This PhD project focuses on studying Western Swiss financial networks (from Geneva to Basel) during a period of significant economic and social transformations, spanning from 1770 to 1860.
The research aims, first, to move beyond the traditional narrative of the rupture in the well-known 18th-century Swiss and Huguenot wealth and network system caused by the French Revolution. This project examines Swiss financial networks by assuming them to have functioned as financial institutions that facilitated capital reproduction and cross-border allocation during times of intense political and economic change, with a focus on their long-term role in enabling efficient investment amid political instability and high information costs, prior to the emergence of modern institutions such as universal banks. A key feature of this study is the use of a microhistorical approach, focusing on case studies of prominent financial members of the Swiss economic elite. The research relies on both quantitative and qualitative sources, including private documentation such as accounting books, and to provide context, correspondence and memoirs. The use of accounting records, particularly General Ledgers, is a cornerstone of the methodology. These records are especially reliable and hold significant explanatory potential, as they reflect real financial transactions and therefore, allow the construction of financial networks. In addition, thanks to a narrower perspective, this methodology can empirically better demonstrate financial functions of these financial networks.
This thesis is being co-supervised by Professor Sabine Pitteloud (UniDistance Suisse) and Professor Pilar Nogues-Marco (UNIGE).
