Abstract

The changing methodology in historical research and in the humanities makes relevant the study of the patterns of merchant trading in the context of personal relations. Moreover, special attention should be paid to the development of social ties. In this sense the most representative source is the personal correspondence of the merchants, which was practically the only way of communication between the people who were even at a slight distance from each other. The large extant correspondence collection of the Veliky Ustyug merchant family of the Buldakovs covers the period of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. However, the study of social relations only through private correspondence makes it incomplete due to the inevitable omission of important biographical information about the persons mentioned in the letters by the people who knew the subject of conversation. These gaps can be filled by involving clerical materials from various departments. The study leads to the understanding of the significant role of family relations in the life of merchants. Family partnership was the most convenient and stable form of trading organization due to the fact that every partner was confident in the experience and integrity of his companion. In addition, young merchants took their first independent steps in commerce among their relatives, being “at their service”. They obtained the necessary knowledge, established business contacts and learned by the experience of their leaders. Thus, they acquired mental capital for their own trading activities. The merchants relied on the relatives when trusting relationships were needed (in case of lending money or attorney services). Their confidence in the good faith of contractors was determined by the belief that their behavior was regulated by a narrow circle to which they belonged. Moreover, there was no difference between those who were bound by blood ties, and those who were integrated through affinal relationships.