"Jakob Fugger was the first merchant to conduct his trade on a global scaleImage: gemeinfrei/Narziss Renner/Wikipedia Speaking with DW, Steinmetz said global commerce barely existed at the time, until German Emperor Charles V extended European control into South America during his reign as Holy Roman emperor and king of Spain in the 16th century. There wasn't much of a globe to trade with, Steinmetz noted, apart from trade with India, and what is now Indonesia and China."
"Born into a prosperous Augsburg family whose wealth began with his grandfather, master weaver Hans Fugger, Jakob received his commercial training in Venice, Italy. The city not only shaped Jakob's taste for the Renaissance but also introduced him to a breakthrough that would accelerate his rise: double-entry bookkeeping. Since there were no business schools back then, Steinmetz said, merchant families would "send their boys out to become apprentices," and Germans heavily traded with Venice."
Jakob Fugger, born in Augsburg, built a commercial empire that operated on a truly global scale in the early 16th century as European reach expanded into the Americas and Asia. He trained in Venice, absorbed Renaissance culture, and adopted double-entry bookkeeping, bringing modern accounting methods to Germany. Fugger kept meticulous financial records, established an intelligence network of agents across Europe, and leveraged merchant apprenticeship systems and family capital. These practices enabled Fugger to outmaneuver rivals, finance large ventures, and shape emerging patterns of long-distance, transcontinental trade.
Read at www.dw.com
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