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Silver, Trade, and War

Spain and America in the Making of Early Modern Europe

Stanley J. Stein and Barbara H. Stein

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Silver, Trade, and War is about men and markets, national rivalries, diplomacy and conflict, and the advancement or stagnation of states.

Chosen by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title

The 250 years covered by Silver, Trade, and War marked the era of commercial capitalism, that bridge between late medieval and modern times. Spain, peripheral to western Europe in 1500, produced American treasure in silver, which Spanish convoys bore from Portobelo and Veracruz on the Carribbean coast across the Atlantic to Spain in exchange for European goods shipped from Sevilla (later, Cadiz)...

Silver, Trade, and War is about men and markets, national rivalries, diplomacy and conflict, and the advancement or stagnation of states.

Chosen by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title

The 250 years covered by Silver, Trade, and War marked the era of commercial capitalism, that bridge between late medieval and modern times. Spain, peripheral to western Europe in 1500, produced American treasure in silver, which Spanish convoys bore from Portobelo and Veracruz on the Carribbean coast across the Atlantic to Spain in exchange for European goods shipped from Sevilla (later, Cadiz). Spanish colonialism, the authors suggest, was the cutting edge of the early global economy. America's silver permitted Spain to graft early capitalistic elements onto its late medieval structures, reinforcing its patrimonialism and dynasticism. However, the authors argue, silver gave Spain an illusion of wealth, security, and hegemony, while its system of "managed" transatlantic trade failed to monitor silver flows that were beyond the control of government officials. While Spain's intervention buttressed Hapsburg efforts at hegemony in Europe, it induced the formation of protonationalist state formations, notably in England and France. The treaty of Utrecht (1714) emphasized the lag between developing England and France, and stagnating Spain, and the persistence of Spain's late medieval structures. These were basic elements of what the authors term Spain's Hapsburg "legacy."

Over the first half of the eighteenth century, Spain under the Bourbons tried to contain expansionist France and England in the Caribbean and to formulate and implement policies competitors seemed to apply successfully to their overseas possessions, namely, a colonial compact. Spain's policy planners (proyectistas) scanned abroad for models of modernization adaptable to Spain and its American colonies without risking institutional change. The second part of the book, "Toward a Spanish-Bourbon Paradigm," analyzes the projectors' works and their minimal impact in the context of the changing Atlantic scene until 1759. By then, despite its efforts, Spain could no longer compete successfully with England and France in the international economy. Throughout the book a colonial rather than metropolitan prism informs the authors' interpretation of the major themes examined.

Reviews

Reviews

All serious students of Spain's national tragedies should find room for the book on their shelves.

Sets a new standard for the writing of Spanish imperial history.

[The authors'] ability to synthesize a broad and disparate historiography on economic, political, and diplomatic developments in early modern Europe as they related to the new opportunities created by the opening of American territories represents a significant achievement and contributes to our understanding of the relationship between economic trends and political formation.

This book is highly recommended to a broad array of scholars... The authors make a compelling case for the centrality of the Spanish Empire in the emergence of Europe's economic and political hegemony.

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About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
368
ISBN
9780801877551
Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I: The Legacy
Chapter 1. Spain, Europe, and The Atlantic System, 1500–1700
Chapter 2. Financing Empire: The European Diaspora of Silver by War
Chapter 3. Westphalia: The

Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I: The Legacy
Chapter 1. Spain, Europe, and The Atlantic System, 1500–1700
Chapter 2. Financing Empire: The European Diaspora of Silver by War
Chapter 3. Westphalia: The Legacy of Unequal Treaties
Chapter 4. Conjunctural Crisis: War and the Utrecht Settlement
Part II: Toward a Spanish-Bourbon Paradigm
Chapter 5. Conditions of Growth, 1700–1759
Chapter 6. Changing Patterns in the Transatlantic System: Flotas and Registros, 1720–1759
Chapter 7. Critical Voices, 1720–1759
Chapter 8. Toward the Mid-Century Crisis: Ensenada, 1743–1754
Chapter 9. By Way of Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Stanley J. Stein

Stanley J. Stein is the Walter S. Carpenter Professor in Spanish Civilization and Culture, Emeritus, at Princeton University.
Featured Contributor

Barbara H. Stein

Barbara H. Stein (1916-2005) was an independent historian and former bibliographer for Latin America, Spain, and Portugal at Princeton University's Firestone Library.