Montevideo was founded in 1726 by the Spanish Crown on the banks of the Río de la Plata, sharing economic space with Buenos Aires. The Uruguayan region experienced a process of economic and demographic growth whose population grew from 3,000 inhabitants in 1760 to 30,000 in 1810. In this process of population growth, the aim was to adapt the pattern of food consumption to the European basket. Bread, water and wine were dispensed every day, while pulses (chickpeas or rice) and bacon were received once a week; dried fish and salted meat twice a week. In addition, men were to receive salt, oil and firewood for cooking. The above list reflects the type and quantity of provisions that the Royal Navy understood that healthy adult men should receive in order to be in optimum condition during their service. In the reality of the Río de la Plata, the basket of provisions provided to sailors was less varied. The contracts signed by the suppliers of the Royal Navy between 1770 and 1810 stipulated that these sailors were to receive a daily ration consisting of a fixed amount of bread (or failing that, sponge cake), fresh beef, a portion of vegetables and a portion of firewood. However, it should be noted that the stipulated daily provisions would guarantee the Royal Navy sailors stationed in Montevideo a caloric intake of close to 3,000 calories a day, a figure in line with the standards currently established by the World Health Organisation for adult males.
Collection: Statistics
Project: 3. Rural world and urban world in the formation of the European identity., 4. Family, daily life and social inequality in Europe.
Chronology: XVIII, XIX
Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University
Resource type: Statistics
Format: Table
Source: Moraes, María Inés y Thul, Florencia, «Los salarios reales y el nivel de vida en una economía latinoamericana colonial: Montevideo entre 1760–1810», Revista de Historia Económica, Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, 36, vol. 2 (2018), pp. 185–213.
Language: Spanish
Date: 2018
Owner: Álvaro Romero González (Modernalia)
Copyright: © María Inés Moraes, ©Florencia Thul © Revista de Historia Económica
Abstract: Amounts, calories and types of goods received by Royal Navy sailors in Montevideo, Uruguay, between 1770-1810
Image
Tags
