The Coffee Trader
Encyclopedia
The Coffee Trader is an historical novel by David Liss
, set in 17th century
Amsterdam
. The story revolves around the activities of commodity trader
Miguel Lienzo, a Jew who is a refugee from the Portuguese Inquisition
. Recovering from near financial ruin, he embarks on a coffee trading
scheme with a Dutch woman; kept secret because it is forbidden by his community council. The scheme involves coffee, a new import to Europe. Miguel navigates the social structures of the Amsterdam business world, the politics of the council, and the plots of competitors.
The character of Miguel Lienzo is the uncle of Benjamin Weaver, the protagonist of Liss's first novel, A Conspiracy of Paper
. This novel is set about thirty years earlier, but is not a prequel.
that have gone disastrously wrong. He is being pursued by his creditors and is looking for a way out of his current problems. Fortunately for him, one of his friends, a Dutch widow called Geertruid, arranges a meeting, at which her right-hand man Hendrick is present, and tells him about a new commodity that she believes is about to take off – coffee. Miguel knows very little about it so she gives him a cup to drink and, after an initial reaction of distaste, Miguel actually starts to like it. Geertruid gives him some beans for his own personal use and he takes to grinding them and then mixing the powder with wine until he tastes the superior drink of coffee mixed with hot water.
He is currently living with his younger brother Daniel and his young wife, Hannah, who is pregnant. There is a rivalry between the two brothers, enhanced by Miguel's current difficulties, and he is living in the cellar of the house made continually damp from the floods. Hannah is a Catholic
who was only informed of her Jewish origins on the day of her marriage. She is unhappy with her marital situation and her domestic affairs are made worse by her pretty Dutch maid, Annetje, who has a powerful hold over her as a result of secrets revealed to her by Hannah during the early stages of a friendship that has now soured. Hannah feels sympathy for Miguel's plight but is powerless to do anything as a formal distance has to be maintained with her more attractive and characterful brother-in-law.
Miguel tells Geertruid he needs to have time to think over the whole idea of coffee but finally agrees to consider its possibilities. Complicating matters for Miguel is a Dutchman named Joachim Waagenaar. Miguel invested five hundred guilders on his behalf in the same sugar trade and all the money was lost. Joachim is following him around Amsterdam in an attempt to get his money off Miguel, and his mental and physical condition is steadily deteriorating as a result of his financial plight. Miguel does his best to avoid his pursuer and believes his life is in danger when Joachim threatens to murder him. Another complication for Miguel is that the self-same Parido also is antagonistic towards him since he failed to marry his daughter, Antonia (Parido is a close friend of Daniel's and this arrangement was made to strengthen their commercial ties) after being caught in flagrante with the girl's maid. However, one day Parido comes over to Miguel on the trading floor and offers to forget their past animosities by helping Miguel sell some loss making brandy holdings to a Frenchman; Miguel does so only to see the price of brandy rise just before close of trading.
He is also helped to regain financial solvency even more by Alonzo Alferonda, another Portuguese Jew
, whose family Miguel helped escape the Inquisition
when he was a young boy, and who now secretly wants to assist his benefactor. Alferonda is also out to obtain revenge against Parido, a rich merchant and parnass on the Jewish Ma'amad, the local council that controls the affairs of Sephardic Jews living in exile in Amsterdam. Parido was angered by Alferonda's acting against his combination in a salt trade and managed to have him excommunicated
from the Jewish faith for helping unwanted and poorer "Tudesco" (the Portuguese word for Ashkenazi) Jews arriving in Amsterdam broker their jewels to Portuguese merchants (any trading with gentiles was an official transgression). One day Alferonda advises him to buy whale oil
in anticipation of a price rise based on some market manipulation
by Parido's combination. It is whilst making a successful trade with Ricardo, a fat Jewish broker, that he is struck by a brilliantly simple an idea that revolves around creating a monopoly in the market. Currently, only small amounts of coffee bean are dealt in, and this primarily by the East India Company
that controls the trade. With Geertruid ardently backing he scheme, he starts to send out letters to various friends and agents
in different countries and also arranges with a friend and broker called Isiah Nunes to arrange a shipment of ninety barrels of coffee to Amsterdam.
