Consumo - History Lab

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.

Collection of the Bolla Tax in Barcelona (1599-1695)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:41 +0000

The so-called “derecho de bolla” was an indirect tax applied to all goods sold in Catalonia during the 16th century until 1769. Within the Catalan market, the textile industry was an important sector. The graph shows a decrease in the collection of the bolla tax from 1599 to 1695. Undoubtedly, as the author points out, the decline of the Catalan textile sector meant lower revenues. The industry of this product lost competitiveness as a result of the counterfeiting that took place, both in the fabric and in the dyes. This was compounded by the massive influx of fabrics from central and northern Europe. Even with margins for modernisation of the sector, the “War of Separation or the War of the Reapers” between 1640 and 1659, with the incorporation of Catalonia into French sovereignty after the betrayal of the Catalan elites to the Spanish Monarchy, led to the numerous imports of French products into this territory, increasing the level of tax collection of the bolla duty despite the detriment of the local product. The demographic decline also led to lower consumption and production; nevertheless, the level of tax collection was bicephalic. Thus, the level of consumption was just as important as the effective collection capacity of the authorities, a capacity that led to collection problems due to political and social instability.

The post Collection of the Bolla Tax in Barcelona (1599-1695) first appeared on History Lab.

Distribution of the wealth of merchant families in Burgos, 1752-1850 (in reales and percentages of the value of the stock of inventoried goods)

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

The city of Burgos during the 18th century, after the long decline suffered since the 1570s, recovered a large part of its demographic numbers, experiencing a 42% increase in population between 1752-1787. The economic recovery experienced in the last third of the 17th century shows a scarce presence of merchants that resurfaced in the following century, derived from the advance of agricultural production based on the increase in cultivated land and commercial development with the new export of wool. Analysing the internal structure of the patrimonial wealth, movable goods comprised 79.9% of the total patrimony, directly related to mercantile activity. After the importance of movable goods, explained by the exercise of the activity, in second place comes the possession and exploitation of livestock with 10.7%, dedicated to personal service, preferably mules for travelling. The third position is occupied by dwellings and complementary dependencies that exemplify the interest of the bourgeoisie in a type of investment considered fundamental for establishing and developing their businesses (houses and markets). As in the national average, the acquisition of farmland was of interest, with 4.4% indicating the family’s inclination towards investments considered attractive not only for their degree of security – as far as investment is concerned – but also for their strong social sense as a mirror of business success.

The post Distribution of the wealth of merchant families in Burgos, 1752-1850 (in reales and percentages of the value of the stock of inventoried goods) 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.

Group of goods and products that make up the basket of essential consumer goods. Weighted price index in Castilla la Nueva, 1501-1700

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

The inflation and deflation of prices in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries has been one of the topics that has attracted the attention of economic historians. The importance of Castile la Nueva is due to the fact that it has more or less complete series covering a period of 200 years. On the other hand, the degree of integration of Spanish markets in the 16th and 16th centuries was probably very low. The selection is based on three considerations, trying to preserve homogeneity with the composition of the whole; fourteen products representative of what can be called the average worker’s shopping basket have been superimposed. In this sense, the meat and fish group is reduced to beef and lamb, with a weighting of 11.75 for each of these two; groups three and four also remain unchanged. However, the problem arises in the period 1601-1650 when no prices are found for three of the products in the sample: beef, sardines and cheese.

The post Group of goods and products that make up the basket of essential consumer goods. Weighted price index in Castilla la Nueva, 1501-1700 first appeared on History Lab.

Basic consumption basket of the sailors of the Royal Navy in Montevideo (Uruguay), 1770-1810

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

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.

The post Basic consumption basket of the sailors of the Royal Navy in Montevideo (Uruguay), 1770-1810 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.

Structure of the household stock of consumer goods in Palencia, 1750-1840

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

Between the end of the Ancien Régime and the beginning of the Contemporaneity, there was an increase in household consumption in Castile; an industrial revolution without industrialisation that the author, Fernando Carlos Ramos, observes in the province of Palencia between 1750 and 1840. The resource shows that, although consumption patterns remained unchanged among durable and semi-durable goods, household spending did increase. on which products was the largest amount of disposable income spent? In all the periods shown, textiles took up more than 50% of the value of household stock, reaching 60.41% between 1785 and 1800. Within this group, clothing and footwear gradually decreased its weight in overall expenditure, with bed linen increasing. Household goods, on the other hand, were the second most important group in household expenditure. Books, religious and personal objects did not exceed 1%; and jewellery barely reached 2.5% on average between 1750 and 1840. Thus, the importance of textiles was greater than any other good. In terms of consumption patterns, the author has observed how habits developed in the urban world that were “exported” to the rural world, revealing the city as the driving force behind socio-economic change. The increase in household spending was motivated by the economic recovery that took place between 1815 and 1830, coinciding with the favourable evolution of population growth rates, widening the margins of the market.

The post Structure of the household stock of consumer goods in Palencia, 1750-1840 first appeared on History Lab.

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.

The post The Franco-Spanish balance of trade in the mid-16th century first appeared on History Lab.

Consumer basket in Seville (1521-1603)

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

The resource shows the evolution of an adult’s annual consumption of the basic products of the shopping basket in Seville between 1521 and 1603. Seville, the only port authorised to trade with America, was part of the general dynamics of the inflation processes that occurred between the mid-15th and early 16th centuries. As a result, access to foodstuffs could become more difficult and consumption could fall. Foodstuffs such as bread, chickpeas and cow products were the most commonly used. However, over time it was observed that the increase in bread intake reduced the consumption of meat and fish. On this occasion, the author explains the different consumption patterns by referring to the increase in the price of house rent between 1530 and 1555, which was 288% higher, and between 1555 and 1585, which was 205% more expensive; to the greater amount of money available and to changes in the relationship between supply and demand. Thus, with a lower purchasing power, and in general terms, the expensive calories, extracted from meat and fish, were replaced by cheap calories, such as bread, bacon, legumes and dried fruits.

The post Consumer basket in Seville (1521-1603) first appeared on History Lab.