Analysing the Apprenticeship System in the Maghribi Traders Coalition

摘要

In this work we further the investigation into the functioning of the Maghribi Traders Coalition - a historically significant traders collective that operated along the North African coast between the 10th and 13th centuries. They acted as a closed group whose interactions were governed by informal institutions (i.e. norms). Historical accounts point to an apprenticeship system that was in force in this society. In this work we propose an agent-based model of the society with the apprenticeship mechanism and analyse the role the mechanism may have played in the removal of cheaters from their trade relationship networks.