Economic and historical studies have long focused on trans-Atlantic expansion as one decisive explanatory variable for the success and failure of European economies' performance in the early modern period. This is particularly true for Spain. However, more recently internal economic developments, most notably the very distinct economic paths of Spain's regions in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, have been emphasised as a major reason for Spain's poor economic development. Surprisingly, few systematic attempts have been made to discuss the links between the external and internal factors in Spanish economic history.