Historia Económica - History Lab

Evolution of the Havana garrison (Cuba, 1701-1746)

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

During the War of the Spanish Succession, numerous human resources were mobilised in the Indies in favour of the French pretender. But Philip V was aware of the logistical impossibility of transporting large contingents of troops from the Americas to the mainland and maintaining them adequately during the journey. Nevertheless, the military mobilisation in the Indies was large enough to rid the continent of foreign interference during this period. The resource shows the evolution of the Havana garrison, as measured by salaries, between 1701 and 1746. From a first stage of maintenance in numbers, with spending oscillating in a constant range, a new regulation was implemented in 1719 that sought to improve the isolation and permanence of the soldiers in Havana. For 20 years the average number of men was 800, a figure that increased exponentially with the Anglo-Spanish war that began in 1739 in the Caribbean. Known as the War of the Seat, the conflict forced more troops to be garrisoned and, except for the occasional episode of bankruptcy in 1742, the bonds enjoyed good health both because of the aid they received from New Spain (situated) and because of the administration of their own internal coffers. The withdrawal of the English fleet from the Caribbean eased Havana’s financial burden, showing a slight decrease at the end of 1746.

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Evolution of the garrison of Cartagena de Indias, 1700-1746

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

The evolution of the garrison at Cartagena de Indias, unlike that of Havana, showed a stable trend until the outbreak of British hostilities in the War of the Seat (1739-1748). The garrison numbered around 150-200 men, a tiny figure in relation to the importance and size of the territory to be defended, reflecting the old system of semi-private recruitment. Despite this, the English crown’s maritime superiority was only countered by the effective tactical and defensive work of the Spanish overseas provinces. From 1736 onwards, the garrison’s military expenditure increased, a build-up that lasted until 1740-1741, when Cartagena, the main port of the viceroyalty of New Granada, was attacked and besieged. The Spanish resistance, led by Blas de Lezo, resulted in a defensive victory for the port and the region. A year later, in 1742, Cartagena was able to receive new financial remittances in the form of silver from Santa Fe and Quito, thus ensuring defensive continuity against another possible English attack.

The post Evolution of the garrison of Cartagena de Indias, 1700-1746 first appeared on History Lab.

Estimates of metals and coins transported by bankers in Spain between 1601 and 1675

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

During the Modern Age, the availability of real physical money was of great importance for the Royal Treasury when it came to making payments without the need for another financial instrument such as bills of exchange. The transport of this money was conditioned by the strategies and organisation that the banquerons deployed when offering credits and making investments in America, Spain, Europe and Asia. The resource presented here shows the estimate of metals and coins transported by bankers in Spain between 1601 and 1675. The different coins and their quality were due to the type of currency used in each territory: while in Castile it was the real de vellón, in the Crown of Aragon, such as the cities of Barcelina, Zaragoza and Valencia, the metal used was silver and double silver. The author warns us that the documentary sources used are confined to Madrid, so the results are filtered through the filter of Madrid activity. The sample he has collected totals 8,760,000 ducats, equivalent to the annual expenditure of the Monarchy at the beginning of the 17th century. Of the total, 79% were coined silver reales, 10.8% uncoined silver, 9.4% fleece coins, and 0.8% gold coins. This reflects the large internal trade in metals that the Monarchy had on the peninsula.

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Imperial Relief System. The evolution of military expenditure in the Manila coffers, 1580-1660

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

Spain’s introduction of America into the world system gave birth to the Spanish Empire through the conquest of numerous territories. Parts of Asia also came under the umbrella of the Empire. The Imperial articulation had its enemies at the international level. In the case of the Philippines, between 1600 and 1624, the Dutch Armada carried out nine operations aimed at fragmenting Spain. Important actions such as the bombardment of Iloilo, the siege of Manila in 1616 and the blockade of the city in 1621 and 1624 caused the local economy to suffer considerably. The evolution of military spending showed exponential growth during the first half of the 17th century, a time of increased Dutch pressure. The Philippines, a Spanish sovereign territory that was self-financed by the revenue collected from the Islands, was financially supported by the Empire in what is known as “situados”. A situado was, in the author’s words, the transfer executed from a surplus to a fiscal deficit in the imperial tax pool. Aid to the Philippines from the Mexican viceroyalty was used to finance defence and troop costs. Increased military spending led to the pacification of hostilities by protecting Spanish and Philippine interests in the West Indies.

