Niçards a la Mallorca baixmedieval

Abstract

The island of Majorca, in the middle of the West Mediterranean basin, has been a witness to the passage of navigators, specially merchands who since Antiquity have been crossing the Mare Nostrum. Its role as an important harbour has exerced an extraordinary influence over life in the City of Majorca and over the island. In the late Middle Ages trade was one of the basic economic activities. It is not surprising then that merchands of many different ports of origin, above all from the Mediterranean area, should call at Majorca; amongst them many from Nice. Although the Italian consulates, specially those of Genoa and Venice, were more numerous or outstanding, Nice counted on a consulate in the city of Majorca, which shows the importance of commercial links between the two places. Most people from Nice devoted themselves to commercial tasks; some of them even established themselves definitively in the city of Majorca.