Christians and Jews in 17th-century Krakow. Selected aspects of economic cooperation

A considerable part of trade in Jewish Krakow involved cooperation with Christian merchants. This aspect of the exchange concerned both trading inside the city and domestic as well as international trade. Evidence of it could be seen in the establishment of commercial companies co-owned by Christian and Jews, joint shipments of goods, cooperation in commerce between merchants and factors, or by the renting of apartments from Krakow burghers by Jewish merchants, to use them as shops. Commercial companies set up with the participation of Jewish merchants from Krakow's Kazimierz district occasionally also established a presence in the countries bordering on Poland. The company set up by Salomon Wlochowicz can serve as one example of such an undertaking. Honey and feathers were the products most often supplied by the Jewish traders. Craftsmen accounted for a considerable proportion of the Krakow burghers engaged in trade with the Jewish population. Famous burghers, including aldermen, as well as Church milieux traded with Jewish merchants in Krakow in the 17th century. The arranging of joint shipments of goods in foreign and domestic trade attests to cooperation between Christian and Jewish merchants.