Background, education and early years in Venice Jakob Fugger was born the tenth of eleven children to
Jakob Fugger the Elder (1398–1469) and his wife
Barbara Bäsinger (1419–1497), daughter of
Münzmeister Franz Bäsinger. The Fugger family had already established themselves as successful merchants in the city.
Hans Fugger, grandfather of Jakob Fugger, had taken up residence in Augsburg in 1367, became a
burgher through marriage and acquired considerable wealth by trading textiles with Italy. A few years before his death his son Jakob Fugger the Elder was already one of the richest citizens of Augsburg. Jakob's older brothers
Ulrich (1441–1510) and
Georg (1453–1506) created the basis for the rise of the company in Europe. Around 1470 they founded manufactories in
Venice and
Nuremberg, then important centers of trade. Jakob Fugger's brothers
Andreas and
Hans both died young in Venice. His brother
Markus was a cleric and from 1470 on a writer in a papal
chancery in
Rome where he died in 1478. His brother Peter died in an epidemic in
Nuremberg in 1473. Loans given to Emperor
Frederick III and supplies given to his entourage by Ulrich Fugger were the reason for the family being granted the lily coat of arms in 1473. The "of the lily" () naming after this coat of arms distinguishes this line of the Fugger family from the "of the doe" () branch. Until 2009 historians assumed that Jakob Fugger, who was a
minor order at the age of 12, had lived as a
canon in a church located in
Herrieden. A document from the
Austrian state archive has now shown that Jakob Fugger was already representing his family business in Venice in 1473 at the age of 14. Other research showed that Jakob Fugger spent the years between 1473 and 1487 mostly at the
Fondaco dei Tedeschi, the house of German merchants in Venice. Venice being one of the most important centers of trade at the time proved to be an ideal environment for Jakob Fugger's education in banking and the metal trade. His long residence in Italy also helped bring the
renaissance style to the German region, with his funding the construction of the first buildings of this style that originated in Italy. Legal and architectural structures of Venice also had a significant influence on the funding of the
Fuggerei which was similar to the social housing of
Venice.
Beginnings of the mining and metal trade ) from
Banská Štiavnica mines Jakob Fugger laid the foundation of his mining business in
Salzburg. He provided loans to the independent silver mine owners in the
Salzburg Slate Alps which had constant need for new capital. Instead of receiving the usual documents acknowledging debt, he demanded "Kuxe", which essentially made him a shareholder in the mines. Through this he forced more and more mine operators in the area of
Gastein and
Schladming to sell their silver directly to the Fugger family instead of intermediary traders. Jakob Fugger was responsible for his family's business in Augsburg,
Tyrol,
Venice and
Rome. Around 1485 the family also founded manufactories in
Innsbruck (since 1510 in
Hall, since 1539 in
Schwaz). Through a small loan he there first came into contact with
Archduke Sigismund, a member of the
Habsburg family. The archduke had as the sole owner of the
Tyrol property rights handed out permissions for mining operations to private investors which in return had to pay a share of their profits to Sigismund. Despite this income he was constantly short of money owing to a lavish lifestyle, several
illegitimate children and his extensive construction projects. A responsibility to pay the amount of 100,000
guilders of war reparations to
Venice was eventually financed by Jakob Fugger. In 1488 the total debt already amounted to more than 150,000 guilders. Notable was the form of payment: Instead of paying the
Fürst directly the Fugger family paid the money to his creditors as well as providing the wages for the royal court and craftsmen. Fugger met an engineer by the name of
Jan Thurzo, and they formed a powerful copper company in the neighbouring town of
Banská Bystrica in 1495. In 1517 the Fugger family financed more than half of
Tyrol's public budget. As a result, they were at times entitled to all the silver and copper out of Tyrol.
