The setting for this study is reflected in the sub-title 'Merchant bankers and diplomats at work. ' The aim is to follow the partners in their many and diverse activities: in their relationship towards each other, in their contacts with other houses and in their attitudes towards government of­ ficials. Moreover, the author has attempted to show the motives for their commercial and financial actions, where these were discernible. A point of departure such as this implies that the surviving correspondence consti­ tutes the principal source of information. Quantitative data are included, but within this framework their role is subsidiary. Because this book is intended for various categories of readers, it has