Residents of Ulcinj in credit trade of Dubrovnik in the second half of 14th century

Sa？etak This paper provides an overview of the credit trade of residents of Ulcinj in Dubrovnik, in the second half of the 14th century. The research is based on an analysis of Debita notariae records from the State Archives in Dubrovnik. The files from Volumes No. 3 to No. 12, covering the period from 1352 to 1396 were used. To obtain a complete view of activities of Ulcinj traders, we consulted the series: Diversa Cancellariae (XVII–XXXIII) and Diversa Notariae (III–XI). The research of all three sets gave a complete view of the activities of Ulcinj entrepreneurs in the town. The paper is divided into twelve chapters: introduction; political developments in the South Adriatic and their effect on the credit trade; the impact of health conditions; credits; major merchant families; less known Ulcinj traders; merchant societies; trade goods; credit guarantees (guarantors, pledge, procurators); repayment deadlines; interest rates and conclusion. The economic development of Dubrovnik in the second half of the 14th century attracted a large number of merchants from the Ulcinj Commune. Back then, like today, merchants who did not have their own money were forced to take loans. To get the merchandise, they needed the money that they regularly borrowed in the town for a specified period. Loan contracts had an almost uniform recording format. A usual credit form included mostly the date, names of the debtors, with a special note about their Ulcinj residence, the creditors, the amount of the loan, the repayment period and the measures to secure repayment of the loan. Ulcinj merchants traded with the following articles: salt, grain, wax, wine, boats and fabrics. Development of merchants throughout the years can be observed best based on the total annual amount of loans taken from Dubrovnik merchants. The highest indebtedness of Ulcinj residents was in 1367 to the amount of around 4,401 ducats. In most cases, business in credit transactions was done in goods and less in money. Due to a more significant number of credits taken, we have succeeded in presenting the dominant merchant families of Ulcinj (Clime, Bube, Sevasto, Dabro) and merchants (don Marin Ivanov, Slavko Marin Slavi, Marin Dessi, Marin Nikolin, Stjepan Marinov, Marin？e Karolli, Marin Dimitrijev, Brajko Milo？evi？ and Marco Tano). They all got individual business overviews they deserve. The documents record merchants who took loans once or twice. They were not successful traders since they do not appear in the sources again. Ulcinj residents made credit deals most frequently with the noble families of