# Commenda

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{{Short description|Medieval contract}}
thumb|The port and fleet of Genoa, early 14th century
The '''commenda''' was a medieval contract which developed in Italy around the 13th century, and was an early form of [limited partnership](/source/limited_partnership).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Lopez|first1=Robert Sabatino|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2Qo6A_wW7YC|title=Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents|last2=Raymond|first2=Irving Woodworth|last3=Constable|first3=Olivia Remie|date=2001|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-12356-3|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Luzzatto|first=Gino|title=Studi di storia economica veneziana.|date=1954|publisher=CEDAM|location=Padova|language=Italian|oclc=7341360}}</ref> The commenda was an agreement between an investing partner and a traveling partner to conduct a commercial enterprise, usually overseas.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Van Doosselaere, Quentin, 1961–|title=Commercial agreements and social dynamics in medieval Genoa|date=2009|publisher=Cambridge Univ. Press|isbn=978-0-511-51790-7|location=Cambridge, UK|oclc=371197311}}</ref> The terms of the partnership varied, and are usually categorized by modern historians as ''unilateral commenda'' and ''bilateral commenda'', based on the share of contributions and profits between the partners.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Pryor|first=John H.|date=January 1977|title=The Origins of the Commenda Contract|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/2856894|journal=Speculum|language=en|volume=52|issue=1|pages=5–37|doi=10.2307/2856894|jstor=2856894|s2cid=162370493|issn=0038-7134|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The bilateral commenda was known in [Venice](/source/Economic_history_of_Venice) as '''collegantia''' or '''colleganza'''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Setton|first=Kenneth M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tgfMNfBIgSwC&q=colleganza+bilateral+commenda&pg=PA404|title=A History of the Crusades: The Impact of the Crusades on the Near East|date=September 1985|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0-299-09144-6|language=en}}</ref> The commenda has been described as a foundational innovation in the history of finance and trade.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Nisen|first=Max|title=How Globalization Created And Destroyed The City Of Venice|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-economic-history-of-venice-2012-8|access-date=2021-01-13|website=Business Insider}}</ref><ref name="Freeland">{{Cite news|last=Freeland|first=Chrystia|date=2012-10-13|title=Opinion {{!}} The Self-Destruction of the 1 Percent (Published 2012)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/opinion/sunday/the-self-destruction-of-the-1-percent.html|access-date=2021-01-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The commenda was a partnership between an investing partner (called the ''commendator'', or ''socius stans'') and a traveling partner (called the ''tractator'' or ''socius procertans'').<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Eta Ducale – Le risorse: MERCATURA E MONETA in "Storia di Venezia"|url=http://www.treccani.it//enciclopedia/eta-ducale-le-risorse-mercatura-e-moneta_(Storia-di-Venezia)|access-date=2021-01-13|website=www.treccani.it|language=it-IT}}</ref> The investing partner would provide the [capital](/source/Capital_(economics)) and the traveling partner would execute a commercial enterprise (generally [maritime transport](/source/maritime_transport)), the initial capital would be returned to the investing partner and the remaining profits would then be split.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Paine|first=Lincoln|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djsi3nve26MC&q=statute+of+marseille+commenda&pg=PA226|title=The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World|date=2013-10-29|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-96225-6|language=en}}</ref> The commenda was in essence as joint-stock company for the financing of a single expedition.<ref name="Freeland"/> Depending on the contribution of the traveling partner, historians define two types of commenda:

* ''Unilateral commenda'': the investing partner would contribute the capital and a traveling partner none; the profits would be split three fourth for the investing partner and one fourth for the traveling partner.<ref name="Lopez 2001">{{Cite book|last1=Lopez|first1=Robert Sabatino|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2Qo6A_wW7YC&q=commenda+collegantia&pg=PA175|title=Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents|last2=Raymond|first2=Irving Woodworth|last3=Constable|first3=Olivia Remie|date=2001|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-12356-3|language=en}}</ref> The investing partner bore all liability for loss, while the traveling partner bore none.<ref name=":1" /> The Statutes of [Marseille](/source/Marseille) of 1253 state protected the traveling partner against lawsuits following shipwreck or capture of the ship.<ref name=":1" /> It was called ''commendatio'' in Venice.<ref name=":2" />
* ''Bilateral commenda'', the investing partner would put up two-thirds of the capital and the traveling partner one third, and the profits would be split evenly.<ref name="Lopez 2001"/> The investing partner bore two-thirds of any loss, while the traveling partner bore one third.<ref name=":1" /> It was called ''colleganza'' or ''collegantia'' in Venice and ''societas'' in Genoa.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />
Each individual contract was different, and sometimes the investment was a [share](/source/Share_(finance)) in a ship.<ref name="Lopez 2001"/>

== History ==
The origins of the commenda are debated, and likely derived from several sources including the Babylonian ''tapputûm'', the Greco-Roman ''[societas consensu contracta](/source/Obligatio_consensu)'' and  ''foenus nauticum'', the Byzantine ''chreokoinonia'', the Muslim [qirad](/source/qirad), and the Jewish 'isqa.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pryor|first=John H.|date=1977-01-01|title=The Origins of the Commenda Contract|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/2856894|journal=Speculum|volume=52|issue=1|pages=5–37|doi=10.2307/2856894|jstor=2856894|s2cid=162370493|issn=0038-7134|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Trevisanato|first=Andrea <1958>|date=2015-02-24|title=Il contratto di colleganza nella documentazione medievale veneziana. Studio storico e diplomatistico.|url=http://dspace.unive.it/handle/10579/6051}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Although it has precedent in these previous types of contracts, the commenda has peculiarities of its own.<ref name=":0" /> The first mention of the Venetian ''colleganza'' dates to 1073, but it had been used since the 10th century.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Lopez|first1=Robert Sabatino|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2Qo6A_wW7YC&q=commenda+collegantia&pg=PA175|title=Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents|last2=Raymond|first2=Irving Woodworth|last3=Constable|first3=Olivia Remie|date=2001|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-12356-3|location=|pages=176–177|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2"/> By the 12th century, the ''commendatio'' had supplanted the ''colleganza'' in Venice.<ref name=":2" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Investment
Category:Contract law
Category:Legal documents
Category:Medieval economic history
Category:Medieval law

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Commenda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commenda) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commenda?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.