The Spanish Monarchy in an Age of Commercial Globalization, 1765–96

Towards the middle of the eighteenth century, Spanish ministers began to realize that the rise of European commercial monarchies had brought forward a new international order where trade and economic improvement determined the relative power of each state. While contemporaries never spoke in these terms, one could very well think of this new international order as an early modern form of commercial globalization, especially since many recognized the irreversible and revolutionary effects generated by the expansion of trade. This paper examines how a host of ministers who served the main governing institutions of the Spanish Monarchy attempted to transform the “composite” monarchy inherited from the Habsburgs into a powerful commercial empire capable of competing with Britain and France.

To meet the demands of a new age, Spanish ministers designed a new imperial system set on stimulating trade and economic improvement. Essential to this new imperial system was the idea that the monarchy had to function as a kind of machine, with the king as its engineer and imperial officials as scientific advisors. Seeking to concretize this integrated machine-like commercial empire, Spanish ministers implemented comercio libre (free internal trade), a policy which they thought would transform the previously autonomous American kingdoms into dependent colonies. This paper demonstrates that rather than simply centralizing the empire, Spanish ministers were actually attempting to create one where none had existed before. In tracing this ambitious imperial project centered on colonial markets, this paper reconstructs how Spanish ministers sought to avoid the perils of the new age (commercial warfare) while reaping its benefits (economic improvement).