Hochstetter
Encyclopedia
The family of Höchstetter (also rendered Hechstetter or Hochstetter) from Höchstädt
near the banks of the Danube
were members of the fifteenth and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg
.
For a time, the international mercantile bankers and venture capitalists whose most notorious member was Ambrosius Höchstetter were on a par with the Fugger
and the Welser
. They were drawn upon, like other Augsburg bankers, for loans to Emperor Maximilian I
.
The accumulating wealth of Augsburg was built upon control of metal ores, the gold, silver and copper of Bohemia
, Slovakia
, Hungary
and the Tyrol
, and their refining and marketing. The Hochstetter company drew upon investments as small as a few florins, but the total invested with him required Ambrosius Hochstetter to pay out up to a million florins a year in interest. He successfully cornered at brief occasions local markets in ash timber, grain and certain wines. Grain hoarding is never a popular practice, and Ambrosius was accused of adulterating the spices in which he traded
. His son and son-in-law lost spectacular sums in gambling. Then in 1529 he tried to engross the whole quicksilver
stock in a cartel
; this failed attempt to corner the market led to his bankruptcy for 800,000 gulden, for which he eventually died in prison. Rising prices bring out a hidden supply, and the size of the required investment had become too large for even the greatest merchant banking house to monopolize
, as the Fuggers discovered with their attempt on the copper
market. Figures representing the enormous profits of the Hochstetter at their height became public after a certain Bartholomew Rem invested 900 gulden
in the Hochstetter company in 1511; by 1517 he claimed 33,000 gulden profit. The company was willing to settle at 26,000 and the resulting litigation caused the figures to become public A commission of the Reichstag
held at Nuremberg
in 1522-23 found, in part, that "These rich Companies, even one of them, do in the year compass much more undoing to the Commonweal than all other robbers and thieves in that they and their servants give public display of luxuriousness, pomp and prodigal wealth, of which there is no small proof in that Bartholomew Rhein did win, in so short a time and with so little stock of trade, such notable riches in the Hochstetter Company — as hath openly appeared in the justifying before the City Court at Augsburg and at the Reichstag but lately held at Worms."
The house of Höchstetter itself did not go under. In 1526 Sir Richard Gresham
, when detained at Neuport, sent a letter with Joachim Höchstetter to Cardinal Wolsey, characterising Höchstetter as one of the richest and most influential merchants of Germany and a great exporter of wheat to London. The Höchstetter were also involved in the Elizabethan copper-mining venture, the Society of Mines Royal
.
The sixteenth-century economic history in which the Hochstetter participated was described in a classic work by Richard Ehrenberg
, Das Zeitalter der Fugger: Geldkapital und Kreditverkehr im 16. Jahrhundert ("The Age of the Fuggers: Capital and the Credit Market in the Sixteenth Century") Jena, 1896.
The Höchstetter were ennobled by Imperial patent, 1518.
Höchstädt an der Donau
Höchstädt an der Donau is a town in the district of Dillingen, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated near the banks of the River Danube. It consists of the following neighborhoods: Höchstädt an der Donau, Deisenhofen, Oberglauheim, Schwennenbach and Sonderheim....
near the banks of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
were members of the fifteenth and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
.
For a time, the international mercantile bankers and venture capitalists whose most notorious member was Ambrosius Höchstetter were on a par with the Fugger
Fugger
The Fugger family was a historically prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists like the Welser and the Höchstetter families. This banking family replaced the de'...
and the Welser
Welser
Welser is the surname of an important German banking and merchant family, originally from Augsburg. Along with the Fugger family, the Welser family controlled various sectors of the European economy, and accumulated enormous wealth through trade and the German colonization of the...
. They were drawn upon, like other Augsburg bankers, for loans to Emperor Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
.
The accumulating wealth of Augsburg was built upon control of metal ores, the gold, silver and copper of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and the Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
, and their refining and marketing. The Hochstetter company drew upon investments as small as a few florins, but the total invested with him required Ambrosius Hochstetter to pay out up to a million florins a year in interest. He successfully cornered at brief occasions local markets in ash timber, grain and certain wines. Grain hoarding is never a popular practice, and Ambrosius was accused of adulterating the spices in which he traded
Spice trade
Civilizations of Asia were involved in spice trade from the ancient times, and the Greco-Roman world soon followed by trading along the Incense route and the Roman-India routes...
. His son and son-in-law lost spectacular sums in gambling. Then in 1529 he tried to engross the whole quicksilver
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
stock in a cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
; this failed attempt to corner the market led to his bankruptcy for 800,000 gulden, for which he eventually died in prison. Rising prices bring out a hidden supply, and the size of the required investment had become too large for even the greatest merchant banking house to monopolize
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
, as the Fuggers discovered with their attempt on the copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
market. Figures representing the enormous profits of the Hochstetter at their height became public after a certain Bartholomew Rem invested 900 gulden
Gulden
Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin (from Middle High German guldin [pfenni(n)c] "golden penny", equivalent to the Dutch term guilder...
in the Hochstetter company in 1511; by 1517 he claimed 33,000 gulden profit. The company was willing to settle at 26,000 and the resulting litigation caused the figures to become public A commission of the Reichstag
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
held at Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
in 1522-23 found, in part, that "These rich Companies, even one of them, do in the year compass much more undoing to the Commonweal than all other robbers and thieves in that they and their servants give public display of luxuriousness, pomp and prodigal wealth, of which there is no small proof in that Bartholomew Rhein did win, in so short a time and with so little stock of trade, such notable riches in the Hochstetter Company — as hath openly appeared in the justifying before the City Court at Augsburg and at the Reichstag but lately held at Worms."
The house of Höchstetter itself did not go under. In 1526 Sir Richard Gresham
Richard Gresham
Sir Richard Gresham was an English merchant, Lord Mayor of London, and member of parliament. He was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham.-Family:...
, when detained at Neuport, sent a letter with Joachim Höchstetter to Cardinal Wolsey, characterising Höchstetter as one of the richest and most influential merchants of Germany and a great exporter of wheat to London. The Höchstetter were also involved in the Elizabethan copper-mining venture, the Society of Mines Royal
Society of Mines Royal
The Society of Mines Royal was one of two mining monopoly companies incorporated by royal charter in 1568, the other being the Company of Mineral and Battery Works.-History:...
.
The sixteenth-century economic history in which the Hochstetter participated was described in a classic work by Richard Ehrenberg
Richard Ehrenberg
Richard Ehrenberg was a German economist.He taught at Rostock University from 1899 to 1921.- Literary works :* Hamburg und Antwerpen seit 300 Jahren, 1889...
, Das Zeitalter der Fugger: Geldkapital und Kreditverkehr im 16. Jahrhundert ("The Age of the Fuggers: Capital and the Credit Market in the Sixteenth Century") Jena, 1896.
The Höchstetter were ennobled by Imperial patent, 1518.