Chile - History Lab

Book notes on Indian languages in Chile and Peru

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:51 +0000

Note made by Diego Ugalde of the books relating to the languages of the Indians that he and José Celestino Mutis, director of the Royal Botanical Expedition to the kingdoms of Chile and Peru, were able to bring together by order of the Count of Floridablanca on 3 October 1787, in order to satisfy the wishes of the Empress of Russia.

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Monthly sales of tobacco in Santiago (Chile), 1771, 1827 and 1832

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:48 +0000

The scarce Chilean historiography on this subject points out how smoking was a natural and essential habit among all social classes, including women and children. The product was raw tobacco from Saña (Peru), whose lower cost made it a favourite among modest smokers in the cities, while snuff, mainly of Cuban origin, was consumed exclusively in wealthy circles. During the year 1791, the consumption of raw tobacco in the city of Santiago was 80,672 pieces, equivalent to 110,924 pounds, while the consumption of powdered tobacco exceeded 4,000. From the beginning of the Spanish American conquest, the monarchy articulated a restrictive commercial system where the colonies constituted the point of network, transfer and distribution of tobacco products between America and Europe. After taking off in the 17th century, a purely monopolistic framework appeared during the 18th century, independent of each other and of the Spanish tobacco market. Towards the end of the colonial period, tobacco revenues contributed around 50% of total income to the Chilean Treasury, a proportion that gradually decreased to 10% in 1880, the year in which the tobacco market was abolished. The evolution of actual sales in Santiago reveals an upward trajectory with slight ups and downs from 1769 to 1839, with values ranging from 80,000 to 130,000 pesos, respectively. The behaviour of consumption contrasts with the uneven evolution of tobacco income.

The post Monthly sales of tobacco in Santiago (Chile), 1771, 1827 and 1832 first appeared on History Lab.

Tobacco consumption and the population of Santiago (Chile), 1769-1836

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:02 +0000

The scarce Chilean historiography on the subject points out that smoking was a natural and essential habit among all social classes, including women and children. The product was in the form of sticks from Saña (Peru), whose lower cost made it the preferred product among modest smokers in the cities, while snuff, mainly of Cuban origin, was consumed exclusively in wealthy circles. The few surviving chronicles of the ancestral use of tobacco in Chile are linked to its use as a medicine for the care of the sick by means of incense and even for religious rituals. Consumption, in those cases, was by inhaling the smoke, a habit later adopted by the white population despite the introduction of powdered tobacco, the snuffing of which was reserved for the higher income group. Prior to the monopoly, tobacco was imported by a small number of merchants. Up to the 1810s, around 5,000 pounds of powder were supplied each year, while raw tobacco amounted to 140,000 pounds a year. Once the Estanco managed to stabilise, there was a notable shift in the origins: picado, habano, virginia and guayaquil. The evolution of the pattern reflected the deepening of the smoking habit among the Santiago population, which meant that the powdered supply practically disappeared from the market.

The post Tobacco consumption and the population of Santiago (Chile), 1769-1836 first appeared on History Lab.

Relative prices of traded goods in the Spanish Empire (1661-1810)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:52 +0000

By 1700, the Hispanic Monarchy dominated a vast territory where the American colonies were divided into two huge viceroyalties. Trade between Spain and Peru experienced a certain increase despite being one of the most difficult places to access as it pushed the passage towards the Pacific Ocean. The number of ships that made this journey increased 2.6 times between 1660 and 1770. However, although Peru’s trade with Spain was predominant, Chile was the main destination for its regional maritime exports, which consisted primarily of sugar, tobacco and textiles. Grain trade was non-existent between the Peruvian and Chilean regions because there was no clear comparative advantage. However, the situation changed after the Lima earthquake of 1687, which resulted in a significant drop in wheat prices. On the other hand, trade regulation and its impact on the ease of trade improved after the Bourbons came to the throne. However, the differentials are greater between trade between Spain and Peru than between Peru and Chile. In the former case, goods could cost four times or more in Lima than in Castile at the end of the 17th century. In the case of the Pacific, prices were 50% higher in the same period, whether in Santiago or Lima. A comparison of price dispersion between the second half of the seventeenth century and the eighteenth century shows a tendency towards less dispersion in the case of paper, while values remain relatively stable for bramante and saffron. The War of the Spanish Succession, one of the determining factors, together with the War of Jenkins’ Ear, which slowed down the globalisation process, was an immediate effect at the beginning of the 18th century. The loss of commercial influence was alleviated from 1739 with the full authorisation of single vessels to trade between Spain and Peru.

The post Relative prices of traded goods in the Spanish Empire (1661-1810) first appeared on History Lab.

Ines of my soul

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:27:23 +0000

Series that narrates the life of Inés Suárez, the first Castilian woman to arrive in Chile, based on the novel by Isabel Allende. The series recounts the main events of the conquest of Chile by Pedro de Valdivia, up to the founding of the city of Santiago. It pays special attention to historical rigour and the performances of Elena Rivera and Eduardo Noriega have been very well received by critics.

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