Despite the strategic position of Rijeka near the widest passage from the northern Adriatic Sea towards Central Europe’s hinterland, the coastal town failed to realise its full potential. The biggest obstacles were the Venetian trade monopoly and the Habsburgs giving preference to Trieste. The political unification of the Habsburg’s territory and the areas between the Gulf of Trieste and the Gulf of Kvarner came about too late to have a major effect on the trade since the 16th century was marked by incursions from the Ottoman Empire. The country’s expansion also affected the redirection of distant trade routes. To defend the territory, the Military Frontier was established. It was both a burden and an asset because the soldiers stationed there needed food and cloth that were partly supplied from Fiume. The ruler also hoped for a more substantial profit from the route to Trieste, thus tolls were increased, but this had the opposite effect since much of the trade moved elsewhere, especially to the land owned by the Zrinski and Frankopan families – to the port of Bakar.
The most important kind of commerce in Rijeka at the beginning of the Early Modern Period was the middle-distance trade. The key products were the salt that they sold in the hinterland (the Sava and Drava River catchments) and the wheat that was sold on the coast. They also traded in livestock and skins, wine, oil, fish, wood, iron and iron products, linen and other fabrics, honey and wax, citrus fruits, and groceries. Involved in the trade were both town dwellers and farmers – this kind of trade belonged to the integrated farm economy. Trade in Rijeka reached its peak in the 15th century; but other than a few momentary peaks in the 16th century, such as in 1523 and 1527, the trade was declining. It was revived under throughly different broader foreign-policy circumstances of the 18th century when internal tariffs were cancelled, Charles VI. declared free navigation in the Adriatic Sea in 1717 and Fiume was declared a free port in 1719. It was then that traffic infrastructure was thoroughly improved and various manufactures such as the sugar refinery were founded, and long-distance traffic flows faced a significant increase.
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