Paper short abstract:

This paper studies why and how knowledge was crucial for bridging the long distances of overseas trade and why knowledge was a valuable tool for the individuals when they negotiated with the overseas institutions.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper, I want to study the importance of Knowledge about local customs and practices in the 17th century long-distance trade. Hitherto, in overseas historiography Individuals and their knowledge about the long-distance trade have been overlooked. Historians have mainly studied the Atlantic trade either from a large-scale perspective or from a locally focused perspective. However, in this research, I want to bridge this gap and emphasize the role of cross-cultural and transnational entrepreneurs and the asset of their knowledge.

As point of departure, I will look at the value of knowledge for the Atlantic system. Via following the Atlantic career of the entrepreneur Henrich Carloff I will be able to showcase that individuals who had broad knowledge of various temporal and spatial articulations of trade, had the asset and capability to connect the different parts of Atlantic trade. I will argue that knowledge was a crucial asset in establishing and maintaining the trade. This does not only entail the perspective of human business networks, but actually connected the Atlantic as a system. In this paper, the focus is in the Atlantic trade but from a perspective, which emphasizes the importance of knowledge of the social connections and various local trading customs. The outcome of this study will show, why and how knowledge was crucial for bridging the long distances, of overseas trade, and why knowledge was a valuable tool for the individuals when they negotiated with the overseas institutions.