The staple right, also translated stacking right or storage right, both from the Dutch , was a medieval right accorded to certain ports, the staple ports. It required merchant barges or ships to unload their goods at the port and to display them for sale for a certain period, often three days. Only after that option had been given to local customers were traders allowed to reload their cargo and travel onwards with the remaining unsold freight. Limited staple rights were sometimes given to towns along major trade-routes like

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

, which obtained staple rights for

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

and

woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, ''Isati ...

, and

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

gained them in 1444. A related system existed in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and Tudor England, covering the sale and export of wool and leather and known as '' the Staple''.

Germany

Staple rights can be compared to the

market rights A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

, the right to hold a regular market, as they were extremely important for the economic prosperity of the river cities that possessed such rights, such as

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

(1507),

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

and

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

(where a still stands as a reminder of the former right).The ''Stapelhaus'' – a symbol of the trade metropolis and other monuments
(from the official City of

website. Accessed 2008-02.15.) At the same time, they created a strong barrier against long-distance trade because of the increased costs and the time required to unload and load ships, especially as a river might have multiple cities in a row with staple rights. The merchants often also did not have the option to avoid the respective cities, at least for certain goods, as they were forced by law to take the route of a prescribed tollway (such as the or the ) which was controlled by the city with staple right. That affected the transport especially of perishable goods like foodstuffs, but traders could often pay a fee to avoid having to display their wares, thus turning the staple right into a form of trade taxation, with similar but less severe results. On the other hand, users of the road and visitors to cities with staple rights also gained several advantages, such as roads of better quality or the right of peaceful passage guaranteed by the local king. Those advantages were not common outside the tollways, as medieval local governments were usually weak, and street robberies were frequent. Staple rights were probably introduced by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

(ruled 768–814). It was only in 1815, at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

, that they were abolished. That policy took effect on the Rhine by the in 1831 and in 1839 for the whole of Germany, by the German Customs Union.

Notes

External links

Finance and trade under Edward III - The estate of merchants, 1336-1365, IV - 1355-65
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staple Right Medieval economic history Medieval law Local taxation River ports River ports of Germany Economic history of England Hanseatic League