The action switches to Hannah who secretly attends a Catholic service with Annetje. As they are making their way back, she spots Geertruid talking to some Dutchmen and she comes up to Hannah and says that their chance meeting will remain a secret. Back in the house, Miguel has an argument with Daniel and later Hannah comes down to his basement and unintentionally reveals a lock of her hair which he finds incredibly sensual (it was forbidden for a Jewish woman to show this to a man other than her husband). He starts to receive positive letters back from his brokers and chases up Ricardo for his payment which is unforthcoming. He also encounters Joachim threatening Hannah and her maid and manages to lead him away. He returns to comfort Hannah and, over bowls of steaming coffee, she takes up the courage to flirt with him which pleases rather than offends. Things now start to heat up for Miguel – Nunes demands an upfront payment for the coffee delivery, Parido is warning him off the coffee trade and Daniel is asking for a return of his loan. In addition, he is summoned before the Ma'amad but manages to evade the charge of trading with gentiles – all he receives is a one-day excommunication called a cherem
. Parido also approaches Alferonda to find out what he has planned with Miguel but his advances are spurned.
The head of a pig
is left outside Daniel's front door which causes Hannah to faint and threatens the baby. Miguel informs his brother after a huge argument that he will have to choose between himself and Parido, and also learns that Daniel himself is in debt. He also talks intimately to Hannah and learns from her about the meeting with Geertruid Damhuis. Nunes informs him that there will be a delay with the shipment. As Miguel leaves the tavern, he encounters Joachim and pushes him violently to the ground – an offence for a Jew – but the latter does not press charges, recognising their former acquaintance. He also encounters some trickery in a tavern which leads him to conclude that Geertruid is in the service of Solomon Parido.
Joachim visits Miguel at his house and a plan is hatched with Alferonda for the day they wish to corner the coffee market. Miguel then asks Geertruid for 1,500 more guilders – having spent much of the first loan to cover his debts – and she is angered but finally acquieces. Joachim also informs Miguel that Nunes is in the pay of Parido and Miguel also learns from Annetje – who is now a whore – that she was paid by Geertruid to keep an eye on Miguel's comings and goings – in fact, she was instructed to say this by Alferonda who is in the next room. On returning home, he meets Hannah and they almost embrace but Miguel backs off, aware of the full consequences if they are discovered.
The day for purchasing the 90 barrels that Nunes secretly has delivered to Parido's warehouse finally comes about and Miguel is confident of beating Parido at his own game. There is a crucial moment when the price of coffee is falling and then set to rise but some Dutchmen start weighing in with their own bids and Miguel's puts. Now wealthy, Miguel purchases his own house and also claims the 2,000 guilders Daniel owes him on the whale-oil (he was the purchaser behind Ricardo). He is then able to offload his 90 barrels at a high price before his overseas agents start to sell coffee which lowers the price. Geertruid arrives at the exchange and is staggered to observe his actions and Miguel accuses her of deceiving and betraying him, but promises to return her 3,000 loan to cover the debts she now owes to the Iberian agents. Hannah deceives Daniel by informing him their baby is actually Miguel's and, along with his bankruptcy, he informs her he is leaving the city and will grant her a divorce. She goes to Miguel's house and she is taken in by him as his wife. Miguel also seeks out Geertruid, who he finds drunk one day in a pub, and she tells him she and Hendrick are the real Charming Pieter and his Goodwife Mary, a couple of renowned Dutch thieves, and informs him she is leaving Amsterdam. Hendrick turns up at Miguel's door and confirms he has beaten up Joachim according to Miguel's former instructions – given before their reconciliation – and demands his fifty guilders. Miguel is appalled but hands over the money and finds out that Joachim and his wife have fled Amsterdam fearing more retribution. Miguel and Hannah have a son, Samuel, and another boy whom he favours just as his father favoured him, and his prosperous future now lies securely in the coffee trade.
David Liss
David Liss is an American writer of novels, essays and short fiction; more recently working also in comic books. He was born in New Jersey and grew up in South Florida. Liss received his B. A. degree from Syracuse University, an M. A. from Georgia State University and his M. Phil from Columbia...
, set in 17th century
Early modern Europe
Early modern Europe is the term used by historians to refer to a period in the history of Europe which spanned the centuries between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century...
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. The story revolves around the activities of commodity trader
Commodities exchange
A commodities exchange is an exchange where various commodities and derivatives products are traded. Most commodity markets across the world trade in agricultural products and other raw materials and contracts based on them...
Miguel Lienzo, a Jew who is a refugee from the Portuguese Inquisition
Portuguese Inquisition
The Portuguese Inquisition was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of the King of Portugal, João III. Manuel I had asked for the installation of the Inquisition in 1515 to fulfill the commitment of marriage with Maria of Aragon, but it was only after his death that the Pope...
. Recovering from near financial ruin, he embarks on a coffee trading
History of coffee
The history of coffee goes at least as far back as the thirteenth century. The Kefficho People who were the first to discover and recognize the energizing effect of the coffee bean plant. The story of Kaldi, the 9th-century Ethiopian goatherd who discovered coffee, did not appear in writing until...
scheme with a Dutch woman; kept secret because it is forbidden by his community council. The scheme involves coffee, a new import to Europe. Miguel navigates the social structures of the Amsterdam business world, the politics of the council, and the plots of competitors.
