Transoceanic Trade and the Global Markets and Merchants of the Iberian World, c. 1600

In the early sixteenth century, the influx of Atlantic pearls from the Spanish-run Caribbean pearl fisheries transformed global markets for the jewel. The Atlantic pearl bonanza generated conflict and collaboration across distinct geographic and jurisdictional spheres as competing networks vied for control of the jewel’s production and distribution. This paper considers how global trade networks shaped the Atlantic pearl industry during the period of the Spanish and Portuguese union from 1580-1640. It focuses on the implications of the joint monarchy for Iberian merchants moving pearls between Caribbean and Indian Ocean markets. During the sixty years of the union, enterprising traders sought to maximize the degree to which they benefited from the new political alliance. This paper considers a number of cases that illuminate the range and limitations of the transoceanic Iberian imperial infrastructure at the turn of the seventeenth century.