China and the Spanish Empire

Editada en la Fundación Empresa PúblicaEn este artículo argumentamos que Ming China desempeñó un papel fundamental en el auge y decadencia del Imperio español. La demanda china de plata permitió elevados beneficios hasta 1640. El descenso de estos beneficios llevó a la reducción de la producción y la Monarquía se enfrentó a una grave crisis financiera. La consecuencia fue una presión fiscal creciente con objeto de compensar la pérdida de los ingresos externos procedentes de América.In this article we argue that Ming China had a fundamental impact on the rise and decline of the Spanish Empire. China's demand for silver was of such magnitude that private mining profits in the Spanish Empire remained high until about 1640. The decline of these profits led to abandon production. Spain faced a deepening financial crisis due to the fall of silver's value. The loss of purchasing power from the Crown's American enterprise was inevitable and the state's relentless pressure for increased taxation within Castile and elsewhere was mandatory in order to compensate for lost external purchasing power.Publicad

La economía global y El Quijote

La vida y obra de Miguel de Cervantes coincide con el primer ciclo de la globalización. El principal motor de la economía mundial fue el comercio de la plata entre los mercados americanos y Asia. La nueva economía mundial se desarrolló al mismo tiempo que la «revolución militar» en Eurasia. Los imperios otomano, persa, mongol y ruso y otras entidades políticas usaron los nuevos «hardware» y «software» militares para expandir sus fronteras y mantener su posición, empleando gran parte de sus recursos financieros. Esas nuevas realidades políticas y económicas impulsaron los intercambios que irrevocablemente cambiaron la historia del mundo. Este fue el tiempo de El Quijote.The life and work of Miguel de Cervantes coincide with the first cycle of globalization. One of the main engines of the world economy was the silver trade between the Americas and the Asian markets. The new world economy was developing at the same time as the «military revolution» in Eurasia. The Spanish, Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal and Russian empires and other political entities used the new military «hardware» and «software» to expand their borders and to maintain their position employing the larger part of their financial resources. These new economic and political realities propelled ecological exchanges that would irrevocably change the history of the world. That was the time of Don Quixote.Publicad

“Soft Gold” Before the Gold Rush: Sea Otter Pelts in the “Competitive Expansion” of Merchant Capitalism and the Creation of a Pacific Ocean Economy

Objective/Context: In this article, we examine how Chinese demand for pelts—of sea otters and other marine mammals—fueled the eighteenth-century competitive expansion of European and later American merchants and explorers in the Pacific islands and along the Pacific coast of North America. Sea otter pelts were a commodity directly linked to the creation of a Pacific Ocean economy, and California’s colonization resulted from imperial dynamics to which this trade gave rise. Methodology: Using both primary and secondary sources, we examine how these merchants’ quest to supply the lucrative Chinese luxury market with furs—“soft gold”—brought them into contact with indigenous peoples whose livelihoods and commercial networks would also be recruited into this global market but on quite unequal terms and with devastating consequences. Originality: The growth of this Pacific trade throughout the eighteenth century fueled geopolitical rivalries that led to the colonization of California with a system of missions and military garrisons (presidios) and, eventually, to a new ecology as a result of plants and animals brought from New Spain before the Gold Rush and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Many, including Marx and Engels, have claimed that the Gold Rush contributed significantly to the dynamics of industrial capitalism; nevertheless, we argue that its conditions of possibility were laid out centuries earlier via the complex geopolitical and ecological connections through which this Pacific economy was articulated. Conclusions: During the eighteenth century, the Pacific’s products were extracted and commodified in circuits whose demand center was China. It is precisely the prior existence of these global markets—centered on silver and “soft gold,” or sea otter furs—that explains the presence of Europeans and Americans in California eager to prospect for the yellow metal in 1848.Objetivo/Contexto: En este artículo examinamos cómo la demanda china de pieles —de nutrias y otros mamíferos marinos— impulsó en el siglo xviii la expansión competitiva de comerciantes y exploradores europeos y, más tarde, estadounidenses en las islas del Pacífico y a lo largo de la costa pacífica norteamericana. Las pieles de nutria marina fueron una mercancía directamente vinculada a la creación de una economía en el Océano Pacífico; y la colonización de California resultó de la dinámica imperial a la que dio lugar este comercio. Metodología: Con el uso de fuentes primarias y secundarias, examinamos cómo el afán de estos mercaderes por abastecer el lucrativo mercado de lujo chino con pieles —u “oro blando”— los puso en contacto con pueblos indígenas cuyos medios de vida y redes comerciales también serían reclutados en este mercado global, pero en términos bastante desiguales y con consecuencias devastadoras. Originalidad: El crecimiento de este comercio en el Pacífico a lo largo del siglo xviii alimentó rivalidades geopolíticas que desencadenaron la colonización de California con un sistema de misiones y guarniciones militares y, eventualmente, una nueva ecología, producto de las plantas y animales traídos de Nueva España antes de la Fiebre del Oro y el Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo. Muchos, incluidos Marx y Engels, han afirmado que la Fiebre del Oro contribuyó significativamente a la dinámica del capitalismo industrial; sin embargo, sostenemos que sus condiciones de posibilidad se establecieron siglos antes, a través de las complejas conexiones geopolíticas y ecológicas mediante las cuales se articuló esta economía del Pacífico. Conclusiones: Durante el siglo xviii, los productos del Pacífico fueron extraídos y mercantilizados en circuitos centrados en la demanda china. Es precisamente la existencia previa de estos mercados globales —concentrados en la plata y el “oro blando”, o pieles de nutria marina— lo que explica la presencia de europeos y estadounidenses en California, ávidos por buscar el metal dorado en 1848.Objetivo/contexto: neste artigo, examinamos como a demanda chinesa por peles — de lontras e outros mamíferos marinhos — impulsionou a expansão competitiva de comerciantes e exploradores europeus e, posteriormente, estadunidenses nas ilhas do Pacífico e ao longo do litoral pacífico da América do Norte no século 18. As peles de lontra marinha eram uma mercadoria diretamente ligada à criação de uma economia no Oceano Pacífico, e a colonização da Califórnia resultou da dinâmica imperial a que esse comércio deu origem. Metodologia: usando fontes primárias e secundárias, examinamos como a ânsia desses comerciantes em abastecer o lucrativo mercado de luxo chinês com peles — ou “ouro macio” — os colocou em contato com os povos indígenas, cujos meios de subsistência e redes de comércio também seriam recrutados para esse mercado global, mas em termos bastante desiguais e com consequências devastadoras. Originalidade: o crescimento desse comércio no Pacífico ao longo do século 18 alimentou rivalidades geopolíticas que desencadearam a colonização da Califórnia com um sistema de missões e guarnições militares e, por fim, uma nova ecologia, produto de plantas e animais trazidos da Nova Espanha antes da Corrida do Ouro e do Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo. Muitos, inclusive Marx e Engels, afirmaram que a Corrida do Ouro contribuiu significativamente para a dinâmica do capitalismo industrial; no entanto, argumentamos que suas condições de possibilidade foram estabelecidas séculos antes, por meio das complexas conexões geopolíticas e ecológicas pelas quais essa economia do Pacífico foi articulada. Conclusões: durante o século 18, os produtos do Pacífico foram extraídos e comercializados em circuitos centrados na demanda chinesa. É justamente a existência prévia desses mercados globais — centrados na prata e no “ouro macio” ou peles de lontra marinha — que explica a presença de europeus e estadunidenses na Califórnia, ávidos pelo metal dourado em 1848

