Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures and tables
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Economic Aspects of Spanish Imperial Expansion, 1492–1550
- 3 Commodities and Resources During the Conquest Period
- 4 The Hapsburg Commercial System
- 5 Inter-Colonial Trade and the Hapsburg Commercial System
- 6 Foreign Penetration of the Ibero-American Economy in the Hapsburg Period
- 7 Economic Growth in Spanish America in the Hapsburg Period
- 8 Commercial and Economic Relations in the Early Bourbon Period, 1700–1765
- 9 ‘Free Trade’ and the Peninsular Economy
- 10 ‘Free Trade’ and the American Economy
- 11 Economic Relations Between Spain and America on the Eve of the Revolutions for Independence
- 12 Conclusion: Economic Grievances and Insurrection in Late Colonial Spanish America
- Appendix: Spanish Monarchs
- Glossary of Spanish Terms
- Bibliographical Essay
- Index
9 - ‘Free Trade’ and the Peninsular Economy
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures and tables
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Economic Aspects of Spanish Imperial Expansion, 1492–1550
- 3 Commodities and Resources During the Conquest Period
- 4 The Hapsburg Commercial System
- 5 Inter-Colonial Trade and the Hapsburg Commercial System
- 6 Foreign Penetration of the Ibero-American Economy in the Hapsburg Period
- 7 Economic Growth in Spanish America in the Hapsburg Period
- 8 Commercial and Economic Relations in the Early Bourbon Period, 1700–1765
- 9 ‘Free Trade’ and the Peninsular Economy
- 10 ‘Free Trade’ and the American Economy
- 11 Economic Relations Between Spain and America on the Eve of the Revolutions for Independence
- 12 Conclusion: Economic Grievances and Insurrection in Late Colonial Spanish America
- Appendix: Spanish Monarchs
- Glossary of Spanish Terms
- Bibliographical Essay
- Index
Summary
THE INTRODUCTION OF ‘FREE TRADE’, 1765–89
The decision of Charles III to promulgate the famous Reglamento para el comercio libre of 1778 on the symbolic date of 12 October, the anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, was designed to emphasise the importance which he and his ministers attached to this fundamental measure of commercial reform. The document's guiding principle, its preamble explained, was the king's fundamental goal, which had determined all his policies since his accession to the throne in 1759, of securing ‘the happiness of my beloved Vassals of these Kingdoms and those of the Indies’ and his conviction that ‘only a free and protected Commerce between European and American Spaniards can restore Agriculture, Industry, and Population in my dominions to their former vigour’. This belief, it was explained, had already promoted a number of piecemeal modifications to the imperial commercial structure, made in the aftermath of Spain's humiliating defeat by Britain in the Seven Years' War, a factor which underlay so many of Charles III's reforms. The crucial first step had been the decree of 16 October 1765, which opened the principal Spanish islands of the Caribbean (Cuba, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, Margarita and Trinidad) to direct trade with nine Spanish ports (Alicante, Barcelona, Cádiz, Cartagena, Gijón, La Coruña, Málaga, Santander and Seville).
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- Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 1997