Colonial economy 17-18th centuries: mining and mercantilism; subsistence and local markets

  • Mining and mercantilism: the imperial view

    • Mercantilism--bullionism, monopolies, and controls
    • Silver production and the transformation of trans-Atlantic trade
    • Decline of the Carrera de Indias (fleet system)

  • Subsistence and markets: emergence of local, regional and colonial markets

    • Mundane products: grains, livestock, textiles, hides
    • Multiplicity of land holdings: villages, ranchos, haciendas, estancias
    • Population growth spurred land conflicts, intensification of production, and proto-industry

  • Economy of early Spanish America: feudal, capitalist, or patrimonial?

Parenthesis: Bartolome de las Casas’ changing view on slavery

  • Remedios (1516): the owners should be compensated by “allowing them to hold Negro and white slaves that they can bring from Castille.”

  • Historias (1526-29), vol. 3 p. 275: “The clérigo Casas soon repented of the advice he had given, judging he had been guilty of carelessness, for as he later saw and ascertained the slavery of the blacks was as unjust as that of the Indians…”

  • On human rights (Historias v.1:117): “The natural laws and rules and the laws of the rights of peoples are common to all nations, Christian and gentile, and of whatever sect, law, color, and condition they may be, without any difference.”

Mining and mercantilism: the imperial view: Jose del Campillo y Cossio, New System of Economic Government of America, 1743: factories and industries “must absolutely be forbidden in America.”

  • Mercantilism--

    • Bullionism, gold and silver as the basis of wealth and empire
    • Monopolies: commercial trading houses
    • Imperial Controls: restrictions on routes, goods, etc.

  • Silver production and the transformation of trans-Atlantic trade

    • decline of silver production in 17th century
    • attacks from Dutch, French and English

  • Decline of the Carrera de Indias (fleet system)

    • 1554-1740: 2 fleets per year (Veracruz, Panama)
    • Lost only one fleet (1628), but extremely costly

Carrera de Indias (colonial convoy system): bullion from colonies, merchandise from Spain (often from N. Europe): (Burkholder and Johnson, p. 144)

  • 17th c. decline 1600-: 6,573 ships 1650-: 1,835

  • Intrusions: Dutch (1590) English (1655) French (1665)

  • End of great fleets (1748, 1776)

  • Opening of ports (1764, 1778)

Registered Silver Production, 1580-1800: Mexico’s 18th c. boom outstripped Peru’s 16th c. (Burkholder and Johnson, p. 139)

  • Peru, 3 phases:

    • 16th c. boom, -1620
    • 17th c. decline, -1720
    • 18th c. recovery, 1720+

  • Mexico, 4 phases:

    • 16th c. boom, -1610
    • 17th c. dip, 1630-70
    • 17th c. recovery
    • 18th c. boom, 1720+

  • Why 18th c boom?

    • New strikes, more areas
    • Cheaper mercury, taxes
    • More investment

    Peru

    Mexico

    Peru

    Mexico

Guanajuato: New Spain’s Potosí from 1730-1820

    Founded 1554

    Boomed 1730

    Produced more than any other Sp. mine

    Stormed by rebels in 1810

Subsistence and markets: emergence of local, regional and colonial markets

  • Mundane products: grains, livestock, textiles, hides

  • Multiplicity of land holdings: villages, ranchos, haciendas, estancias

  • Population growth spurred land conflicts, intensification of production, and proto-industry

    • Population increased 50% in 17th century; 100% in 18th
    • Land conflicts between villagers and neighbors, pressure from hacendados and rancheros
    • proto-industry: domestic artisan products

Mining, commerce and agriculture: New Spain/Caribe 17-18th centuries

    8 silver mining centers

    Source: Hoberman and Socolow, xii

    and-- textile mills (obrajes): Puebla Tacuba Querétaro Guadalajara Oaxaca Guatemala

Spanish America (Hoberman and Socolow, xiii)

  • Only 1 main source of silver, Potosí district

  • Seven clusters of trade and commercial agriculture: Lima, Upper Peru Caracas, Bogotá-Cartagena, Quito, Santiago, Río de la Plata

  • Textiles: Quito, Lima, Popayán, Cuzco, La Paz, Santiago, Tucuman

    1 silver mining center

Cacao production increased in 18th c. Venezuela, especially in the interior for markets in New Spain and Europe via Dutch smugglers

Tithes (agricultural production): Charcas (Upper Peru), 1670-1820 (millions of pesos, log scale)

  • 3 phases: stagnation (1670-1710), bust (1720-40), recovery and growth (1740-1810)

4 regional economic zones: New Spain 17-18th centuries

The hacienda on the defensive (New Spain, 18th c.)

  • Population growth spurred villages to increase “fundo legal”

  • Grants came from unclaimed strips, poorly titled hacienda holdings, or other villages

  • Land-holders negotiated to avoid seizures from the landless

Land disputes: villagers vs. small holders.

  • Village milpas and grazing lands

  • with population growth and intensive agriculture, land disputes increased

  • cultivation shifted to the edges of holdings and beyond

  • proto-industry began

Rural economy: patterns of production from consumption (see Bauer, Schwartz and Hoberman)

  • Persistence of native features of land holding, labor, and technology

  • Emergence of haciendas, ranchos and estancias required population of wheat and beef eaters.

  • Interdependence of Native and Hispanic worlds

  • Dual economy model (imperial vs. local) compared with integrated economy (local, regional, inter-colonial, imperial)

  • Economy of early Spanish America: feudal, capitalist, or patrimonial?

End

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