Relationship with Maximilian I The expansion of high-risk, albeit very lucrative, business connections to
Maximilian I was undoubtedly promoted by Fugger. In his view, the
House of Habsburg was bound to be the dominant power and dynasty within the German region, and as such should receive his financial and political support. Jakob Fugger met the young Roman-German king for the first time in 1489 at a
Frankfurt fair. At that time, his plans for the independent Duchy of
Tyrol had been agreed upon with the king's chancellor, Johann Waldner. On 16 March 1490 Sigismund and the Tyrol
Estates came together with King Maximilian also present. The archduke had to resign under the pressure from the estates, who accused him of mismanagement, and his possessions fell to the king. Maximilian then promised to repay all loans of its predecessor to Jakob Fugger. Thus the Fugger business became one of the most important financial backers of Maximilian, who since 1486 was co-regent of the
Holy Roman Empire. After his father
Frederick III died in 1493 he became the reigning emperor. Despite having constant financial difficulties due to an extravagant lifestyle and many failed political projects his reign saw the kingdoms of
Spain,
Bohemia and
Hungary gained for the
House of Habsburg, not by waging war but through advantageous marriage arrangements which were funded with the help of Jakob Fugger. On 15 July 1507 Maximilian I sold the County of
Kirchberg, located at
Ulm, the adjacent lordship
Weißenhorn with the associated city, as well as the lordships Wullenstetten and
Pfaffenhofen (Roth) from the Habsburg possessions in
Further Austria to Jakob Fugger. Maximilian I who crowned himself Holy Roman Emperor in 1508 received a payment of 50,000 guilders for these sales. More sales followed in 1508 where he sold manor
Schmiechen and in 1514 where he sold the lordship
Biberbach to Fugger. Maximilian I elevated Jakob Fugger into nobility in 1511 and granted him the title of
Imperial Count in 1514 so the former burgher could operate his business without interference from local nobility. In the course of his life Jakob Fugger also became lord of more than 50 smaller villages. However, close to the end of his life Maximilian was so heavily indebted to Jakob Fugger that he had no choice but to continue his support for the Emperor to still be able reclaim his outstanding debits. When Maximilian's grandson Charles V stood for election to become the next Emperor, Jakob Fugger raised a sum of more than 500,000 guilders, a significant portion of his wealth and of the total amount raised in his support, to ensure the seven
prince-electors would choose him. Thereby he helped prevent the election of
Francis I of France which would have endangered his claims and investments gravely, although it also made him highly dependent on the House of Habsburg. Much later the Fugger family lost a large portion of their wealth following three Spanish state bankruptcies (1557, 1560 and 1575) under the reign of
Philip II of Spain.
Mining and metal trade '' (1493) Likely at the insistence of Jakob Fugger the company became one of the first open trading companies () in Europe in 1494. At the same time, it was renamed into "Ulrich Fugger of Augsburg and brothers" to show the equality of the three brothers involved in business issues, even though Tyrolean sources almost universally speak of the Jakob Fugger company and central contracts of the Hungarian trade were all signed by him. At this development the greatly increased influence of Jakob within the company can be observed. During the late 1480s Jakob Fugger dominated the company's policies, although the eldest brother
Ulrich still formally led the company. The enormous growth potential in the
mining and
ore trade was very profitably harnessed by Jakob Fugger in the following years. As collateral for loans that he had given to the
Habsburgs and the
King of Hungary, he demanded mine revenues of Tyrol and the transfer of mining rights in Upper Hungary to him. Through this method he eventually established a dominant and almost monopolistic hold on the copper trade in
Central Europe. With his business partner
Hans Thurzó he founded the Hungarian trade in 1494. Mines funded by Fugger were constructed in
Neusohl (present-day
Banská Bystrica,
Slovakia), at the time part of the Hungarian Kingdom. The expansion continued with the construction of smelting plants in
Neusohl and nearby
Moschnitz,
Arnoldstein in
Carinthia,
Hohenkirchen in Thuringia. The copper was distributed through manufactories in
Breslau,
Leipzig,
Kraków and
Ofen. For transportation to the ports of
Danzig,
Stettin and
Lübeck on the
Baltic Sea Fugger funded the construction of a new road across the
Jablunkov Pass. From those ports the copper was shipped to the
Russian region and additionally through
Antwerp to
Lisbon where it was an important Portuguese trade good destined for the export to
India. Part of the copper was also transported through
Wiener Neustadt and the Adriatic ports
Triest and
Zengg to the copper market in Venice. At the time mines from both Tyrol and Hungary provided the bulk of the total European production in copper which provided an incredibly advantageous position in the European market, albeit not a total monopoly.
The Vatican as a client The Fugger family were the first German trading house in a direct business relationship with the Roman Curia. In the year 1500, Jakob Fugger loaned the
Vatican the money necessary to build the new St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, as well as other buildings within the Vatican. To repay Jakob the massive amount of money owed,
Pope Leo X had to heavily tax the German people as well as sell indulgences, which was heavily unpopular with a large group of monks, including Martin Luther. Partly because of the corruption within the church, Martin Luther was prompted to write his
Ninety-five Theses. Following the death of
Pope Alexander VI in August 1503 Jakob Fugger intensified his contacts to the Vatican in Rome. For the new
Pope Julius II Fugger financed the recruitment in 1505/1506 of the
Swiss Guard, which still exists today. Early dealings in Rome are attributed to the cleric Markus Fugger in 1473. In 1477 the Fugger business was responsible for transferring church revenues from Sweden to Rome. Between 1507 and 1524, the company leased the Roman mint, the
Zecca, manufacturing 66 types of coins for four different popes. After this the Fugger family was represented by only one manufactory in Rome, mostly due to the 1527
Sack of Rome and the less German-friendly Medici pope
Clement VII.
