This essay discusses the main lines of current research on the social and economic history of the early modern Iberian worlds. It then goes on, in light of recent debates, to make the case for the value of a purposeful dialogue between global history and imperial history. The issues of primary concern here are the extent to which lateral, inter-regional relations in the Iberian worlds dominated vertical relations connecting particular areas to Madrid or Lisbon; how power and agency on local scales may be integrated into accounts of flows and interactions on larger scales; the ways in which the history of the Iberian empires through a global prism breaks with pre-existing nationalistic narratives; and whether or not the decentralized component of these empires was unique to them. Finally, examples are detailed of how Iberian imperial history can provide a fruitful basis for a polycentric history of globalization. The examples given take heart from critical engagement with the Great Divergence paradigm, the new analytical potentialities of global ecological history, the constructive and destructive impact of globalization upon empires, and the importance of studying the history of empires comparatively.

This article makes a plea for a joint study of intellectual and economic history. Mental perceptions affect economic decisions and variables, while economic realities influence the evolution of ideas. We use the case of Castilian noblemen and their management of landed property to illustrate these interrelations. This was driven to a large extent by the «moral economy» of the group, which provided a moral justification of its privileged place in society. However, during the early modern age new ideas and economic difficulties eroded these concepts and attitudes, and led to an increasing interest of nobility towards an efficient management of their properties. The delicate equilibrium between gains and prestige –intended as an indirect means to acquire wealth– as well as the intermingling of religious worries make it difficult to get a balanced view of the real situation and its evolution, which is none the less necessary.

Era previsible el éxito que habría de tener la historia del consumo en el panorama historiográfico posterior cuando, ya a fines de los años sesenta, F. Braudel llamara la atención sobre la importancia de estudiar la cultura material como una manera de entender la historia de las civilizaciones. No ha sido, sin embargo, una línea recta lo que ha llevado de las reflexiones del maestro francés al desarrollo actual en este campo. Hoy se reconoce que otros historiadores, N. McKendrick, J. Brewer y D. Roche, entre otros, han prestado un servicio esencial en el proceso por el cual este enfoque se ha convertido en una comente poderosa y frecuentada en las explicaciones del pasado.