Sailing to European entrepôts: Romanian farming and the Antwerp international grain market (1881–1914)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26806/hisape.n52.2

Keywords:

diplomacy, maritime networks, transport infrastructure, maritime trade

Abstract

The paper contributes to the research on the expansion of the grain trade in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, by looking at the contribution of Eastern Europe, more specifically, Romania. This would be a welcome addition, since existing studies often emphasise the contribution of Northern American grain, while that of Eastern Europe was also impressive. At the end of the nineteenth century, a connection was created between the ports of the Lower Danube and the entrepôt in Antwerp, a connection that was indispensable for the two ends of the network but also for the business environment. The paper has an original approach, since the author does not (only) use published quantitative sources but combines diplomatic archival material from both Belgium and Romania.

Author Biography

Cristian Constantin, ‘Bishop Melchisedec Ştefănescu’ Centre for Danubian Studies (Brăila–Galaţi) of the Romanian Academy

‘Bishop Melchisedec Ştefănescu’ Centre for Danubian Studies (Brăila–Galaţi) of the Romanian Academy

Dr. Cristian Constantin (* 1989) is scientific researcher at the ‘Bishop Melchisedec Ştefănescu’ Centre for Danubian Studies (Brăila–Galaţi) of the Romanian Academy. He holds a PhD in History (2017) awarded by ‘Dunărea de Jos’ University of Galaţi, Romania. His research interests concern the social, economic, and diplomatic history of the extended Black Sea area (in the 19th and 20th centuries). He has published volumes on grain trade and foreign navigation companies on the maritime sector of the Danube, as well as scientific studies on the organization and functioning of foreign consulates in the ports of Brăila and Galaţi.

cristian.constantin@hotmail.com

Published

2025-02-18

Issue

Section

Studies