Social Networks and Port Traffic in Early Modern Overseas Trade

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11204005
AutoresEmily Erikson (0000-0003-2092-4676, autor de correspondencia), Sampsa Samila (0000-0001-7769-3747)
Año2015
Volumen39
Número2
Páginas151-173
Fecha de publicación2015-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial Science History (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0145-5532 • E-ISSN: 1527-8034
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/ssh.2015.49
OpenAlexW1770935021
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10
Referencias citadas72

Individuals engaged in overseas trade in the early modern period often faced high levels of uncertainty regarding their prospects for trade. One way of managing uncertainty is to gather information from others through social interactions, that is, through social networks. Here we consider how social ties impacted trade patterns by analyzing the relationship between port traffic and early modern ship captains’ exposure to information about ports using informal relations. We consider the possible impact of strong and weak ties and the use of ties under different types of uncertainty. The analysis suggests that social networks encouraged trade at port cities with already high rates of traffic, though this effect is less pronounced than for other means through which information was distributed throughout the trade system

Business · Economics · International trade · Interpersonal ties · Political science · Port (circuit theory · Social capital · Social media · Social network (sociolinguistics · Social network analysis · Social science · Sociology · Strong ties · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Engineering · Historical Economic and Social Studies