How Did Merchants Finance a Voyage That Might Never Return?

How did merchants finance a voyage that might never return? By making sure no single person carried the whole loss. Genoese notarial contracts record the commenda, an agreement where one partner supplied the capital and another supplied the journey, and both split what came back. Sea loans carried a high return but were cancelled outright if the ship went down. Cargo was deliberately divided across several hulls so one storm could not ruin a house. This documentary explores the commenda, sea loans, cargo sharing, partnership contracts, Genoese notarial records and the medieval pricing of risk. You will also see how merchants calculated the odds of return, and what a family did when the voyage they had staked everything on failed. From Genoa to the Indian Ocean, discover the contracts that turned a possible shipwreck into an acceptable bet. #TradeHistory #EconomicHistory #MaritimeHistory #MedievalHistory #BusinessHistory