Navíos - History Lab

Need for blacks for the mines

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:11 +0000

Letters from the city of Mexico addressed to King Philip IV, communicating various issues relating to the need for blacks and mulattos to work in the mines, the inconveniences suffered by Mexican trade and the consulate, the harm suffered by the farmers as a result of the removal of the repartimientos of Indians and the sale of aguardiente to the Indians.

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Black Trade in Cuba

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:11 +0000

Report at the request of the Council of the Indies on the request of the neighbours of Cuba to supply the provinces of America with blacks.

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Slave licence to Francisco de Esquivel

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:11 +0000

Royal Decree to the officers of the Casa de Contratación in Seville, giving licence to Francisco de Esquivel to pass to Hispaniola six black slaves who are two year old Christians.

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Royal Decree to the officers of the Casa de la Contratación to allow Andrés de Duero three black Christian slaves to pass to the Indies.

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:11 +0000

Royal Decree to the officers of the Casa de la Contratación to allow Andrés de Duero, resident on the island of Fernandina, three black Christian slaves to pass through to the Indies.

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Royal Decrees on trade and tonnage

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:11 +0000

Royal decree regulating trade in the Philippines. It summarises how it was ordered up to that time and establishes the new orders: the trade between the islands and New Spain is preserved; the merchandise will not exceed a value of 250,000 pesos, and the return of them will not exceed 500,000; only 4 ships of the King of no more than 200 tons are allowed; the crew they must carry and the necessary controls to avoid losses and fraud are regulated, both in Manila and in Acapulco. Printed. Royal Decree of 23rd May 1620 to Alonso Fajardo de Tenza, Governor of the Philippines, ordering him to observe the provisions of the distribution of tons of the ships in the trade of those islands.

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Contracting House

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:33 +0000

The Contracting House was the institution responsible, from its first ordinances in 1503, for managing all commercial matters related to the New World. It was initially set up in Seville, the main hub of trade with America, where it remained for more than 200 years. Its splendour was such that in the mid-16th century it displaced other European financial centres such as Antwerp. Its first headquarters were in the Royal Shipyards of Seville, but it soon moved to the premises of the Real Alcázar. It remained there until 1717, when it moved to Cadiz, where it remained until 1790, when the institution was abolished. During its first decades of existence in the 16th century, it enjoyed great influence, which would diminish with the passing of time and with the creation of bodies such as the Consulado de Cargadores (Consulate of Chargers). At the end of the 17th century, its role was secondary, a condition that was further reinforced throughout the 18th century, mainly after its transfer to Cadiz. Its most visible activity throughout the 16th and 17th centuries was undoubtedly the organisation of the convoys that marched in the Carrera de Indias: the fleets of New Spain and Tierra Firme. He was also in charge, among other duties, of preparing the merchant ships and galleons of war, registering the merchandise, examining the passengers who embarked and preparing the pilots. It also managed the remittances from the Indies corresponding to the King and private individuals, and functioned as the first instance in its judicial sphere.

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Corsican Patent granted by Charles III

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:19 +0000

The privateering patent was a document issued by the authorities of a territory to the owners of a ship, giving them permission to attack ships or populations of enemy nations. In this way the owner, who had to have significant economic power to be able to arm a ship, became part of the navy of the issuing country or city. Privateer’s patents were widely used in the Modern Age when nations could not afford their own navies or when they were not large enough. Privateering was, therefore, a legal activity regulated by the Spanish authorities, which was organised on the basis of successive Royal Ordinances. Thanks to privateering, many private individuals made it their way of life, many others amassed fortunes and others carved out a career in the Royal Navy that would otherwise have been more difficult. During the modern period, privateers, always under the obligatory “privateering patent”, acted as a war fleet at the service of the Crown, and were also essential as coastguards, since, in certain territories, such as the Peninsula, it was materially impossible to have a Royal Navy squadron that could protect so many nautical miles of coastline, or that could guard all the maritime routes. The privateer would take advantage of all this, as he would obtain part of the booty, as would the Crown of Spain, which, without investing money, had a war fleet, also obtaining part of the booty.