An early Aurignacian arrival in southwestern Europe

Westernmost Europe constitutes a key location in determining the timing of the replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans (AMHs). In this study, the replacement of late Mousterian industries by Aurignacian ones at the site of Bajondillo Cave (Málaga, southern Spain) is reported. On the basis of Bayesian analyses, a total of 26 radiocarbon dates, including 17 new ones, show that replacement at Bajondillo took place in the millennia centring on ~45–43 calibrated thousand years before the present (cal ka bp)—well before the onset of Heinrich event 4 (~40.2–38.3 cal ka bp). These dates indicate that the arrival of AMHs at the southernmost tip of Iberia was essentially synchronous with that recorded in other regions of Europe, and significantly increases the areal expansion reached by early AMHs at that time. In agreement with human dispersal scenarios on other continents, such rapid expansion points to coastal corridors as favoured routes for early AMH. The new radiocarbon dates align Iberian chronologies with AMH dispersal patterns in Eurasia.Consejería de Cultura of the Junta de Andalucía (Spain) (UPPH/49/06). HAR2013-44269-P and HAR 2016-77789-P from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (RYC-2015-18966) HUM-949 Research Group (Universidad de Sevilla, Spain) ICArEHB (University of Algarve, Portugal

China and the Spanish Empire

In this article we argue that Ming China had a fundamental impact on the rise and decline of the Spanish Empire. China's demand for silver was of such magnitude that private mining profits in the Spanish Empire remained high until about 1640. The decline of these profits led to abandon production. Spain faced a deepening financial crisis due to the fall of silver's value. The loss of purchasing power from the Crown's American enterprise was inevitable and the state's relentless pressure for increased taxation within Castile and elsewhere was mandatory in order to compensate for lost external purchasing power.En este artículo argumentamos que Ming China desempeñó un papel fundamental en el auge y decadencia del Imperio español. La demanda china de plata permitió elevados beneficios hasta 1640. El descenso de estos beneficios llevó a la reducción de la producción y la Monarquía se enfrentó a una grave crisis financiera. La consecuencia fue una presión fiscal creciente con objeto de compensar la pérdida de los ingresos externos procedentes de América

Velázquez, Mariana Cecilia. Cultural Representations of Piracy in England, Spain, and the Caribbean. Travelers, Traders, and Traitors, 1570 to 1604. Routledge, 2023. 235 pp.

Velázquez, Mariana Cecilia. Cultural Representations of Piracy in England, Spain, and the Caribbean. Travelers, Traders, and Traitors, 1570 to 1604. Routledge, 2023. 235 pp