Unsatisfactory state of the laboring classes.

In their efforts to revive manufacturing the kings continued during most of the period to follow the old ideal of state protection and state initiative in placing industries upon a firm foundation, intervening, also, to regulate the work on its technical side. In the second half of the century, especially in the reign of Charles III, the liberal ideas of the physiocratic school, hostile to all forms of government regulation, brought about the employment of a new system, leaving matters to the decision of the individuals concerned. Laws were now passed removing the prohibitions of earlier years. Joined with the educative measures already referred to, such as the establishment of model factories and the importation of foreign workmen, the new methods brought about a revived intensity of industrial life. Much the same things as formerly were made; the textile factories of Catalonia and Andalusia were the most prosperous. The chemical industries and those having to do with the preparation of foods did not develop equally with others. The Americas continued to be one of the principal supports of Spanish manufacturing, as a purchaser of the goods made in the peninsula. After centuries of scant productivity in mining, Spain began again to yield more nearly in accord with her natural wealth. A great variety of mineral products was mined, although very little of precious metals. On the other hand the formerly prosperous fishing industry was in a state of decline. In 1803 it was estimated that the total industrial yield for that year was 1,152,660,707 reales (about $72,000,000). The revival, however, was of an ephemeral character, for the social factors affecting labor were too grave a handicap. Thoroughgoing popular instruction was necessary before there could be any permanent advance; the Spanish laborer was able enough, but needed to be rescued from his abysmal ignorance. Wages were low. In 1786 the ordinary laborer of Seville earned four and a half reales (about $.28) a day; in Barcelona the average was eight reales ($.50). Agricultural laborers in Andalusia made from three and a half to five reales ($.22 to $.33) a day; shepherds got two pounds of bread daily and 160 reales ($10) a year. To be sure, money was worth more than now. Work was not always steady, with the result that famine and beggary were frequent. There was no such thing as organized labor; to go on strike was a crime. The only remedy of the laborer against his employer was an appeal to the corregidor, but this was so ineffectual that it was rarely tried.

Obstacles to Spanish commerce and efforts to overcome them.

Attempts were made to combat the obstacles which hindered Spanish commerce. Unable to compete with other European countries in the export trade, except as concerned small quantities of certain raw materials, Spain was hard pressed to maintain an advantage in her own domestic and American field. At the beginning of the century many of the laws tended in fact to discriminate against Spaniards, as witness the heavy export duties, which were collected according to bulk, thus operating against the type of products which Spain most frequently sent abroad. Charles III changed this system, collecting duties according to the nature of the goods as well as paying regard to weight, and charging a higher rate against foreign cargoes. Taxes were numerous in kind and heavy in amount, wherefore smuggling and graft overcame some of the beneficial effects which might have been expected from this legislation. Protective tariffs and prohibitions were also employed to encourage Spanish manufactures and trade, but particular exigencies often caused a reversal of this policy in the case of certain items of foreign make. Thus the importation of foreign muslins was forbidden in 1770, but in 1789 the prohibition was removed when it was found that local manufacture did not suffice for the country’s needs. A series of decrees by Charles III endeavored also to reduce the coinage to systematic order, but the multiplicity of coins and the retention of provincial moneys militated against complete success. The prohibition against the export of coin was maintained, but licenses to take out certain quantities were granted on payment of a three per cent duty. Practically, the prohibition was a dead letter, owing to the prevalence of smuggling, and it served as a hindrance to commerce. An ineffectual attempt was made in 1801 to unify the system of weights and measures. Lack of an adequate merchant marine and an insufficiency of good ports, despite the efforts to remedy the situation in both cases, were still further obstacles to Spanish trade, whereas such an excellent port as Vigo had no suitable highway to connect it with the interior. Bands of mules continued to be used as the principal carrying agency in land commerce. Improper methods of keeping books were a handicap, but the paternalistic nature of the government made itself felt, requiring business men to employ a good method of accounting, and specifying the precise way in which they should do it. Finally, trading had usually been considered incompatible with nobility. The stigma was in a measure removed, although only in the case of business on a large scale, and some of the nobles became merchants.

Mercantile machinery of the era.

