Comercio internacional - History Lab

International maritime wax production and trade around 1800

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:18 +0000

Spanish pastoral beekeeping during the Modern Age was one of the most advanced beekeeping systems in Europe. The seasonal movement of hives became widespread in Spain in the early modern period; other countries such as France had to wait until the end of the 18th century to experience the necessary conditions for the development of the beekeeping sector. As a result, the amount of honey and wax collected increased. The resource shows the production of wax, marked on the map with cross lines, and its distribution throughout Europe and the western Mediterranean. In Spain, the main beekeeping areas were the regions of Galicia, Extremadura, the north and Mediterranean coast of Andalusia, the south and centre of Aragon, the Valencian coast, the north of Majorca, Murcia and parts of La Mancha. Waxes came to the Peninsula from the Netherlands, the Maghreb and the French region of Landes; however, due to the wars of the Revolution and the French Empire, trade channels were affected.

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Distribution of foreign textiles through the port of Bilbao between 1710-1714

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:12 +0000

The resource deals with the distribution of foreign fabrics imported from the port of Bilbao during 1710 and 1714, the years in which the War of the Spanish Succession took place. Fabrics destined for Madrid and Toledo paid customs duties in Valmaseda, Orduña, while those bound for the Cantabrian mountain range did so in Vitoria. Taxes were directly proportional to the quality of the fabric: the higher the quality, the higher the tax. From the port of Bilbao they were distributed to wide areas of the peninsular monarchy: the Upper Ebro Valley, the Duero Valley, the Iberian System, Logroño, Soria and Toledo as its extreme points. Where did most of the textiles come from? In the years prior to the war, Holland and England were the two largest exporters (90% of the linen came from Holland). The Royal Order of 3 December 1710 prohibited the importation of Dutch fabrics, thus favouring the British. In the distribution network, Madrid, Toledo, Segovia and Valladolid were the provinces with the highest import ratio, followed by Ávila, Burgos, Palencia, Soria and Logroño. The authors warn us that, due to the war situation, the distribution could have altered with respect to previous years. The Royal Treasury tried to reduce some costs by suspending the payment of pensions, subsidies and other benefits, or by delaying the payment of bureaucratic salaries; this meant that certain privileged groups saw their incomes reduced. At the same time, in Castilian territory, the tax burden on the population was increased. The high taxes and reduced purchasing power led to a lower demand for foreign fabrics.

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Salt tax on Ibiza (1604-1614)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:07 +0000

A key fact in the development of the commercialisation of salt produced on Ibiza is that in 1499 Ferdinand the Catholic granted a privilege, upon payment of two thousand ducats, whereby the salt mines were exempt from paying taxes because they were an indispensable part of the livelihood of the inhabitants. This was because part of the wealth obtained had to be used to buy grain and other goods that were very difficult to obtain on the island due to its climatic and geographical characteristics, which resulted in land with a low degree of productivity. But this climate had a positive side: a bad year for cereal harvests due to the lack of rain was, on the other hand, an ideal year for salt harvesting.
Throughout the 17th century, the price of salt in Ibiza was constantly changing due to various political decisions taken by the Monarchy during those years. On many occasions, the price did nothing but rise and become continually more expensive, which often led to a drastic drop in sales due to the monarchy’s desire to raise capital through Ibizan salt, clashing completely with the privileged situation signed in 1499 and the current panorama of the international salt trade, in which goods from other places were entering the markets and causing a substantial reduction in prices. In the period analysed at the beginning of the 17th century, we can clearly see a decrease from 4256 pounds in 1604 to 3166 pounds in 1614, a drop of 25.61% in barely ten years.

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Evolution of wheat prices in Early Modern Spain

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:46 +0000

During the Modern Age, the availability of food was, to a large extent, a determining factor in the standard of living of the population. One of the great economic efforts for most families was the acquisition of the food necessary for survival, with cereals, especially wheat, and bread, accounting for between 65 and 70% of current expenditure. Because of its importance, the demand for wheat tended to be inelastic. Consequently, changes in its price marked the rise and fall of living standards. At the regional level, the behaviour of the price of wheat showed divergences depending on whether one lived in the centre or on the coast of the peninsula. While the price fluctuation was greater in the Meseta, the coastal areas, with their international trade routes, showed less variation. Thus, throughout the modern period, Barcelona and Valencia had lower prices than in Castilla la Nueva, Segovia or León. Periods of crisis were also important. In Castilla la Nueva, price volatility conditioned the market every 9.8 years; in Andalusia every 10.6 years; in Segovia every 14.1 years; in Navarre every 36.8 years; in Valencia every 38.4 years and in Barcelona every 69 years. Climatic disturbances also affected markets with less international trade capacity. However, from the beginning of the 16th century until the end of the 18th century, the common price tended to fall in parallel with the process of integration of the peninsular markets, a process which, although timid during the first two centuries of modernity, increased with the actions of the Enlightenment reformers.

