Florentine merchant companies established in Buda at the beginning of the 15th century

It is not until the beginning of the 15th century that we begin to get detailed information about merchant companies set up by Florentines in the town of Buda. The senior partners of these companies were important actors of Florentine trade and played a significant role in the textile production of their homeland. Their families often maintained economic relations with each other at least for two generations and they worked together through several autonomous family partnerships. Their firms based in Buda were not real competitors, but they operated through each other, using the same merchant network and serving the same circle of costumers. The scope of the present article is to analyze the activity of these merchant companies through various sources housed by the Florentine National Archives and place them in the context of Florentine long distance trade.