Journal: Analele Universităţii Dunărea de Jos din Galaţi Fascicula XIX Istorie
Year: 2025

The 16 th century brought a change for Moldova that marked its economic and social life throughout the early modern era.Local merchants (Moldavian subjects of different ethnicities) lost control of the principality's trade to strong foreign competition.The winning side was dominated by Greekspeaking merchants, immigrants from the Ottoman Empire and the Venetian maritime empire starting from 1540s.Within a few decades, they formed a distinct community based on relationships of trust and various f