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English textiles imported into the port of Cadiz in 1685

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000

At the end of the 17th century, the main foreign textiles imported into Castile through the port of Cadiz were bayetas (43.55%), etamina (14%) and perpetuanas (12.44%), 69.99% of the total. Imports of sagra and lilac, which had dominated the market at the beginning of the century, suffered a considerable decline. These changes in consumption patterns are confirmed by the similar textile products that were imported through the port of Bilbao, where sagra accounted for 0.44%, and the sum of the bayetas and perpetuanas constituted 85.17%. Spanish merchants were one of the main buyers of cloth from England in the early modern period; by the 1480s they accounted for between 10% and 15% of total English exports.

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Place of residence of the distributors of foreign textile products in the port of Bilbao (1710-1714)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000

During the Modern Age, the importation of textiles into the Crown of Castile was a constant feature. The main importing country was England. Through the ports of Bilbao and Cadiz, a large volume of products such as sagra, cloths, linen and cloths arrived, but who were the Castilian merchants who imported the products? In relation to the port of Bilbao, an analysis of the place of residence reveals that the vast majority of merchants who distributed products in Madrid, Segovia and Toledo were, between 1710 and 1714, from Burgos (62.34%), followed by Álava (19.65%) and Segovia itself (5.05%). The authors point out that none of the transporters were from Bilbao, the port area, but from neighbouring territories; it was those from Burgos who specialised most in the distribution of textiles. The predominance of merchants from Burgos in the whole distribution network, with no major links between merchant, receiver and transporter from the same province, reflected a network of trust not based on family ties or proximity, but based on social capital; on the status and trust shown by the social group from Burgos.

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The Franco-Spanish balance of trade in the mid-16th century

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000

The trade balance is a record that measures the relationship between imports and exports in a particular area and period. The contrast between the two determines the balance, that is, the positive or negative difference in the balance of trade. The author’s resource is based on Franco-Spanish trade through the port of Bilbao between 1544 and 1550. In general terms, the balance of trade showed a clear trade deficit with Spain, with more materials and goods being bought from France than were sold to it. Depending on the nature of the trading company (own account, in company, or on behalf of others), the results, although they follow the same deficit trend, have different impacts. On behalf of others, products were exported for a total value of 1,430,522 maravedís, and 237,911,576 maravedís were imported; a negative balance of 236,481,054. All this shows the nature of the port of Bilbao based on transit trade, where the goods received were hardly retained and from where they were distributed to the rest of the Peninsula. A small amount of the large volume of imports was destined for the local Bilbao trade, while the bulk went to Navarre, La Rioja and Castile, and even to America via Seville.

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Rice prices in Valencia, according to the mercantile correspondence of the delegates in the city of the Tuscan company of Francesco di Marco Datini (1393-1395)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:27 +0000

The Valencian rice product has enjoyed great international popularity. Its commercialisation was an important source of income for the fields of Valencia and surrounding areas, as well as for traders. The value of the product for the economy meant that special attention was paid to its commercialisation, establishing the supply routes to the Valencian centre, although not intervening in the regulation of prices. However, despite the general stability of food and industrial prices, and the aforementioned attention to supply, between 1395 and 1398 there was a downward trend in the price of rice. What could be the reasons for this? Variable demand, heavily influenced by the purchases of foreign merchants and a lack of political intervention caused the price of rice to fall in sueldos (Valencian modena) per load of rice. The causes also include the possibility of an abundant harvest that increased supply in the face of variable demand, causing prices to fall; likewise, marketing negotiations could have an influence (even more so among foreign merchants whose international destinations could be immersed in local crises). These dynamics were maintained at the dawn of modernity throughout the 15th century.

The post Rice prices in Valencia, according to the mercantile correspondence of the delegates in the city of the Tuscan company of Francesco di Marco Datini (1393-1395) first appeared on History Lab.

Examples of the distribution of Sardinian cheeses in Valencia at the end of the 15th century

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:27 +0000

During the 15th century, the city and Kingdom of Valencia became a key area for Mediterranean trade, concentrating in its territory a large part of the commercial resources coming from the rest of the Crown of Aragon. Among the trading areas were the traditional regions of economic penetration of the Aragonese Crown: Sardinia, Naples and Sicily. A study of the fluctuations in goods and foodstuffs between Valencia and Sardinia shows a growing relationship from the 14th century onwards. Of all the products exchanged, the purchase of cheeses from Sardinia stands out; although Valencia imported limited quantities of wheat and pasta, it was cheeses that were the protagonists of the trade negotiations. The table below shows some examples of cheese distribution in the Kingdom of Valencia, where merchants played a special role as intermediaries between the two territories. Among them, those from Valencia were particularly important, although those from Sardinia were also present, especially from the area of Cagliari.

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