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Formalisation of letters of obligation by masters and captains of ships (1580-1598)

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

Notary publics set up public offices with royal authority to publicly attest the validity of an agreement and the identity of the parties who signed it. The use of this type of notarial document increased steadily in the main commercial centres of the time, such as Seville, because the notary public offices allowed local and foreign merchants to formalise their agreements without discriminating against them on the basis of their origin or status in the city. In this sense, the power of attorney could be relatively broad, granting full power to the proxy, or, on the contrary, very specific, limiting the action of the person who received it, as the flexibility of these was one of the factors that explained the popularity of the power of attorney itself. After Seville, the geographical references that appear most frequently in proxy letters are the ports of the Andalusian Atlantic coast, especially Sanlúcar de Barrameda, followed by Cádiz. The rise of the former was favoured by the policies of the Duke of Media Sidonia to attract foreign mercantile activity to the region. However, letters of obligation granted by masters and captains of the Carrera de Indias began to be frequent from the mid-1590s for several reasons: until then, contracts were formalised in other notaries’ offices; the existence of greater liquidity until 1590 allowed captains and masters to pay immediately without forcing payment on credit. From 1588 onwards, with the worsening of the wars with England and the Netherlands, merchants understood that the risk of financial operations with America increased and decided to formalise their operations to defend themselves against non-payment or confiscation by the monarchy.

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Annual movement of ships between the United States and Spain, 1780-1800

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

The 1790s provided the newly created republic of the United States with a commercial impetus during the early years of the 19th century that would contribute to the development of the new nation. Independence brought an end to the policies of exclusivity and the opening of colonial ports, particularly Spanish and French ones. Contrary to what might have been thought, trade between the Thirteen Colonies and ports on the Iberian Peninsula did not come to a standstill; ports such as Philadelphia intensified their traffic with Cadiz and Lisbon. Navigation, especially to Cadiz and through the Strait of Gibraltar, was not without risk. Since Independence, the US government tried to neutralise the activity of Barbary corsairs against its commerce by disbursing money. In this regard, American captains interested in the trade arrived in Iberian ports. Between 1780-1800, 765 ships left US ports for the Iberian Peninsula and another 1,312 touched a Portuguese or Spanish port before sailing back across the Atlantic. The close-up reveals a considerable difference between the number of ships that left (514) and those that returned (616), a circumstance that could be due to nature itself. This table reveals that the annual movement of traffic was within the growth parameters that characterised American shipping in the late 1800s. However, not all American ports had the same relevance in traffic with Spain, as specialisation in the export of certain goods conditioned the traffic pattern. Spanish demand was centred on cereals, flour, fish and wood, therefore, the ports of Philadelphia and Salem were those which concentrated the greatest number of departures, 49.5% and 39% respectively. In the case of inbound traffic, the situation changes, with 62% of the ships going to the port of Philadelphia and only 17% returning to Marblehead. The distribution of traffic was fairly homogeneous: between 1780-1800 the majority of American ships went to Cadiz and Bilbao (49.7%), although with substantial differences in terms of the origin of the vessels.

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Departures of ships from US ports to various Spanish ports, 1780-1800

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

The 1790s provided the newly created republic of the United States with a commercial impetus during the early years of the 19th century that would contribute to the development of the new nation. Independence brought an end to the policies of exclusivity and the opening of colonial ports, particularly Spanish and French ones. Contrary to what might be thought, trade between the Thirteen Colonies and the ports of the Iberian Peninsula did not come to a standstill; ports such as Philadelphia intensified their traffic with Cadiz and Lisbon. Navigations, especially to Cadiz and through the Strait of Gibraltar, were not without risk. The concentration of maritime traffic in the ports of Philadelphia, Salem and Marblehead is reflected in this table, both for vessels leaving and arriving from US ports. The discrepancies between the number of departures and arrivals betray the inclination of American capitals to visit different ports on their voyages, so that ships leaving Salem for any Spanish port returned from other European ports. The distribution of traffic was fairly homogeneous: between 17880-1800 the majority of American ships went to Cadiz and Bilbao (49.7%), although with substantial differences in the origin of vessels. To Cadiz they came mainly from Philadelphia and to a lesser extent from New England, while Bilbao was more frequently visited by ships from the latter area. Tenerife especially received American ships arriving from Philadelphia, and La Coruña received those coming from New England. The commercial links between specific areas are undoubtedly determined by the demand and supply of goods. Cadiz’s relationship with Philadelphia and, probably with Baltimore and Charleston, stems from the need to supply cereals and flour, both for the surrounding area and for subsequent distribution. In Tenerife, the commercial activity of the American ships that transported the flour to the island, part of the merchandise was re-exported to Cuba. However, the table shows 50 ships that did not declare a specific port of destination, stating only their intention to travel to Spain. Most of these left Philadelphia in 1790 (38 of them). Another fact to bear in mind is the lack of interest on the part of American captains in voyages to Spanish Mediterranean ports, which may have generated some dissatisfaction on the part of the American government when, from 1786 onwards, it took a stand for control of the Moroccan corsairs.

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