Ο ΜΗΧΑΝΙΣΜΟΣ ΠΡΟΑΓΟΡΑΣ ΤΗΣ ΣΟΔΕΙΑΣ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΗΝ ΥΣΤΕΡΗ ΒΕΝΕΤΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΡΗΤΗ: ΠΕΡΙΓΡΑΦΗ, ΛΕΙΤΟΥΡΓΙΑ & ΚΙΝΔΥΝΟΙ ΤΩΝ ΣΥΜΒΑΛΛΟΜΕΝΩΝ ΜΕΡΩΝ

Abstract

The institution of crop pre-purchase served as a mechanism for the circulation of

agricultural surplus within commercial networks and was fully developed across

Europe during the late Middle Ages. It involves the purchase of a future harvest by the

respective creditor at a typically indeterminate price, along with the producer's

commitment to deliver the crop at a specified time. In Greece, this practice appears to

have emerged earlier in the Latin-ruled regions, although this it was known in Roman

and Byzantine times, as the action is included in the terminology of Roman law as

"emptio rei speratae" and "emptio spei". Essentially, crop pre-purchase was a

commercial institution for forward contracts and, as a financial product, is worth

examining in terms of the networks, parties involved, associated risks, and the control

mechanisms that govern it.