The American Empire and the Spanish Economy: an Institutional and Regional Perspective

Abstract

The Spanish Empire in America —so envied by other countries— has never been regarded by economic historians as an unmixed blessing. For Hamilton, the precious metals from the Americas caused a parallel rise in prices and wages, reducing industrial investment and thus aborting the development of capitalism. For Vilar, a critic of that view, the Empire, as «the supreme phase of feudalism», led to a primitive accumulation of capital responsible for freezing structures inhibiting to capitalism. Wallerstein recognised that America was essential for the conversion of Spain into a semi-periphery of the world market1. To that can be added other less general but equally negative approaches concerning the effects of emigration or of American treasure, seen by many as contributing to an absolutism powerful enough to impose a foreign policy alien to the interests of the country and highly damaging to the Spanish economy, and to that of Castile in particular.

A stakeholder empire: the political economy of Spanish imperial rule in America1

“…1B, p. 338. Yun Casalilla, ‘American empire’, p. 139, estimates the American contribution to the Crown's income in the seventeenth century as less than 10%. A similar percentage is given by González Enciso, ‘Moderate and rational absolutism’, tab.…”

Forced loans in the Spanish Empire: the first requisition of American treasures in 1523

“…Yun‐Casalilla, employing various arguments, has shown how these definitions and visions of the historical and colonial realities are flawed. He considers that the Spanish Empire guaranteed property rights as much as other rights, and to the same extent as other European states.…”

“…95–6; Rodriguez‐Salgado, Changing face ; Stein and Stein, Plata ; Tracy, Emperor ; Thompson, Guerra , pp. 356–63; Yun‐Casalilla, ‘American Empire’; idem, Marte contra Minerva , pp. 114–73, 337.…”

Poder y finanzas en Castilla en el tránsito a la modernidad (un apunte historiográfico)

“…Destacar en este sentido los trabajos desarrollados durante los últimos decenios por Morineau 171 , C. Álvarez Nogal 172 , García-Baquero 173 , Martín Acosta 174 o el reciente estudio de las cuentas de Sancho de Matienzo 175 , los cuales han servido para abrir un interesante debate en torno a la mayor o menor importancia de las remesas americanas en el mantenimiento de la monarquía. A su vez, esta última cuestión se relaciona con otro debate en torno a la mayor o menor rentabilidad económica del imperio americano, cuestión sobre la que giró el XII congreso internacional de historia económica 176 . Por último, en relación con los denominados expedientes fiscales, habríamos de destacar las interesantes aportaciones de A. Marcos Martín sobre la venta de alcabalas 177 .…”