the world of private banking
the world of private banking
the world of private banking
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234<br />
THE WORLD OF PRIVAtE BANKING<br />
at Basel and Zurich as we know from <strong>the</strong> publications <strong>of</strong> Walter Bodmer, Herbert<br />
Lüthy, Hans-Conrad Peyer, Jean-François Bergier and Liliane Mottu-Weber. <br />
Now, as regards <strong>the</strong> international transfers, we do not know if <strong>the</strong> merchants<br />
and bankers who acted as a relay station on <strong>the</strong> way to Geneva were actually<br />
all Protestants. But our research has clarified how <strong>the</strong> money went through. For<br />
instance, in 1582 Jean Mallet <strong>of</strong> Geneva was able to collect about 5,730 Pounds<br />
Sterling in England. Since <strong>the</strong> exportation <strong>of</strong> real coins from England to <strong>the</strong><br />
continent was not allowed, he entrusted <strong>the</strong> money to a merchant in London, John<br />
Bodley, who continued to cash fur<strong>the</strong>r sums collected after Jean Mallet’s departure.<br />
Bodley credited <strong>the</strong> money to <strong>the</strong> accounts <strong>of</strong> his clients Guillaume Collabaud and<br />
Raymond de Not at Lyons. Then <strong>the</strong>se two merchants credited <strong>the</strong> money to Horace<br />
Micheli, who was a rich Genevan silk manufacturer with excellent connections in<br />
Lyons. Finally, a number <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r merchants from Lyons, Geneva, Switzerland<br />
and Germany helped to transfer <strong>the</strong> money from Lyons to Geneva. These transfers<br />
were brought about in two ways: passing through Geneva, one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se merchants<br />
would pay a certain amount <strong>of</strong> money to <strong>the</strong> Public Treasurer and get a letter <strong>of</strong><br />
exchange on Horace Micheli at Lyons, or receive a short-term loan from Horace<br />
Micheli at Lyons to pay <strong>the</strong> merchants at Lyons against cédules obligatoires which<br />
became payable a few days later at Geneva. In 1583–4, <strong>the</strong> Republic <strong>of</strong> Geneva<br />
received about 18,000 écus which were transferred in this way from Lyons.<br />
Duke Casimir, <strong>the</strong> Count Palatine, in 1585 reimbursed a loan <strong>of</strong> 2,000 écus<br />
he had received two years before from <strong>the</strong> Republic <strong>of</strong> Geneva. This money<br />
was transferred by a letter <strong>of</strong> exchange sent by Paulus Formberg, Hans Bosch<br />
& Co from Nuremberg to Geneva but drawn on <strong>the</strong> Genevan merchant Gabriel<br />
Rinstevand at Frankfurt. A lot <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r smaller and larger sums were transferred to<br />
Geneva during <strong>the</strong> following years by letters <strong>of</strong> exchange or cédules obligatoires<br />
from Frankfurt, Strasbourg, Basle, St Gallen and Lyons. In 1589–96 about 22,000<br />
écus arrived in this way for <strong>the</strong> public treasury <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Genevan Republic. During<br />
<strong>the</strong>se years we notice <strong>the</strong> following merchants or merchant-bankers engaged in<br />
<strong>the</strong>se transfers: Joseph Fosses, Janneto Motta, Jacob Gradelle, Julien Péaget, Jean<br />
Jaillet, Jean Dupré, David Deroche, Mr Calandrin, Jean Combe, Jean and Thibaud<br />
Morlot at Geneva, Anton Legalio and Jeromino Mieg at Basel, and Hans Piguel<br />
at Strasbourg.<br />
After 1590 Frankfurt became more and more important as a turning point for<br />
Genevan capital transfers. When a group <strong>of</strong> merchants <strong>of</strong> St. Gallen gave out a<br />
<br />
W. Bodmer, Der Einfluss der Refugianteneinwanderung von 1550–1700 auf die<br />
schweizerische Wirtschaft: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Frühkapitalismus und der<br />
Textilindustrie (Zurich, 1946); H. Lüthy, La Banque Protestante en France de la Révocation<br />
de l’Édit de Nantes à la Révolution, 2 vols (Paris, 1959–1961); H.C. Peyer, Von Handel<br />
und Bank im alten Zürich (Zurich, 1968); Bergier, Wirtschaftsgeschichte; L. Mottu-Weber,<br />
‘Vie économique et refuge à Genève à la fin du XVIIe siècle’, in Genève au temps de la<br />
Révocation de l’édit de Nantes 1680–1705 (Geneva, 1985); L. Mottu-Weber, Genève au<br />
siècle de la Réforme: Economie et refuge (Geneva Paris, 1987).