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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.

Evolution of the economic organisation of the Chapter of Barcelona in the 17th century

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

During the Modern Age, the Catholic Church was one of the main owners of movable and immovable property in Spain. This resource deals with the economy of ecclesiastical institutions through the Cathedral Chapter of Barcelona. Its economic administration was divided into nine bodies, each with its own legal personality and its own sources of funding. The bodies were: the Caritat, dedicated to the control and payment of the canons; the Pia Almoina, oriented towards charity through two subsections, the Administració General and Majordomia; the Beneficis Units, which helped the financial endowment of the canons; the Sacristy and the Obra de la Seo, whose functions were the sacramental administration (the former) and the maintenance of the building (the latter). The income derived from the performance of funerals corresponded to the Manna, and the distribution of bread rations among the staff was the task of the Passtrim. For its part, the chapter did not collect the rents directly; rather, it leased them as a way of obtaining economic benefit or in kind, and each administration was responsible for negotiating its leases. Throughout the 17th century, a process of administrative centralisation took place and progress was made in the professionalisation of management, with a more efficient system which, together with the system of leases, further reduced the organisational infrastructure. The centripetal ecclesiastical economy, with the conception of “dead hands” land ownership, clashed with the new forms of private property that appeared in the transformation from the Ancien Régime to the bourgeois state, and the lands were subject to subsequent confiscations.

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Ordinary revenues of the Peninsula and the Indies for the Spanish Monarchy, 1763-1811

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

During the Modern Age the Hispanic Monarchy was financed by its subjects settled in the Iberian Peninsula and in the imperial provinces overseas. From 1763 to 1811, the territories that contributed most to the General Treasury of Spain showed an inversion: while the peninsular crowns were the main sources of financing in ordinary revenues, the French invasion that triggered the War of Independence caused the contribution of these territories to fall sharply; for their part, revenues from the Americas were maintained and only surpassed the peninsular contribution because of this situation. However, as the author points out, ordinary revenue to the General Treasury from the Americas did not include revenue in kind. Thus, if we add ordinary income to extraordinary income, the aforementioned reversal of contributions occurred in the 1790s, when the transfer of silver from New Spain accounted for 80% of total American remittances.

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Leases of monopoly rights in Valencia during the 17th century

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

During the Ancien Régime, monopoly rights constituted one of the fundamental pillars of the seigniorial regime. The author shows how monopolies were produced in two Valencian manors, Alfara and Burjasot. The most common places where this right was applied were in the mill, oven, butcher’s shop and orchard. Lease contracts were usually short term; between 4 and 10 years at their longest. In turn, payment was stipulated in annual instalments, although depending on the leased property, these payments could be paid in different numbers: from monthly payments for some mills, to single payments for butcheries, orchards or shops. With monopoly rights, tenants were assured of fixed rents, although this had a negative impact on the development of productive forces as the feudal organisation of production stagnated.

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Value of cloth sales in Castile, 1614-1616

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

The author, José Ignacio Andrés Ucendo, offers us a statistical overview of the price of different fibres, such as wool, silk and linen, in different territories of the Crown of Castile at a time contextualised by the decline of civil manufacturing at the beginning of the 17th century. Overall, wool was traded more than linen and silk, which were the second and third most traded products respectively. By areas, in Old Castile the predominant fabric was wool, taking 73.6% of the market, this value being lower in Andalusian localities with 44%. Within the woollen cloths, the most traded were those of Segovia, Cordoba, Úbeda and Baeza; logistical centres of production. Thus, the market was divided into two areas: Andalusia and the Northern Plateau. The author notes that Andalusian consumption was greater than that of the north due to the difficulties that the Segovian drapery had in marketing its products; a crisis in demand from which it barely recovered. In the 18th century, consumption patterns were reversed, with linen dethroning wool in Castile. These consumption and marketing dynamics are similar to the data provided for the Catalan area of the Crown of Aragon.

The post Value of cloth sales in Castile, 1614-1616 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.

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