'Moorish Bazaar'

'Moorish Bazaar' by Rudolf Ernst 1854-1932 via Wikimedia Commons

It is not clear where this was painted. The Austrian painter Rudolf Ernst travelled to Spain, Morocco, Istanbul and Egypt to document life as he saw it.

The Pepper Trade

14th Century Painting, Harvesting of Pepper in Coilum (Quilon/Kollam) in Southern India. Source: Wikimedia Commons

"Worth its weight in gold" was not just a figurative expression when it came to pepper in history. It might be your standard table fixture today, but back in medieval times, black pepper was the height of luxury. Native to the Malabar coast of south west India, in the state known as Kerala today, black pepper was the most important spice in the world during this period. A pound of pepper could literally rival the value of a pound of gold. Arab mariners travelled to the Malabar coast to procure the lucrative pepper and other spices (such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and many more) for many centuries, long before the arrival of Europeans. The Mappilah (Mappila, Moplah) muslims who live in Kerala today are the intermarried descendants of these Levantine traders.

What determined Interest Rates on Bills of Exchange?

An English Bill of Exchange dated 1810.

Image courtesy of the British Museum Trustees.

 Interest rates on bills of exchange could fluctuate considerably. These rates depended on several factors: the prevailing market rate, the particular usage of the bill, the riskiness of the transaction, or the familiarity and strength of the connections involved in the exchange. Main commercial hubs which connected long-distance trading, often featured more favourable rates. Merchants frequently borrowed money through bills where interest rates were low, and sold where rates were high. In this way, complex systems of arbitrage evolved.