The character of Miguel Lienzo is the uncle of Benjamin Weaver, the protagonist of Liss's first novel, A Conspiracy of Paper
A Conspiracy of Paper
A Conspiracy of Paper is a historical-mystery novel by David Liss, set in London in the period leading up to the bursting of the South Sea Bubble in 1720.-Synopsis:...
. This novel is set about thirty years earlier, but is not a prequel.
Plot summary
Miguel Lienzo is in financial trouble as a result of some trades in sugarHistory of sugar
The long history of sugar is interwoven with that of trade, religion, colonialism, capitalism, industry and technology. The labor-intensive nature of sugar cultivation and processing has meant that much of the history of the sugar industry has had associations with large-scale slavery...
that have gone disastrously wrong. He is being pursued by his creditors and is looking for a way out of his current problems. Fortunately for him, one of his friends, a Dutch widow called Geertruid, arranges a meeting, at which her right-hand man Hendrick is present, and tells him about a new commodity that she believes is about to take off – coffee. Miguel knows very little about it so she gives him a cup to drink and, after an initial reaction of distaste, Miguel actually starts to like it. Geertruid gives him some beans for his own personal use and he takes to grinding them and then mixing the powder with wine until he tastes the superior drink of coffee mixed with hot water.
He is currently living with his younger brother Daniel and his young wife, Hannah, who is pregnant. There is a rivalry between the two brothers, enhanced by Miguel's current difficulties, and he is living in the cellar of the house made continually damp from the floods. Hannah is a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
who was only informed of her Jewish origins on the day of her marriage. She is unhappy with her marital situation and her domestic affairs are made worse by her pretty Dutch maid, Annetje, who has a powerful hold over her as a result of secrets revealed to her by Hannah during the early stages of a friendship that has now soured. Hannah feels sympathy for Miguel's plight but is powerless to do anything as a formal distance has to be maintained with her more attractive and characterful brother-in-law.
Miguel tells Geertruid he needs to have time to think over the whole idea of coffee but finally agrees to consider its possibilities. Complicating matters for Miguel is a Dutchman named Joachim Waagenaar. Miguel invested five hundred guilders on his behalf in the same sugar trade and all the money was lost. Joachim is following him around Amsterdam in an attempt to get his money off Miguel, and his mental and physical condition is steadily deteriorating as a result of his financial plight. Miguel does his best to avoid his pursuer and believes his life is in danger when Joachim threatens to murder him. Another complication for Miguel is that the self-same Parido also is antagonistic towards him since he failed to marry his daughter, Antonia (Parido is a close friend of Daniel's and this arrangement was made to strengthen their commercial ties) after being caught in flagrante with the girl's maid. However, one day Parido comes over to Miguel on the trading floor and offers to forget their past animosities by helping Miguel sell some loss making brandy holdings to a Frenchman; Miguel does so only to see the price of brandy rise just before close of trading.
He is also helped to regain financial solvency even more by Alonzo Alferonda, another Portuguese Jew
Marrano
Marranos were Jews living in the Iberian peninsula who converted to Christianity rather than be expelled but continued to observe rabbinic Judaism in secret...
, whose family Miguel helped escape the Inquisition
Portuguese Inquisition
The Portuguese Inquisition was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of the King of Portugal, João III. Manuel I had asked for the installation of the Inquisition in 1515 to fulfill the commitment of marriage with Maria of Aragon, but it was only after his death that the Pope...
when he was a young boy, and who now secretly wants to assist his benefactor. Alferonda is also out to obtain revenge against Parido, a rich merchant and parnass on the Jewish Ma'amad, the local council that controls the affairs of Sephardic Jews living in exile in Amsterdam. Parido was angered by Alferonda's acting against his combination in a salt trade and managed to have him excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
from the Jewish faith for helping unwanted and poorer "Tudesco" (the Portuguese word for Ashkenazi) Jews arriving in Amsterdam broker their jewels to Portuguese merchants (any trading with gentiles was an official transgression). One day Alferonda advises him to buy whale oil
Whale oil
Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...
in anticipation of a price rise based on some market manipulation
Market manipulation
Market manipulation describes a deliberate attempt to interfere with the free and fair operation of the market and create artificial, false or misleading appearances with respect to the price of, or market for, a security, commodity or currency...
by Parido's combination. It is whilst making a successful trade with Ricardo, a fat Jewish broker, that he is struck by a brilliantly simple an idea that revolves around creating a monopoly in the market. Currently, only small amounts of coffee bean are dealt in, and this primarily by the East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
that controls the trade. With Geertruid ardently backing he scheme, he starts to send out letters to various friends and agents
Trading Diaspora
According to Philip D. Curtin, Trading Diasporas “are communities of merchants living among aliens in associated networks”.-History:Trading Diasporas were formed as a result of international trade that resulted in the settlement of merchants in certain countries where they sold their products...
in different countries and also arranges with a friend and broker called Isiah Nunes to arrange a shipment of ninety barrels of coffee to Amsterdam.