Mercantile machinery found its highest official expression in the Junta de Comercio y Moneda. This was reorganized in 1705, at which time it was provided that the Councils of Castile, the Indies and Finance (Hacienda) should be represented respectively by three, five, and two members, the Casa de Contratación by one, and the French nation by two, besides one of the royal secretaries. The importance of the American and French trades was clearly manifested in this arrangement. This body served as a court with jurisdiction in all matters concerning trade. In 1730 it was succeeded by the Junta de Moneda (Junta, or Council, of Coinage), to which was added jurisdiction in matters concerning mines (1747), foreigners (1748), and the “five greater guilds of Madrid” (1767 and 1783). Regional juntas were also created. The consulados, though of private origin, occupied an intermediate position between the other private and the official bodies, owing to the intervention of the state and to the reorganization of the consulados in the middle and later eighteenth century. In addition to their functions as a mercantile court they acquired a vast number of duties of a public character, such as the care of ports and the creation of schools of navigation. Certain consulados had special functions,—for example, the consulado of Cádiz attended to supplying the province with grain and flour, and had charge of the establishment of tariffs and lotteries. The consulados were repaid for these services by a grant of a portion of the customs duties, a right worth 6,000,000 reales ($375,000) a year in Cádiz and one third of that amount in Alicante. They compromised their wealth by making loans to the crown, which brought about their ruin. At the end of the eighteenth century there were fourteen consulados in Spain, each differing from the others but all following rather closely the new ordinances (1737) for the consulado of Bilbao as a type. In the smaller cities and towns local officials were wont to appoint two men as diputados de comercio (commercial deputies) to act for that neighborhood in the capacity of a consulado. There were various other mercantile groups of a more clearly private character, and their associations were encouraged by the government. The so-called “five greater guilds of Madrid,” including dealers in jewelry, silks, gold and silver ware, cloths, linens, spices (and groceries?), and drugs, was the most important of these organizations. Its business was so enormous that it extended beyond Madrid to other cities, and put up factories for the manufacture of the goods it sold. In 1777 there were 375 merchants in this corporation, with a capital of some 210,000,000 reales ($13,125,000). Other associations were formed for special objects, such as to buy goods in great quantities and therefore more cheaply, or to carry merchandise in their own ships. Many companies were organized specifically for trading with the Americas. In the fluctuations of commerce one fact stood out consistently: the balance of trade was heavily against Spain. In 1789 exports were valued at 289,973,980 reales (about $18,000,000) as against imports of 717,397,388 (nearly $45,000,000). Internal commerce amounted to an estimated 2,498,429,552 reales (about $156,000,000). The wars of the reign of Charles IV almost destroyed Spanish commerce. Cádiz in particular was a heavy loser.

Important place of foreigners in Spanish commerce.

The intervention of foreigners in the commerce of Spain, which had given so much concern in the previous era, was an even greater problem under the Bourbons. Many factors contributed to make this the case: the industrial decline of the seventeenth century, which favored the importation of foreign goods; the eighteenth century efforts for an economic revival, which led to the seeking out of foreign models and foreign teachers or workmen; the encouragement given to Frenchmen as a result of the Bourbon entry into Spain; and defeats in war, which necessitated Spain’s submission to the exactions of her opponents (many of whom insisted upon commercial privileges) or the legalization of trade usurpations which they had indulged in without right. In the Americas the English were the most prominent element, but in Spain the French were. The leading French merchants established themselves in Cádiz, the gateway of the Americas, whence they proceeded to absorb a great part of Spain’s profits from the new world. In 1772 there were seventy-nine French wholesale houses in Cádiz, making an estimated annual profit of 4,600,000 reales (nearly $300,000). In 1791 there were 2701 Frenchmen in that city out of a total foreign population of 8734. Numerically, the Italians were more in evidence, for there were 5018 of them, mostly Genoese. There were some Englishmen, too, whose aggregate capital made up for their small number. In general the legislation of the era was favorable to foreigners. Their knowledge and labor were so greatly desired that they were even granted special privileges or exemptions to take up their residence in Spain, and the religious bar was ameliorated or utterly withdrawn. Popular opinion was against them, however, and the laws were not wholly free from this influence. Men complained, as formerly, that the foreigners were making immense profits and stifling Spanish competition, while the hatreds engendered by the wars with England and France and by the scant respect and haughty manners which some foreigners displayed for the laws and customs of Spain tended to increase the feeling of opposition. Foreigners were often ill-treated, although the acts were rarely official. Even the government did not recognize consuls as having any special rights or immunities differentiating them from others of their nation. A further accusation against foreigners was that they engaged in contraband trade. This was true, although as a rule it was done in complicity with corrupt Spanish officials. Foreigners justified themselves on the ground that unless they were willing to make gifts to Spaniards in authority they were obliged to suffer a thousand petty annoyances. “Money and gifts,” said the French ambassador, Vaulgrenant, “have always been the most efficacious means of removing the difficulties which can be raised, on the slightest pretext, against foreign merchants. That has been the recourse to which the English have always applied themselves, with good results.” The fact remains, however, that the French, English, and others had entered the commercial field in Spain and Spanish America to stay.

CHAPTER XXXVIII
INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITIES, 1700-1808

General characteristics of intellectual life in Spain and the Americas.