Abgehängt? Die Ausländergemeinden in der Hafenstadt Archangel’sk unter dem Eindruck der Handelsrestriktionen von 1721-1762

Abstract

In the first half of the 18th century, the Russian government issued several decrees restricting foreign trade via the harbor town Arkhangelsk on the White Sea. The restrictions, which existed for about four decades, were primarily implemented to centralize the trade in St. Petersburg and to motivate foreign traders to resettle from Arkhangelsk to the capital. While the authorities supported local trade in the North and invested in ship production at the Solombala peninsula nearby Arkhangelsk, the foreigners who remained in Arkhangelsk faced an economic crisis without governmental help. Their strategies to overcome these difficulties focused on support from local and external merchants and trade companies. However, these strategies turned out to be effective only after the trade restrictions were lifted in 1762.