The legacy of Earl J. Hamilton. New data for the study of prices in Spain, 1650–1800

Abstract

This paper presents a new dataset on regional prices in Early Modern Spain. Earl J. Hamilton published in the American Treasure and The Price Revolution in Spain, 1500-1650 prices for the four regions in which he divided Spain-Valencia, Andalusia, Old Castile-León and New Castile-but this was not the case in War and Prices in Spain, 1651-1800. Here he printed only prices for the last region. Nevertheless, he presented indices of prices and salaries throughout the book for the three remaining regions for which the raw data is preserved in the archive of his personal papers at Duke University. Having access to the cards and worksheets where prices from primary sources were computed allows us, firstly, to recover the prices for Old Castile-León, Andalusia and Valencia and to discover how the series for each region and period were built; secondly, to test their validity for purposes other than those he sought. Finally, the prices of some selected goods for the period 1651-1800 are reconstructed, analysed and published.

Prices in Toledo (Spain): Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

“…For previous decades, Hamilton offers few prices for 12 different goods in New Castile. 13 Some problems have already been identified by scholars (Allen 2001;Feliú 1991a;Llopis 1994;López Losa 2013;López Losa and Piquero Zarauz 2016;Nieto 2006). In the case of agricultural prices (wheat, barley, olive oil, etc.…”

“…In Castile, this beverage became relevant for three main reasons: (1) wine covers a significant share of the daily human caloric needs; (2) grapevine productivity was higher than that of cereals; and (3) unlike grain, wine prices were not constrained by public intervention, thus its marketing possibilities were also stronger (Bernardos 2014). Yet, wine prices are very controversial because they depended on several factors such as type, quality, measurement units, or consumption taxes (Allen 2001;Andrés Ucendo and Lanza García 2014;Feliú 1991b;Llopis 1994;López Losa 2013). In this regard, Hamilton's series for New Castile contains wholesale prices (expressed in arrobas) that only refer to "new" (seasonal) wine, without any other distinctions on types or qualities.…”

Global Commodities in Early Modern Spain

“…These studies fall along a broad spectrum and analyse many different themes. We can only point out a small sample of all the works and topics being done in recent years such as the influence of taxation on consumption and prices, standards of living as reflected in shopping baskets and wages (Calderón et al 2017;Llopis and García 2011;Llopis Agelán et al 2009;DobadoGonzález 2015;López Losa 2013;Feliu 2014), consumption of textiles (Yun-Casalilla and Torras Elias, 1999), tobacco (Meléndez, Ferri, and Laforet, 2000), fish (López Losa and Piquero 2006), wheat (Bernardos 2003), distribution and commercial networks (Pérez-García 2013; Fernandez-de-Pinedo and Fernández de Pinedo 2013), meat (Bernardos 1997;Hernández Franco 1981), bread (Caro López 1987) or the second hand markets (López Barahona and Nieto Sanchez 2012) (Norton 2008: 43) 26. For example, chocolate was used to cook the 'crème de chocolat au bainmarie' or the 'crème veloutée au chocolat' by adding lemon, cinnamon, coriander, milk and six chocolate bars (Briand 1750: 1:369).…”

Distribution of English textiles in the Spanish market at the beginning of the 18thcentury

“…We must point out that merchandise of great value, but not weighing very much, has been the object of particular attention in recent years, as seen in the works of Florence Fontaine, Jan de Vries, Jaume Torras and Bartolomé Yun or Ramos among others (Muset i Pons 1997;Fontaine 1999Fontaine , 2008Torras and Yun 2003;Denzel et al 2011;Ramos 2010). A long-standing presumption in this literature has been that the marketing of certain manufactured products appears to be frequently linked to the development of socio-economic networks based on local connections of trust such as family, religion, geography or language and security, striving at the same time for low freight and intermediation costs (Hamilton 1947;Ringrose 1970;Madrazo 1981;Baker and Gerhold 1993;Greif 1994;Alexander and Akehurst 1998;Botticini and Eckstein 2007;Guiso et al 2008;Barro and McClearly 2006;Ló pez Losa 2013). Having examined the documentation, there is no evidence for a network based on kinship or geography linking the importer to the carrier and the consignee of the merchandise.…”

“…A long-standing presumption in this literature has been that the marketing of certain manufactured products appears to be frequently linked to the development of socio-economic networks based on local connections of trust such as family, religion, geography or language and security, striving at the same time for low freight and intermediation costs (Hamilton 1947; Ringrose 1970; Madrazo 1981; Baker and Gerhold 1993; Greif 1994; Alexander and Akehurst 1998; Botticini and Eckstein 2007; Guiso et al . 2008; Barro and McClearly 2006; López Losa 2013). Having examined the documentation, there is no evidence for a network based on kinship or geography linking the importer to the carrier and the consignee of the merchandise.…”