84. Insurance policy for the transport of a slave from Porto Pisano to Barcelona

The dangers of maritime transport led Tuscan merchants to take out insurance policies on their goods in order to protect themselves against any damage or loss. These were written between private individuals in the vernacular by a broker with the signature of the insured party at the end, indicating the names of the insurer and the insured party, the goods insured and their value, the route, the means of transport used and the insurance premium. Human beings were also traded, and subject to insurance, as were other sorts of goods across the Mediterranean. In this document for a 7% premium Michele Monducco insures Francesco di Marco Datini and his companions from Pisa for a slave girl named Margherita, probably a Tartar, whose value is estimated at 50 gold florins, for the journey from Porto Pisano to Barcelona on the ship of Piero Randa di Biscaglia piloted by the Catalan Matteo Turo. The contractual document establishes that in case of the slave’s death by illness or suicide (‘in chaso si gettasse in mare per se stessa’), there will be no compensation.

(Chiara Marcheschi)