachers seeking comprehensible readings for their students in medieval economic history."- T.C. Price Zimmerman, Choice