Maria Christina Chatziioannou, (PhD. Modern History 1989, Department of History and Archeology- National Capodistrian University, Athens), studied History at the same university (1973-78) and Italian history at the Scuola di Perfezionamento di Storia Medioevale e Moderna, Universita di Sapienza, Rome (1978-80). She has been working as a researcher at the National Hellenic Research Foundation since 1981. She is currently Research Director in the Institute for Neohellenic Research/ National Hellenic Research Foundation and co-ordinator of the section of Social and Economic History (17th- 20th century). She has taught graduate and post-graduate courses at the Universities of Crete and Athens. She has published on several historical issues of social and economic history in modern time, such as: merchant enterprises and entrepreneurs, business culture and ethics, history of Greek settlements, Italian historiography. Her current research is the multidisciplinary and comparative study of merchant networks and business enterprises in the Mediterranean and in Great Britain.