Recent historiography argues that the legal autonomy of municipal governments created the necessary conditions for successful commercial transactions and economic growth in certain parts of Europe in the later Middle Ages, and that these features attracted foreign merchants. This article uses empirical data from England, Flanders and Normandy to test the following questions: were there significant differences in rules, laws and institutions between one place and another in late medieval western Europe? Were the Portuguese merchants drawn to markets that hypothetically had more effective institutions? The findings demonstrate that legal institutions and conflict management were very similar across western Europe, and that there is no evidence that the Portuguese opted for trading in a certain market because of its effective institutions. Moreover, the article claims that the merchants seemed to prioritise protection and privilege while trading abroad, and it highlights the role of commercial diplomacy in conflict management.

中文翻译：

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西欧的冲突管理：1250-1500 年在英格兰、佛兰德斯和诺曼底的葡萄牙商人的案例

最近的史学认为，中世纪后期欧洲某些地区，市政府的法律自治为成功的商业交易和经济增长创造了必要条件，这些特征吸引了外国商人。本文使用英格兰、佛兰德斯和诺曼底的经验数据来检验以下问题：中世纪晚期西欧一个地方与另一个地方的规则、法律和制度是否存在显着差异？葡萄牙商人是否被假设拥有更有效制度的市场所吸引？调查结果表明，西欧的法律制度和冲突管理非常相似，并且没有证据表明葡萄牙人因其有效的制度而选择在某个市场进行交易。而且，