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The commenda was a medieval
contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...
which developed in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
around the 10th century, and was an early form of
limited partnership A limited partnership (LP) is a form of partnership similar to a general partnership except that while a general partnership must have at least two general partners (GPs), a limited partnership must have at least one GP and at least one limited ...
. The commenda was an agreement between an investing partner and a traveling partner to conduct a commercial enterprise, usually overseas. The terms of the partnership varied, and are usually categorized by modern historians as ''unilateral commenda'' and ''bilateral commenda'', based on the share of contributions and profits between the partners. The bilateral commenda was known in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
as colleganza or collegantia. The commenda has been described as a foundational innovation in the history of finance and trade. The commenda was a partnership between an investing partner (called the ''commendator'', or ''socius stans'') and a traveling partner (called the ''tractator'' or ''socius procertans''). The investing partner would provide the capital and the traveling partner would execute a commercial enterprise (generally an overseas trade), the initial capital would be returned to the investing partner and the remaining profits would then be split. The commenda was in essence as joint-stock company for the financing of a single expedition. Depending on the contribution of the traveling partner, historians define two types of commenda: * ''Unilateral commenda'': the investing partner would contribute the capital and a traveling partner none; the profits would be split three fourth for the investing partner and one fourth for the traveling partner. The investing partner bore all liability for loss, while the traveling partner bore none. The Statutes of
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
of 1253 state protected the traveling partner against lawsuits following shipwreck or capture of the ship. It was called ''commendatio'' in Venice. * ''Bilateral commenda'', the investing partner would put up two thirds of the capital and the traveling partner one third, and the profits would be split evenly. The investing partner bore two thirds of any loss, while the traveling partner bore one third. It was called ''colleganza'' or ''collegantia'' in Venice and ''societas'' in Genoa. Each individual contract was different, and sometimes the investment was a share in a ship.


History

The origins of the commenda are debated, and likely derived from several sources including the Babylonian ''tapputûm'', the Greco-Roman '' societas consensu contracta'' and ''foenus nauticum'', the Byzantine ''chreokoinonia'', the Muslim
qirad The qirad (also known as Muqaradah by Hanafi and Hanbali scholars)Sapuan, Noraina Mazuin. "An evolution of Mudarabah contract: a viewpoint from classical and contemporary Islamic scholars." Procedia economics and finance 35, no. 3 (2016): 349-358. ...
, and the Jewish 'isqa. Although it has precedent in these previous types of contracts, the commenda has peculiarities of its own. The first mention of the Venetian ''colleganza'' dates to 1073, but it had been used since the 10th century. By the 12th century, the ''commendatio'' had supplanted the ''colleganza'' in Venice.


References

{{Reflist Investment Contract law Legal documents Medieval economics Medieval law