Overseas trade The commodity trade played a relatively small role compared to the two main branches of the Fugger business, banking and mining. It is only because of the associated exotic investments that Jakob Fugger's early trading expeditions take a prominent place in the history of the Fugger business. After
Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India and the establishment of the Portuguese spice monopoly, Jakob Fugger took part in the
spice trade and in 1503 opened a manufactory in
Lisbon. He received permission to trade pepper, other spices, and luxury goods such as pearls and gemstones through Lisbon. Along with other merchant houses of Germany and Italy he contributed to a fleet of 22 Portuguese ships led by
Francisco de Almeida that sailed to
India in the year 1505 and returned in 1506. Even though one third of the imported wares had to be ceded to the
King of Portugal the operation was still profitable. Soon afterwards the King declared the spice trade a monopoly of the crown in order to secure his income and exclude foreign merchants from participating. However, the Portuguese were still largely dependent on the copper delivered by Fugger which was an essential
export good for the trade with India. Unlike the
Welser family, Jakob Fugger's participation in the overseas trade was very cautious and conservative, and the only other operation of this kind he invested in was a failed 1525 trade expedition to the
Maluku Islands led by the Spaniard
Garcia de Loaisa. There is some evidence that he financed
Magellan's famed voyage.
The great crisis of Jakob Fugger Especially for mining projects in
upper Hungary the Fugger company required enormous capital, which at the time it could not raise. Hence
Cardinal Melchior von Meckau was the main sponsor of the Fugger business in 1496. The Prince-Bishop had secretly and unknown to his church
chapter invested 150,000 guilders in the Fugger company in return for interest, thereby evading the official church ban on interest. When he died in Rome in 1509 this investment was uncovered. The Pope, the bishopric
Brixen and the family of Meckau all claiming the inheritance now demanded the immediate payback of these assets which would have resulted in insolvency for Jakob Fugger. It was this situation that prompted
Emperor Maximilian I to step in and assist his banker. On the condition of assisting
Pope Julius II in a
war against the
Republic of Venice the Habsburg monarch was recognized as being the rightful heir of Cardinal Melchior von Meckau. The inheritance could now be settled by amortizing outstanding debts. Fugger also had to deliver jewels as compensation to the Pope. However, in return for his support, Maximilian I demanded the continuous financial support of his ongoing military and political campaigns. Since the death of his brothers
Georg in 1506 and
Ulrich in 1510, Jakob Fugger was now running the Fugger business as the sole policy and decision maker. The company was renamed into "Jakob Fugger und Gebrüder Söhne" (Jakob Fugger and Brother's Sons). In the following years up until his death Jakob Fugger managed to raise the family fortune which amounted to about 200,000 guilders in 1511 to more than two million guilders, perhaps 2% of Europe's GDP.
Election of Charles V in 1519 (1519 to 1520)
Emperor Maximilian died in January 1519 and bequeathed to his grandson
Charles the hereditary lands of
House Habsburg with adjoining
Burgundian lands as well as a disputed claim to the throne of the
Holy Roman Empire. To secure his essential investments into House Habsburg Jakob Fugger decided to support the election of the 19-year-old claimant to the throne. In addition to Charles, the English king
Henry VIII, the French king
Francis I and
Frederick III, Elector of Saxony announced their candidacy. Francis I had already secured the votes of the
Archdiocese of Trier and the
Electorate of the Palatinate as well as offering a sum of 300,000
guilders of election money. The
prince-electors consisted of the three archbishops of
Mainz,
Cologne and
Trier in addition to the
King of Bohemia, the Elector of the Palatinate, the
Margrave of Brandenburg and the
Duke of Saxony. This was a difficult situation for Charles who now relied on the riches of Jakob Fugger to sway the election in his favor. Fugger transferred the enormous sum of more than 850,000 guilders to the prince-electors which ultimately resulted in the unanimous election of Charles
Holy Roman Emperor on 28 July 1519. Out of this 850,000 guilders Fugger himself funded around 550,000 while another merchant house of Augsburg, the Welser family, contributed about 150,000 and three Italian bankers providing the rest. What today would be seen as
bribery was common practice in the election of the Emperor. Exceptional however were the immense sums involved, mainly due to the keen competition among the princely candidates. A few days later the Pope granted Charles the right to name himself Elected Emperor. It was only in 1530 that Charles V was crowned Emperor by the Pope in
Bologna. He was the last Emperor to receive a
papal coronation.
Charles V, since his election reigning over a realm
where the sun never set, was now deeply indebted to Jakob Fugger. In 1521 the debts amounted to more than 600,000 guilders. The Emperor amortized 415,000 of this sum and in return granted the Fugger company the silver and copper mining operations of
Tyrol. The added demand of repayment of all debts eventually led to all discussions of trade restrictions and limits to monopolies being dropped. In addition to this Jakob Fugger was granted a
concession to mine
quicksilver and
cinnabar in
Almadén. The Fugger company was involved in the Spanish mining business up to the year 1645. == Marriage, heritage and successors ==