'To the great advantage of skippers': On compacten, or mutual marine insurances, in early modern Friesland

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, mutual marine insurances between skippers, known as compacten, emerged throughout Friesland, both in villages and in cities. Outlining the legal settings of twelve compacten by discussing the organization of these compacten, the risks insured against, the financial set-ups and other noteworthy clauses, the overall view is that these mutual insurances offered Frisian skippers and shipowners a risk mitigation system that was able to support their specific, local needs.