Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31337/oz.73.2.2
Literary Sources for Šipuš’s Book Temely xitne tergovine
Vladimir Horvat
; Faculty of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivana Klinčić
orcid.org/0000-0002-5473-4400
; Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Wheat trade was one of the most crucial political and ethical topics of the 18th century. Nearly all Western European thinkers dealt with the issue or at least touched upon it. The Bishop of Zagreb Maksimilijan Vrhovac persevered in promoting economic opportunities in Croatia and, being aware that roads and navigable waterways are a prerequisite for trade and economic growth, he endeavoured to organise the development of a navigable waterway on the Kupa River as far as Rijeka, instead of which the road Lujzinska cesta was later constructed and which is still in use today.Vrhovac also strived in many other ways to improve economic opportunities in Croatia which was an exceedingly difficult task since the administrative centre in Vienna attempted to govern Croatia as though she were its colony. Therefore, all infrastructure investments which were planned were intended to benefit the interests of the adminstrative centre. Thus it is evident why Šipuš’s book on liberal trade principles was printed by none other than Vrhovec’s printing office. When writing his book, Šipuš availed himself of two immediate sources: the German translation by Christian Garve of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations (Breslau, 1794–1796) and the first edition of Die Freiheit des Getreidehandels by J. A. H. Reimarus (Hamburg, 1790). Entire paragraphs of Šipuš’s templates were his literal translations and even the same references were used. In those times, translation and supplementation of this sort were not considered plagiarism, but rather the work of the writer, therefore Šipuš published the book under his own name as the author. Reimarus’s book was a means through which he pointed to a series of publications dealing with the issue of wheat trade — books which were published in various European countries such as France, Italy, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. In this way Šipuš provided Croatian readers of the end of the 18th century with a broad insight into the topic, as well as with a survey of relevant European literature on the set of economic and ethical circumstances surrounding wheat trade. By observing trade and economic opportunities among advanced European countries, Šipuš searched for ways to advance and better the situation in Croatian lands. The paper describes two cases from Šipuš’s book, namely France and Tuscany. France was an example of a country which, despite the endeavours and social involvement of individuals, did not achieve a liberalization of the market: the economy was failing and people were demanding change for the better through revolution. Tuscany, on the other hand, was an illustration of a country in which the ruler himself introduced liberal trade regulations and thus made economic development possible. In his comments Šipuš endeavoured to apply these experiences to the situation in the Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia. The fact that he wrote in the Croatian language indicates that he considered it important for the information to reach a broader circle of people.
Keywords
Maksimilijan Vrhovac; Josip Šipuš; Adam Smith; J. A. H. Reimarus; wheat trade; prosperity; poverty; 18th century
Hrčak ID:
203904
URI
Publication date:
1.8.2018.
Visits: 1.980 *