The action switches to Hannah who secretly attends a Catholic service with Annetje. As they are making their way back, she spots Geertruid talking to some Dutchmen and she comes up to Hannah and says that their chance meeting will remain a secret. Back in the house, Miguel has an argument with Daniel and later Hannah comes down to his basement and unintentionally reveals a lock of her hair which he finds incredibly sensual (it was forbidden for a Jewish woman to show this to a man other than her husband). He starts to receive positive letters back from his brokers and chases up Ricardo for his payment which is unforthcoming. He also encounters Joachim threatening Hannah and her maid and manages to lead him away. He returns to comfort Hannah and, over bowls of steaming coffee, she takes up the courage to flirt with him which pleases rather than offends. Things now start to heat up for Miguel – Nunes demands an upfront payment for the coffee delivery, Parido is warning him off the coffee trade and Daniel is asking for a return of his loan. In addition, he is summoned before the Ma'amad but manages to evade the charge of trading with gentiles – all he receives is a one-day excommunication called a cherem
Cherem
Cherem , is the highest ecclesiastical censure in the Jewish community. It is the total exclusion of a person from the Jewish community. It is a form of shunning, and is similar to excommunication in the Catholic Church...
. Parido also approaches Alferonda to find out what he has planned with Miguel but his advances are spurned.
The head of a pig
Unclean animals
Unclean animals, in some religions, are animals whose consumption or handling is labeled a taboo. According to these religion's dogmas, persons who handle such animals may need to purify themselves to get rid of their uncleanness.-Judaism:...
is left outside Daniel's front door which causes Hannah to faint and threatens the baby. Miguel informs his brother after a huge argument that he will have to choose between himself and Parido, and also learns that Daniel himself is in debt. He also talks intimately to Hannah and learns from her about the meeting with Geertruid Damhuis. Nunes informs him that there will be a delay with the shipment. As Miguel leaves the tavern, he encounters Joachim and pushes him violently to the ground – an offence for a Jew – but the latter does not press charges, recognising their former acquaintance. He also encounters some trickery in a tavern which leads him to conclude that Geertruid is in the service of Solomon Parido.
Joachim visits Miguel at his house and a plan is hatched with Alferonda for the day they wish to corner the coffee market. Miguel then asks Geertruid for 1,500 more guilders – having spent much of the first loan to cover his debts – and she is angered but finally acquieces. Joachim also informs Miguel that Nunes is in the pay of Parido and Miguel also learns from Annetje – who is now a whore – that she was paid by Geertruid to keep an eye on Miguel's comings and goings – in fact, she was instructed to say this by Alferonda who is in the next room. On returning home, he meets Hannah and they almost embrace but Miguel backs off, aware of the full consequences if they are discovered.
The day for purchasing the 90 barrels that Nunes secretly has delivered to Parido's warehouse finally comes about and Miguel is confident of beating Parido at his own game. There is a crucial moment when the price of coffee is falling and then set to rise but some Dutchmen start weighing in with their own bids and Miguel's puts. Now wealthy, Miguel purchases his own house and also claims the 2,000 guilders Daniel owes him on the whale-oil (he was the purchaser behind Ricardo). He is then able to offload his 90 barrels at a high price before his overseas agents start to sell coffee which lowers the price. Geertruid arrives at the exchange and is staggered to observe his actions and Miguel accuses her of deceiving and betraying him, but promises to return her 3,000 loan to cover the debts she now owes to the Iberian agents. Hannah deceives Daniel by informing him their baby is actually Miguel's and, along with his bankruptcy, he informs her he is leaving the city and will grant her a divorce. She goes to Miguel's house and she is taken in by him as his wife. Miguel also seeks out Geertruid, who he finds drunk one day in a pub, and she tells him she and Hendrick are the real Charming Pieter and his Goodwife Mary, a couple of renowned Dutch thieves, and informs him she is leaving Amsterdam. Hendrick turns up at Miguel's door and confirms he has beaten up Joachim according to Miguel's former instructions – given before their reconciliation – and demands his fifty guilders. Miguel is appalled but hands over the money and finds out that Joachim and his wife have fled Amsterdam fearing more retribution. Miguel and Hannah have a son, Samuel, and another boy whom he favours just as his father favoured him, and his prosperous future now lies securely in the coffee trade.
Source
- The Coffee Trader, David Liss, Random House, 2003