6 - Political and social awareness

Summary

Eighteenth-century Spanish America was a society based on notions of caste and the functions of various estates of the realm. Although the social position of the porteño merchants was based primarily on wealth(and secondarily on race) the merchants adhered to a conception of society as hierarchical, composed of different and unequal groups in which they were most definitely among the genie decente.

Privilege played a role in denning the position of the porteño merchants; the merchant group of the Río de la Plata enjoyed special favors as a result of the Crown's new interest in the area. To generate new revenues through an expansion of Platine commerce, Upper Peru and the city of Potosí were included within the parameter of Buenos Aires trade, and special tax exemptions were provided to encourage new trade through Buenos Aires. But these privileges were economic rather than social; unlike the clergy or the military, the merchants were always simply vecinos (ordinary citizens) of Buenos Aires.

In addition to being the beneficiary of favorable trade policies, the merchant group, because it was literate and aware of conditions in other sectors of the Spanish Empire, and at times of the world, was able to lobby effectively before the colonial administration. Along with high administrators, leading churchmen, and professional men, the merchants were among the most cosmopolitan members of the city's society.