Structural and temporal patterns of the first global trading market

Area of Science:

• Economic History
• Network Science
• Computational Social Science

Background:

• The structural patterns and dynamics of the first global trading market (FGTM) remain largely unknown.
• Understanding historical financial networks offers insights into contemporary market structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reconstruct and analyze the network structure of the 16th-century FGTM.
• To compare the FGTM's network characteristics with modern global financial markets.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 8,725 digitized Bills of Exchange from the 16th century.
• Constructed a representative temporal network of the FGTM.
• Applied network analysis techniques to study structural patterns and dynamics.

Main Results:

• The FGTM exhibited a hierarchical, highly clustered, and disassortative network structure.
• Connectivity followed a power-law distribution, demonstrating robustness over time.
• Despite significant link turnover, overall network characteristics remained stable, indicating rapid adaptation.

Conclusions:

• The methodology enables the analysis of complex financial networks from pre-statistical eras.
• Historical financial networks share striking structural similarities with contemporary markets.
• The FGTM's robust structure highlights enduring principles in global trade and finance.